Jon Weber

Jonathan Brian Weber

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.
• School Los Angeles Harbor College; Texas Tech University
• High School Lakewood High School

• Born January 20, 1978 in Lakewood, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Undrafted out of college, outfielder Jon Weber would play 12 seasons in the minors, six of them in AAA, but never made the majors.

He led the Big 12 Conference with eight triples one year. He was signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1999 and made his pro debut that summer with the Billings Mustangs, hitting .238/.365/.500 with 5 home runs and 17 RBIs in 22 games. The next year, he hit .221/.333/.333 with six homers and 34 RBIs in 108 games for the Clinton Lumber Kings but was released after the season.

Weber would spend the next two and a half years in the independent leagues. He batted .307/.382/.559 with 18 homers and 69 RBI in 84 games for the 2001 Canton Crocodiles. He led the Frontier League in home runs and triples (7) and made the league's All-Star outfield team. In '02, he hit .296/.351/.501 with 30 doubles for the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks to place fourth in the Northern League in doubles. Back with Fargo-Moorhead to open 2003, he batted .309/.408/.520 after 52 games.

His contract was purchased by the Oakland Athletics in 2003, and he hit .361/.394/.626 with 7 homers and 48 RBIs in 35 games with the Modesto A's for the remainder of that year. In 2004, he hit .280/.356/.458 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI in 111 games with the AA Midland RockHounds and .341/.383/.568 with 2 homers and 12 RBI in 12 games with the AAA Sacramento River Cats.

After the 2004 season, Weber became a free agent and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. In 2005, he hit. 300/.369/.456 with 11 homers and 68 RBIs in 117 games with the Jacksonville Suns. He was 9th in the Texas League in average and led the league's outfielders in assists (19) and double plays (7).

After starting the next year with the Las Vegas Stars, where he hit .258/.338/.352 with 2 home runs and 31 RBI in 82 games, he was released. he was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. With the Tucson Sidewinders, he hit .321/.374/.518 with 5 homers and 27 RBI in 46 games. Following the season, he played in the Caribbean Series as the left fielder for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo.

Weber was released by the Diamondbacks during Spring Training 2007 and signed with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the independent Northern League for another go-around. After 16 games there (.283/.371/.417), his contract was sold to the Texas Rangers. The Rangers assigned him to the Class A Bakersfield Blaze, where he hit .356/.416/.550 with 5 home runs, 14 doubles, 25 RBI, and 34 runs scored in 37 games. On July 16th, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays purchased his contract from the Rangers and sent him to the AAA Durham Bulls, with whom he hit .265/.360/.397 with 3 homers and 21 RBIs in 39 games.

Weber batted .265/.334/.447 with 13 homers for the 2008 Bulls. He hit in every lineup spot except cleanup that year. He was 3 for 17 with three walks for the Venados de Mazatlán in the 2009 Caribbean Series. That summer, he hit .302/.382/.497 with 46 doubles for Durham. He led the 2009 International League in doubles and was 9th in average, between Mike Cervenak and Justin Turner. The veteran flyhawk joined Jordan Brown and Shelley Duncan on the IL All-Star team's outfield.

Weber joined Team USA for the 2009 Baseball World Cup. He hit .413/.471/.739 as one of the top stars of the Cup to help the USA take Gold. His solo homer off Didi Gregorius in the 5th broke open a tie against the Netherlands Antilles national team. In the Gold Medal game, he played left field and hit cleanup for a US team that featured top prospects Pedro Alvarez, Jason Castro and Justin Smoak among other long-ball threats. He went 1 for 5 with a run and a RBI as the US beat the Cuban national team 10-5 to take the Gold Medal. He caught the game's last out, a fly from slugger Alfredo Despaigne. Weber made the Cup's All-Star team, joining Despaigne and Miguel Abreu as the outfielders selected.

Weber signed with the New York Yankees for 2010. He batted .258/.333/.325 in 47 games for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, then was let go. Signing with the Detroit Tigers, he hit .256/.310/.372 in 21 games for the Toledo Mud Hens, then retired. Shortly thereafter, in July 2010, he had the third positive drug/steroid test of his baseball career, resulting in a 100-game suspension should he return to the diamond.