Jonathan Brian Weber (born January 20, 1978 in

Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower, California, Bellflower on the north, C ...

) is a professional baseball player. An

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

, Weber bats and throws left-handed. Considered a

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

, Weber has played professionally in minor league baseball since 1999, without playing in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. Weber played collegiately for

Los Angeles Harbor College Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC) is a public community college in Wilmington, California. It is one of two community colleges serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles. LAHC serves mainly students from Harbor City, Carson, San Pedro, Gar ...

and

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

before embarking on his professional career in 1999. As a professional, he played in the minor league organizations of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. He has also played

independent league baseball Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

in the unaffiliated

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

, Northern League, and

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. Weber has competed for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...

, winning the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the

2009 Baseball World Cup The 2009 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 38th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through ...

Amateur career

Weber was born in

. He attended Lakewood High School in Lakewood, California. There, he played for the school's baseball team, known as the Lancers, graduating in 1996. Out of high school, Weber was selected by the

in the thirty-first round of the

1997 Major League Baseball draft The 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections ...

. However, he chose not to sign with the Athletics, opting to attend college. He began his

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

career at

(LAHC) of the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

(NJCAA) in 1997. At LAHC, Weber was a NJCAA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

selection. In 1999, Weber transferred to

to compete in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

during his junior year. At Texas Tech, he played

for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball The Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball team represents Texas Tech University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team competes in the Big 12 Conference and plays at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. Their head coach is Tim Tadlock and is enter ...

team in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

. Weber led the conference with eight

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, setting a Red Raiders team record in the process. He was named the ''

Collegiate Baseball ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 ...

'' National Player of the Week and Big 12 Baseball Player/Pitcher of the Week for the week of February 1, 1999. Weber became the fourth player in Texas Tech history to

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League Ba ...

Professional career

1999–2004

Weber signed his first professional contract with the

as a non-drafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in August 1999. He made his professional debut that summer with the Rookie-level

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Dehler ...

of the Pioneer League, recording a .238

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, .365

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

(OBP) and .500

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

(SLG) with five

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 17

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI) in 22

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

. The next year, he hit .221 with a .333 OBP and .333 SLG with six home runs and 34 RBIs in 108 games for the Single-A

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Lea ...

of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. However, Weber was released by the Reds after the season. He felt the Reds "treated imlike a non-prospect". In 2001, Weber played

for the

Canton Crocodiles Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

of the

. He batted .307 with a .382 OBP, .559 SLG, 18 home runs and 69 RBI in 84 games, being named to the Frontier League post-season All-Star team. He led the Frontier League in home runs and triples. Canton sold Weber to the

Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota, in the United States. The RedHawks are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major Leagu ...

of the independent Northern League in 2002, where he hit .296 with a .351 OBP, .501 SLG, and 30 doubles for Fargo-Morehead, placing fourth in the league in doubles. Back with Fargo-Moorhead to open 2003, he batted .309 with a .408 OBP and .520 SLG through 52 games, as the team went on to win the Northern League championship. However, in July 2003, the

organization purchased Weber's contract from Fargo-Moorhead. With the Athletics organization, Weber hit .361 with a .394 OBP, .626 SLG, seven home runs and 48 RBIs in 35 games with the Single-A Advanced

Modesto A's Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

of the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

for the remainder of that year. In 2004, he hit .280 with a .356 OBP, .458 SLG, 15 home runs and 68 RBI in 111 games with the Double-A

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, whic ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, and hit .341 with a .383 OBP, .568 SLG, two home runs and 12 RBI in 12 games with the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL), helping the River Cats win the PCL championship.

2005–2009

Weber signed with the

after the 2004 season as a free agent. In 2005, he hit .300 with a .369 OBP, .456 SLG, 11 home runs and 68 RBIs in 117 games with the Double-A

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

of the Southern League. He was ninth in the league in batting average and led the league's outfielders in assists (19) and double plays (7). With Weber, Jacksonville won the Southern League championship, his third year in a row as a member of a championship-winning team. During the season, Weber received a 15-game suspension for violating minor league baseball's drug policy. Weber, who failed a drug test administered in August 2004, said he had taken thermogin, a supplement that contained the banned substance

ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in ...

, and denied taking

steroids A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...

. After starting the 2006 season with the Triple-A Las Vegas Stars of the PCL, where he hit .258 with a .338 OBP, .352 SLG, 2 home runs and 31 RBI in 82 games, he was released. He signed with the

, where he played for the Triple-A

Tucson Sidewinders , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

of the PCL, hitting .321 with a .374 OBP, .518 SLG, 5 home runs and 27 RBI in 46 games. The Sidewinders won the PCL championship, Weber's fourth consecutive league championship. Weber was released by the Diamondbacks during 2007

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He signed with Fargo-Moorhead. After 16 games there, batting .283 with a .371 OBP and .417 SLG, his contract was sold to the Texas Rangers on June 4, 2007. The Rangers assigned him to the Single-A Advanced

Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the Class A – Advanced California League. They played their home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facing ...

of the California League, where he hit .356 with a .416 OBP, .550 SLG, five home runs, 14 doubles, 25 RBI, and 34 runs scored in 37 games. After spending a month with the Rangers organization, on July 16, the

purchased his contract from the Rangers and assigned him to the Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. There, he hit .265 with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 39 games. Weber re-signed with the Rays on a minor league contract after the 2007 season, and batted .265 with a .334 OBP, .447 SLG, 13 home runs for the Bulls in 2008. Weber returned to the Rays' organization in 2009, almost making the Rays' opening day roster until Matt Joyce recovered from an injury. Weber returned to Durham, where he hit .302 with 14 home runs in 117 games, and led the 2009 International League with 46 doubles and finished ninth in batting average. He was named to the International League post-season All-Star team.

2010–present

After the 2009 season, Weber signed with the

organization and was invited to spring training for the 2010 season. Weber signed with the Yankees because they gave him an opportunity to compete for a job in the major leagues, while other teams told him they viewed him exclusively as a minor leaguer. In spring training, Weber led the Yankees with a .483 batting average and was presented with the James P. Dawson Award, given annually to the best rookie in the Yankees' camp. Manager

Joe Girardi Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and St. ...

indicated that Weber could beat out

Marcus Thames Marcus Markley Thames ( ; born March 6, 1977) is an American former baseball left fielder, designated hitter, and current coach. He played for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball ...

and Rule 5 draft pick Jamie Hoffmann for the fifth outfielder position on the Yankees 25 man roster, but ultimately the Yankees chose Thames, as the Yankees preferred a right-handed batter to complement their left-handed hitting outfielders, and assigned Weber to the Triple-A

Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

. He hit .258 with no home runs in 47 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before being released by the Yankees on June 3. He signed with the

, reporting to the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

of the International League. He hit .256 with a .310 OBP and .372 SLG in 21 games for Toledo. He announced his retirement on July 15, 2010. On July 19, 2010, Major League Baseball announced Weber's 100-game suspension for having failed a drug test for the third time. The drug was identified as a "drug of abuse" rather than a

performance-enhancing drug Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

. Despite announcing his retirement earlier in the year, Weber continued his career in leagues unaffiliated with MLB. He played winter league baseball in the winter of 2010–11 in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, then signed with the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Northern ...

of the

in June when they had an injury to outfielder

Jonathan Wyatt Jonathan Craig Wyatt (born 20 December 1972) is a New Zealand runner. He is a six-time world mountain running champion and an eight-time winner of the world mountain running grand prix series. Running career Wyatt competed in the men's 5,000 ...

. Weber was named the team's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. Weber returned to Winnipeg for the 2012 season. After batting .281 in 78 games, the Goldeyes

waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...

Weber, giving him his unconditional release.

International career

Weber joined the

for the

held in

Nettuno Nettuno is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, south of Rome. A resort city and agricultural center on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it has a population of approximately 50,000. Economy It has a ...

, Italy in September 2009, helping the United States win the

. Weber made the Cup's All-Tournament Team. Weber has routinely played winter league baseball. Following the 2006 season, Weber played for the

Naranjeros de Hermosillo The Naranjeros de Hermosillo ( en, Hermosillo Orange Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Hermosillo, Sonora. The Naranjeros are one of the most successful teams in the league with 16 titles and they we ...

of the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

(MPL), appearing in the 2006 Caribbean Series. He played for the

Cañeros de Los Mochis The Cañeros de Los Mochis ( en, Los Mochis Sugar Cane Growers) are a Mexican baseball team in the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico. They play in Los Mochis in the state of Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, ...

of the MPL after the 2007 season. With the

Venados de Mazatlán Venados de Mazatlán ( en, Mazatlán Deer) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. In 2016, the team won the Mexican Pacific League Championship and went on to win their second Caribbean Series ...

of the MPL after the 2008 season, Weber reached the

2009 Caribbean Series The fifty-first edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in . It was held from February 2 through February 7 with the champions teams from Dominican Republic (Tigres del Licey), Mexico (Venados de Mazatlán), Puerto Rico ( ...

. In the 2011–12 offseason, he played for the

Gigantes del Cibao The Gigantes del Cibao (English: Cibao giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Winter League. The team was founded in 1996 as ''Gigantes del Noroeste ''then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being cal ...

of the

Dominican Winter League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

Personal life

Weber is divorced. He has two children. Weber works in construction during his time away from baseball to help make ends meet.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Jon 1978 births Living people People from Lakewood, California Billings Mustangs players Clinton LumberKings players Canton Crocodiles players Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks players Modesto A's players Midland RockHounds players Sacramento River Cats players Jacksonville Suns players Los Angeles Harbor Seahawks baseball players Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball players Tucson Sidewinders players Las Vegas 51s players Bakersfield Blaze players Durham Bulls players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Toledo Mud Hens players Winnipeg Goldeyes players United States national baseball team players Baseball players suspended for drug offenses