Eric Wedge

An icon from the 1989 Wichita State College World Series championship team, Eric Wedge was the Missouri Valley Conference’s player of the year and was runner-up to Ben McDonald for college baseball player of the year.

A catcher. Wedge was selected in the third round of the 1989 draft by the Boston Red Sox.  He made his major league debut two years later with a pinch-hit single.

Wedge was drafted by Colorado in the 1992 Major League Baseball expansion draft.  He played for the Rockies in their debut season of 1993 and returned to Boston for the 1994 season.  He retired as a player following the 1997 season and began his career as a manager in the Cleveland organization.

Following stops in Columbus, Kinston and Akron, Wedge was named manager of the Cleveland Indians in 2002.  In 2007, Cleveland narrowly missed the World Series and Wedge was named American League Manager of the Year.  In seven seasons, Cleveland was 561-573 under Wedge.

From 2010-13, Wedge managed the Seattle Mariners.  The rebuilding Mariners went 213-273 in Wedge’s three seasons.

In 2020, Wedge returned to Wichita to coach Wichita State.  The Shockers went 65-61 in three seasons under Wedge, who resigned in 2023.