I'm Here For Devin Williams & His Resilience

Let me start with a confession: I love Luke Weaver. Love him. I want him riding in on a white horse in the ninth, mowing down hitters like it’s his divine mission. I want him as the closer, and I won’t apologize for it.

That said… I’m not blind. Devin Williams — yes, that Devin Williams, the one who was serving up ninth-inning heartburn earlier this season — might actually be figuring it out.

After a rough patch that saw him lose the closer gig and, frankly, a good chunk of our collective patience, Williams is clawing his way back into relevance. He’s rocking a 4.75 ERA with 11 saves, and while that stat line might not scream “dominance,” the trend is headed in the right direction. June’s been kind. He’s slowly lowering that ERA and, more importantly, he’s stopped talking about his beard like it’s Samson’s hair.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The man has started calling his own pitches using PitchCom — a bold move that screams “let me cook.”

“I wasn’t comfortable with the way the game was being called,” Williams told the New York Daily News. “So instead of, I don’t know, trying to make other people see what I’m seeing, I took it into my own hands, and it’s been good since.”

I respect that. No more passive-aggressive vibes about catchers or coaches. Just, “Give me the controls, I’ll fly the plane.” That’s the kind of energy I can get behind — provided he doesn’t nosedive into another blown save.

And it looks like he’s embracing the modern bullpen philosophy too:

“I feel like the bullpen works better when guys are going one inning,” he said via MLB.com.

Look, we’re not in the Goose Gossage three-inning save era anymore. We’re in the land of matchups, metrics, and max-effort bullets for one frame. If Williams can give us one clean inning — just one — that’s enough. And if he and Weaver can morph into some twisted reincarnation of Wetteland and Rivera? That’s the dream.

So, while I still want Luke Weaver slamming the door more often than not, I’m absolutely rooting for Devin Williams to rise to the occasion. Because if you can survive New York’s back pages, PitchCom drama, and a full-blown crisis of confidence — and still come out chucking gas — you’ve earned a shot.

Let’s get fierce. Let’s get filthy. And let’s hope one of these guys — or both — becomes a lockdown legend. Let’s go Yankees!