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Eric Wedge

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Eric Wedge
Wedge as manager of the Indians in 2008
Catcher / Manager
Born: (1968-01-27) January 27, 1968 (age 56)
Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
October 5, 1991, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
July 29, 1994, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average.233
Home runs5
Runs batted in12
Managerial record774–846
Winning %.478
Teams
As player

As manager

Career highlights and awards

Eric Michael Wedge (born January 27, 1968) is an American former baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher and manager.

As a player, Wedge attended Northrop High School in Fort Wayne and played on the school's state champion baseball team in 1983. He went on to attend Wichita State, and played on the Shockers team that won the 1989 College World Series. From 1989–1997 he played in the minor league systems of the Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, and Philadelphia Phillies, and played in 39 major league games with the Red Sox and Rockies between 1991 and 1994.

Wedge managed in the Cleveland Indians minor league system from 1998–2002 before being named manager of the Indians for the 2003 season. He led the Indians to a postseason berth in 2007, and won the American League Manager of the Year Award that year.[1] He managed the Indians through the 2009 season. He then managed the Seattle Mariners from 2011 to 2013, and then worked as player development advisor for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2016 to 2019.[2] Wedge returned to manage the Wichita State Shockers from 2020 to 2022.

Collegiate playing career

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Wedge played catcher and center field for Wichita State University from 1987–1989, leading the school to a 68–16 record and the College World Series championship in 1989. He hit .380 for the Shockers that year, led the NCAA in walks and total bases and finished second in runs, RBI, and home runs.[citation needed] Wedge's performance earned him first-team All-America honors,[3] the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year award[4] and he was runner-up to Ben McDonald for the Rotary Smith Award for College Baseball Player of the Year.[1]

In 1987, Wedge played for the Lima Blues (now the Lima Locos). He was the MVP of the first Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League (GLSCL) All-Star Game.[5]

In 1988, Wedge played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, where he was named to the all-league team. In 2011, he was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame.[6]

Professional playing career

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The Boston Red Sox selected Wedge in the third round of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft.[7] While in the Red Sox major league system, he played for the Elmira Pioneers (1989), New Britain Red Sox (1989–1991), Winter Haven Red Sox (1991) and Pawtucket Red Sox (1991–1992, 1994–1995). On October 5, 1991, he made his major league debut in his only appearance of the season for Boston with a pinch hit single off Chris George of the Milwaukee Brewers.[8] In 1992, he appeared in 27 games for Boston (20 as a designated hitter, five as a catcher and two as a pinch hitter), hitting .250 with five home runs and 11 RBI.[9]

In November 1992, the Colorado Rockies selected Wedge from the Red Sox in the 1992 Major League Baseball expansion draft.[10] He played for the Central Valley Rockies and Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 1993 and was a September call-up for Colorado that season, appearing in nine games (eight as a pinch hitter and one as a catcher) and hitting .182 with 1 RBI.[9]

The Rockies released Wedge at the end of spring training in 1994 and he was re-signed by the Red Sox on May 2.[9] He split catching duties with Scott Hatteberg for Pawtucket that season and made his final big league appearances with Boston in July, going 0-for-6 in two games as a designated hitter.[9] He returned to Pawtucket for the 1995 season and again split catching duties with Hatteberg.[11]

Wedge played his final two seasons with the Toledo Mud Hens in the Detroit Tigers organization and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 1996 and 1997, respectively.[11]

Managerial career

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Minor leagues

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Wedge made his managerial debut in 1998 with the Columbus RedStixx of the South Atlantic League, leading the Cleveland single-A affiliate to an overall record of 59–81. In 1999, he was the manager of the Kinston Indians, Cleveland's Carolina League affiliate. His team took first place during the first half of the season with a 37–32 record and second place during the second half with a 42–26 record. After the season, he was named the Carolina League Manager of the Year.[11]

The Indians promoted Wedge to manager of the Double-A Akron Aeros in 2000. The Aeros finished the season 75–68, just missing the Eastern League post-season after losing a one-game playoff with Harrisburg.[11][12] In 2001, he continued his ascent through the Indians' managerial ranks, leading their Triple-A affiliate, Buffalo Bisons, to a 91–51 first-place finish in the International League's North Division and a berth in the postseason, where they lost to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in the semi-finals.[11] Wedge again earned post-season honors when he was named the International League Manager of the Year and Baseball America's Triple-A Manager of the Year.[12] He returned at the helm of the Bisons in 2002 and again led them to the post-season, finishing 87–57 and second in the North Division.[13] This time, they defeated Scranton in the semi-finals but were swept by the Durham Bulls in the finals. Wedge was honored with his third post-season award when The Sporting News named him Minor League Manager of the Year.

