Eric Wedge

Date of Birth: 1/27/1968
Birthplace: Fort Wayne, Indiana
College: Wichita State University

Eric Wedge, who started his career with great promise as a catcher, had a more successful career as a manager than he ever had as a player. Wedge was an outstanding, award-winning baseball player in college but he never fulfilled that promise as a major leaguer, playing most of his post-college career in the minors.

Wedge was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1989 but he only played in a total of 30 games for them, one game in October, 1991, 27 games in 1992, and 2 games in 1994. From 1989-1997, Wedge played primarily in the minor leagues for the Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, and Philadelphia Phillies. In 1993, he played in 9 games for the Rockies, 8 of them as a pinch hitter.

Wedge became a minor league manager in 1998, almost immediately after retiring as a player. He managed in the minors for the Cleveland Indians through the 2002 season. He was then promoted to manager of the Indians, a position he held for seven years. In those seven years, he led the team to the AL Central division title and the AL Division series title once in 2007. That year, the team had a 96-66 record with a .593 win percentage and Wedge was named AL Manager of the Year.

Although Wedge didn't lead the Indians to more than one playoff season, the team had three winning seasons under his leadership, finishing in second place in the AL Central division in 2005, with a 93-69 record and a .574 win percentage. In addition to the playoff season of 2007 and the winning season of 2005, the Indians finished in third place in 2008, with an 81-81 record.

In 2011, the Seattle Mariners hired Wedge as their manager. His record in his first two years with the Mariners was not good, with the team finishing in fourth place in the AL West division both years. Their win percentage was only .414 in 2011 but slightly better in 2012 with a .463, 75-87 record.

Wedge decided on September 27, 2013, that he would not continue in 2014 as the Mariners' manager.

From 2014-2015, Wedge worked as a studio analyst on Baseball Tonight on ESPN. In 2016, he was hired for a position as an advisor for player development with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Wedge has been the baseball coach for Wichita State University since May, 2019.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Bud Black
Baseball Reference - Bud Black