By Zeydi Guerra
Hempstead High School
On the cusp of realizing his baseball dreams, Ray Weber made the dramatic switch from the baseball field to pitching for a New York State senator.
Weber is serving as Sen. Anthony Palumbo’s director of community affairs, but what many don’t know is his past in baseball.
He described his experience working on a competitive team and getting his start into baseball in his youth. This expanded his horizons and he went on to play professionally. He played at the University of Albany as a right-hand pitcher, showcasing his skills to the world — but he still had a craving for more.
After playing for the university, Weber moved on to playing for a summer team named Trenton Thunder, part of the MLB summer draft leagues. This area of the league specializes in showing off players who are ready to be drafted into the ranks of bigger household-name teams. Weber said he was fortunate enough to be included — he was even able to play with some very popular players.
At a news conference with the Greene Team, he recalled those days — and friends — fondly.
“I get to watch TV and see a lot of my former teammates on TV playing baseball,” Weber said. “So, I’d say seeing them succeed now, it’s a pretty cool feeling, being able to text someone on TV.”
Although his career was on the up, Weber had some conflict with his path.
“It’s tough to make the major leagues,” he said. And through this realization, he would find another passion and make the switch of a lifetime.
Greene Team Photo
Weber traded his uniform and baseball cleats for a business suit and dress shoes, leaving baseball to get involved in politics.
“I got an internship with Cong. (Andrew) Garbarino through a friend of mine, actually through baseball, who had worked for the congressman in D.C.,” he said. “Just working in D.C. for a few months, I realized I loved it. I wanted to stay down in D.C. with the congressman.”
It was love at first sight when it came to working in politics. Weber said.
“I stayed there for a few more months, and really [it was] just the most impactful thing for me and the reason why I decided to stay with politics,” he said. “It’s one of those jobs that you can really see a difference in your work.”
His career in politics is just starting, but he plans to stay for a while. He said he plans to leave some sort of mark because of how much he enjoys what he does.
“What kept me going was seeing that you could actually make a difference for people in politics,” Weber said, adding, “and that was why I stayed.”