Cleveland Indians

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On October 29, 2002, Wedge was named the 39th manager of the Cleveland Indians.[12] Over his first three years as manager, the Indians improved steadily from fourth place in the American League Central with a 68–94 record in 2003, to 80–82 and third place in 2004 and to 93–69 and second place in 2005.[14] The 93 wins in 2005 were the eighth-most in the more than hundred-year history of the franchise and the team narrowly missed qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2001 when they were eliminated on the last day of the season. In the American League Manager of the Year balloting for 2005, Wedge finished as runner-up to Ozzie Guillén.[15]

The 2006 season was a disappointing one for Wedge and the Indians. Entering the season, they were expected to compete for the division title, but got off to a poor start and were essentially out of the race by mid-season, trailing the division-leading Detroit Tigers at the All-Star break by 18+1⁄2 games. They finished the season in fourth place with a 78–84 record, 18 games behind the Central Division champion, Minnesota Twins.[16]

Wedge and the Indians had more success in the 2007 season going 96–66 and winning the Central Division title for the first time since 2001.[14] Wedge then led the Indians to beat the Yankees in four games to win the Division Series, and moved on to play the Boston Red Sox in the Championship Series, where they lost in seven games after losing three straight games when leading the series 3–1.[17] Wedge received The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award and the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2007.[18] The following year the Indians would go 81–81, finishing third in the Central. The club, which was just four wins shy from winning 100 games in 2007, fell to the other end of the spectrum in 2009, finishing three losses from the century mark at 65–97 and further down in the Central standings at fourth.[14]

On September 30, 2009, the Indians announced that Wedge would not be retained as manager after the season ended.[19]

Seattle Mariners

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On October 18, 2010, Wedge was named the Mariners manager, and agreed to a three-year contract.[20] In 2011, the team finished 67–95, in last place in the AL West Division, 29 games out of first place.[21] The following year, he led the team to a 75–87 record, another last place finish.[22] Wedge suffered a stroke in July 2013 and missed 28 games.[23] On September 27, 2013, Wedge announced he would not return as the Mariners manager for the 2014 season, declining their contract offer for a one–year contract extension.[24]

Toronto Blue Jays

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On February 6, 2016, Wedge was hired as a player development advisor by the Toronto Blue Jays.[25] He interviewed for the vacant New York Yankees managerial position in November 2017.[26]

Wichita State Shockers

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On May 29, 2019, Wedge was named head baseball coach of the Wichita State Shockers.[27] On December 8, 2022, the school announced he would not return as coach.[28]

Major League managerial record

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As of April 12, 2015
Team Year Regular season Postseason
Games Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
CLE 2003 162 68 94 .420 4th in AL Central – – – –
CLE 2004 162 80 82 .494 3rd in AL Central – – – –
CLE 2005 162 93 69 .574 2nd in AL Central – – – –
CLE 2006 162 78 84 .481 4th in AL Central – – – –
CLE 2007 162 96 66 .593 1st in AL Central 6 5 .545 Lost ALCS (BOS)
CLE 2008 162 81 81 .500 3rd in AL Central – – – –
CLE 2009 162 65 97 .401 4th in AL Central – – – –
CLE total 1134 561 573 .495 6 5 .545
SEA 2011 162 67 95 .414 4th in AL West – – – –
SEA 2012 162 75 87 .463 4th in AL West – – – –
SEA 2013 162 71 91 .438 4th in AL West – – – –
SEA total 486 213 273 .438 0 0 –
Total[14] 1620 774 846 .478 6 5 .545

Collegiate coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Wichita State Shockers (American Athletic Conference) (2020–2022)
2020 Wichita State 13–2 0–0 Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Wichita State 31–23 18–13 3rd The American Tournament
2022 Wichita State 21–36 9–15 T-6th The American Tournament
Wichita State: 65–61 27–28
Total: 65–61

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Broadcasting career

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Wedge joined Baseball Tonight on ESPN as a Studio Analyst for the 2014 and 2015 seasons alongside Ozzie Guillén and Dallas Braden.[29] Wedge's analysis was featured in a segment called "Cutting The Wedge."

