Who is Eric Wedge?

When I found out the the Mariners new manager in the 2011 season would be Eric Wedge, I was excited about the hiring.  I was excited because Eric Wedge is a well known coach around the Major Leagues and I have full confidence that he can turn the Mariners franchise around.

Eric Wedge was born on January 27th 1968 in Fort Wayne Indiana. As a teenager he attended Northrop High School in his home town. He played on his high school baseball team that won the state championship in 1983. Wedge was only a teenager but he was becoming a winner at an early age.

After high school, Wedge went to Wichita State and again played on his schools baseball team from 1987 to 1989.  He played catcher and batted .380 in 1989 and led his team to a College World Series Title the same year.  During his time at Wichita State he won first team All American honors and a Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year award.

In the 1989 MLB Amateur draft Eric Wedge was drafted by the Boston Red Sox. As he worked his way up to the Red Sox major league team he played for four different minor league ball clubs. Those minor league teams were: Elmira Pioneers, New Briton Red Sox, Winter Heaven Red Sox and Pawtucket Red Sox.

Eric Wedge made his major league debut on October 5th 1991. In that game Wedge made a  pinch hitting appearance. During that at bat Wedge got a base hit off of Milwaukee pitcher Chris George. This would Wedge's only hit of the 1991 season.

Over his Short four year career as a major league player he played on two teams. Those four teams were the Boston Sox and Colorado Rockies. In Wedge's four year career in the major leagues he hit .233 with five home runs and 12 RBI's. After Wedge's final major league appearance on July 29th 1994 he played minor league baseball on the Detroit Tigers farm team in 1996 and the Philadelphia Philies farm team in 1997 before finally retiring as a baseball player in 1997.

In 2003, Eric Wedge was announced  the new manager of the Cleveland Indians. In Wedge's seven years as the Indians skipper, Wedge took the Indians to the ALCS one time in 2007. In fact, the Indians were one game away from the World Series before they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Boston Red Sox. Despite, the Indians chocking in the 2007 ALCS Eric Wedge was given the Manager of the year award in recognition of an 18 game turn around from 2006 to 2007. In Eric Wedge's time in Cleveland he had a 561-573 record. (.495) In the Playoffs he was 6-5. (.545)

Even though Wedge has not had amazing success getting the Indians to the playoffs, he has shown that he can get his team really close to the World Series. To be honest, it wouldn't of mattered who the Mariners hired as manager. There likely to finish fourth in the competitive AL West this year. The hiring of Eric Wedge was the best choice because he has proven that he can turn a franchise around. In 2003 the Cleveland Indians won 68 games. However, in 2005, the Indians had a great year going 93-69 and narrowly missing the playoffs by two games. Personally, I could live with a few bad seasons if Eric Wedge were to take us to Game 7 of the ALCS in four-five years.

By the way, today wasn't the first day I heard of the Eric Wedge hiring but it was the first day where I felt like I had time.