Jered Weaver Cited Over Drinking

The Angels on Saturday began investigating a Feb. 9 incident involving top pitching prospect Jered Weaver, who was cited for public intoxication in Long Beach and spent 12 hours in the city’s jail.

Weaver, a former Long Beach State standout who ended a yearlong holdout by signing with the Angels for $4 million last May, was not arrested. As a first-time offender, Weaver essentially received “a slap on the wrist and a lot of humiliation,” Officer Steve Kerr of the Long Beach Police Department said.

According to the police report, Weaver, 23, had emerged from a Long Beach establishment with several friends when he was cited and taken into custody.

“He just had too much to drink,” Kerr said. “He was unable to care for himself or to be in the presence of others.”

Weaver, the younger brother of new Angel pitcher Jeff Weaver, said he believed he was unfairly singled out.

“We were coming out of some place after a farewell party for everyone who was taking off for spring training,” said Weaver, a first-round pick in 2004 who is in major league camp with the Angels.

“There wasn’t anything that happened. I got picked on at the wrong time. It was a fluke thing. It’s not going to happen again.”

General Manager Bill Stoneman was unaware of the incident until Saturday and said he would look into it before determining if any action would be taken.

“This is not the sort of behavior you want from any of your employees,” Stoneman said. “I don’t know anything about it. I’m unaware of the details. ... I’m not going to defend anyone who gets involved in stuff like that, but he’s certainly not the first guy to be involved in something like that. Hopefully, he’ll mature and learn from it.”

The incident came only weeks after the Angels sent Weaver to Washington, D.C., for the three-day Rookie Career Development Program, which is designed to teach top prospects how to conduct themselves as major leaguers, how to handle media and community responsibilities, how to manage their finances, and how to make good decisions on and off the field.