Personal life

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2018 marked Wedge's fourteenth year hosting a baseball camp organized by World Baseball Academy and sponsored by Automotive Color & Supply Corp at The ASH Centre in Fort Wayne, IN. Also in January 2007, he was inducted into the Indiana High School Baseball Hall of Fame[30] and in February 2007, he was inducted into the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame.[31] In total, Wedge has been inducted to 16 Hall of Fames.

Wedge and ex-wife Kate have a daughter and a son. Wedge resides in Wichita, Kansas.[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Cleveland Indians: Media Guide 2007" (PDF). MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. pp. pgs. 56–57. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  2. ^ "Blue Jays Hire Eric Wedge as Player Development Advisor". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. February 6, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  3. ^ "Official 2007 NCAA Baseball Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2007. pp. p. 174. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  4. ^ "Eric Wedge (Baseball, 1987–89)". Wichita State Shockers. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  5. ^ "GLSCL Hall of Fame". Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  6. ^ Garner, John; Converse, Geoff (October 22, 2011). "Cape League Hall of Fame to Add Eight Members". Cape Cod Baseball League. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  7. ^ "3rd Round of the 1989 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  8. ^ "Milwaukee Brewers 13, Boston Red Sox 4". Retrosheet. October 5, 1991. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  9. ^ a b c d "Eric Wedge Statistics". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  10. ^ Posnanski, Joe (April 4, 2018). "'93 expansion draft featured All-Stars, HOFers". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Eric Wedge Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c "Indians name Wedge as manager". Cleveland Indians. MLB.com. October 29, 2002. Archived from the original on November 15, 2002. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  13. ^ "2002 International League". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d "Eric Wedge Managerial Record". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  15. ^ Hill, Justice B. (November 9, 2005). "Wedge finishes second in balloting". Cleveland Indians. MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  16. ^ "2006 American League Team Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  17. ^ "2007 Cleveland Indians Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  18. ^ Castrovince, Anthony; Beck, Jason (November 14, 2007). "Wedge named AL's top manager". Cleveland Indians. MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  19. ^ Castrovince, Anthony (September 30, 2009). "Indians dismiss Wedge, coaching staff". Cleveland Indians. MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  20. ^ Stone, Larry (October 18, 2010). "It's official: Eric Wedge is Mariners' manager". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011.
  21. ^ "2011 American League Team Statistics and Standings". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  22. ^ "2012 American League Team Statistics and Standings". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  23. ^ Stone, Larry (September 7, 2013). "Kate Wedge discusses Eric Wedge's recovery from stroke". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  24. ^ "Wedge tells Mariners he won't be back in '14". ESPN. Associated Press. September 27, 2013.
  25. ^ Liddell, Mackenzie (February 6, 2016). "Blue Jays hire Eric Wedge as player development advisor". Sportsnet. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  26. ^ Hoch, Bryan (November 10, 2017). "Yanks interview former M's, Tribe skip Wedge". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  27. ^ Heying, Travis (May 29, 2019). "Former Shocker, MLB manager Eric Wedge hired as next WSU baseball coach". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  28. ^ "Statement from Wichita State Athletics". Twitter. December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  29. ^ "Guillen, Wedge join 'Baseball Tonight' crew". ESPN. Associated Press. March 24, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  30. ^ "Wedge, Miller, Aldridge named to Indiana Hall of Fame". WTHR. November 2, 2006. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  31. ^ "Cleveland Manager Eric Wedge Coming to Kinston for Hot Stove". Kinston Indians. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  32. ^ "Eric Wedge - Baseball Coach". Wichita State Shockers.
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