Going into the 2006 World Series, there weren't too many experts who gave the St. Louis Cardinals much of a chance. St. Louis only won 84 games during the regular season and was taking on a Detroit Tiger team that was heavily favored.

The Tigers held Major League Baseball's best record for most of the regular season, and then cruised past the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics to get to the Fall Classic.

Standing between the Tigers and the trophy, however, was an old friend.

Jeff Weaver, an ex-closer for the Simi Valley High Pioneers, gained national attention this week when he helped close out the World Series for the Cardinals in the title-clinching fifth game.

Weaver was masterful for the Cardinals in the World Series, going 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA while striking out 14. In the deciding game, Weaver only gave up one run on four hits in eight innings, while striking out nine.

Before Weaver could soak himself in champagne, though, he battled a tough road.

Mike Scyphers, Simi Valley High's head baseball coach from 1979 to 1995, remembers Weaver well from his days at SVHS.

"He didn't have an outstanding career at Simi," Scyphers said. "He had an okay year his sophomore year, but he didn't try out for the team his junior year. That year we had many good pitchers on the team since we were ranked No. 1 one in the nation.

"The next year he came back to pitch for us. He grew a little more for his senior year and became a very good pitcher. We used him as a closer, primarily, as we had two very good starting pitchers that year. He was not only effective as a pitcher but also as a hitter. He hit DH for most of the year," Scyphers said.

According to Scyphers, Weaver wasn't heavily recruited out of high school. Weaver tried to walk on during his first year at Fresno State, but didn't make the team. He did, however, make the team in his second year at FSU and rapidly grew into one of college baseball's finest pitching prospects.

In 1997, Weaver was first drafted by the Chicago White Sox but elected not to sign. A year later, on June 2, 1998, Weaver signed with the Detroit Tigers when he was drafted as the 14th overall pick.

"I have been fortunate to have coached a couple players that have done well in the majors," Scyphers said. "I have been even more fortunate to have been at three of those players' major league debuts like I was with Jeff. And he pitched great in his first game, throwing five innings of shutout ball against the Minnesota Twins."

Weaver continued to pitch for the Tigers from 1999 through 2002. Although the Detroit team was a far cry from the team that would dominate this season, Weaver was a bright spot.

Although his record doesn't indicate it, Weaver improved each year in Detroit, culminating with a 3.18 ERA for the Tigers in 2002 before he was traded at midseason to the Yankees.

Weaver's lifetime record with the Tigers over three and a half seasons was 50-62.

After struggling with the Yankees for a year and a half, Weaver saw his best success to date with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Aside from being a pitcher that could now be depended on throwing over 200 innings a year, Weaver went 27-24 for the Dodgers from 2004-05.

Weaver then signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the 2006 season, where he made headlines by pitching with his younger brother, Jered, also a Simi Valley High alum.

Weaver had trouble readjusting to American League hitters and struggled. Weaver went 310 with a 6.29 ERA for the Angels and hit rock bottom when he was sent to the minor leagues halfway through the season.

His second chance came when Weaver was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, along with cash, for minor leaguer Terry Evans.

Back in the National League, Weaver improved, going 5-4 in 15 starts for St. Louis.

"I was very proud of him and how he never gave up," Scyphers said, "first in high school, then in college, and then to bounce back this season like he did."

With a career playoff record that was borderline terrible with the Yankees and Dodgers,

Weaver surprised everyone by completely dominating this postseason.

Against the San Diego Padres, Weaver went 1-0 in his only game by throwing five shutout innings. In the NLCS, against the New York Mets, Weaver went 1-1 with an ERA of 3.09.

Weaver saved his best for last against his former team in the World Series.

He had the Detroit team in fits, as he would often come down into a sidearm delivery to get the third strike.

"He would throw the pitch occasionally for us at Simi, but it's not something we told him to do," Scyphers said. "It's not a predictable pitch as most of the time he would throw that way for a fastball. Nine times out of 10, that pitch, the way it's thrown, is a slider.

"It was nice to see him do so well in the World Series. It seemed as if he was getting the ball down more in the strike zone and pitching with confidence."

During his postgame press conference following the Game 5 victory, Weaver said his season was an unbelievable ride that turned out to be a dream come true.

"Well, it's funny how things work," Weaver said. "You couldn't ask for a better scenario. Just kind of full circle. You don't expect things like that to happen, but when you have the opportunity to go out there and have a chance to win, give your team a chance to win, especially against a team that you used to play for, I mean it's just added motivation."

- MLB.com contributed to this report