The RoundHouse | 6/4/2019 4:55:00 PM

 Listen to podcast with Mike Kennedy discussing Eric Wedge's hire

 
Eric Wedge sat in a red booth at a Pizza Hut and told Loren Hibbs what would happen if Wedge decided to play baseball at Wichita State. 
 
That moment, on his recruiting visit, foreshadows Wedge's influence on the program.
 
"He basically stops the conversation and said he would be the starting catcher if he came to Wichita State," said Hibbs, then an assistant coach.
 
Hibbs' reaction reveals the kind of competitive atmosphere that lived within Wichita State baseball. Wedge is now charged with recreating that atmosphere as the newly hired coach. In 1989, coach Gene Stephenson and assistants Brent Kemnitz and Hibbs wanted that level of confidence and spirit on their team and the Shockers thrived with that attitude.
 
"I took it as a positive," Hibbs said. "He was just being confident. He's still got that mindset. You can hear the passion in his voice."
 
Wedge, introduced to fans and media on Tuesday, played catcher on the 1989 College World Series champions at Wichita State. His teammates and coaches are excited about his return and confident that the presence they remember will translate to college coaching.
 
"You listen to the man speak and there's a passion for the game and there's a passion that the game be played right way," said P.J. Forbes, who played second base for the Shockers before playing professionally and managing from 2004-14 in the minor leagues. "I watched him manage in the minor leagues. I actually played against his teams in Triple-A. You saw the way his guys went about their business and how they played the game. They ran balls out. They respected the game. He's an attention to detail guy, and you saw that in the way his teams played."
 
Wedge, 51, did start as a freshman and for the next two seasons. He played on College World Series teams in 1988 and 1989 and earned All-American honors and a spot as a finalist for two college Player of the Year honors as a junior. In 1989, the Boston Red Sox grabbed him in the third round of the draft. He played four seasons in the major leagues and managed for 10, highlighted by 2007 American League Manager of the Year honors for Cleveland.
 
Those credentials are a big part of the Wedge story, but they don't tell all, his teammates say. Jim Newlin, the closer on the 1989 Shockers, coaches current Shocker pitcher Ryan Stuempfig in the Florida Collegiate League. 
 
"I've been telling Ryan that 'You are going to love Wedgie," Newlin said. "He's definitely a players coach. It's kind of an air about him. The way he carries himself. He's a guy you want to listen to and you want to play for and play with."

Tyler Green, a first-round draft pick in 1991, came to Wichita State in 1989 and immediately recognized Wedge's prominent role. He knew how to work with pitchers and he knew how to command the locker room. When Green struggled through a game with a pulled lat muscle, Wedge's word helped him work through the discomfort and pitch effectively. 
 
"Wedgie's one of those guys where you respected him for his work ethic and his leadership," Green said. "He had an in-your-face style sometimes. But it wasn't in a way that made you feel intimidated. It was 'Let's get this done, do what we've got to do.'"
 
Newlin remembers Wedge's motivation before the 1989 College World Series. Despite an outstanding season, Newlin didn't make the All-American teams announced before games in Omaha. Wedge told him to prove that he belonged on those teams over the next two weeks.
 
"I really couldn't believe there was actually another reliever better than me in the country," Newlin said. "Eric helped me get through that, saying 'You know what Jim, it doesn't matter. You're going to show them.' Those few days, he wanted me to stay focused and take it as a challenge. It worked." 
 
Pitcher Pat Cedeno was a senior on that 1989 team. He remembers Wedge's presence even as a freshman and, thinking back on those day now, it reminds him of Stephenson in some ways. 
 
"What I always appreciated about him is that he was straight-forward," Cedeno said. "We were both very competitive. Sometimes, we might butt heads a little bit, but he knows what he wants. He knows the direction he wants to go. He knows how to get there. He's got a blueprint. I have no doubt that he's got a blueprint – everything from the type of coaches that he wants to the type of players he's looking for."
 
Outfielder Todd Dreifort came to Wichita State as a freshman for the 1989 season. He entered a clubhouse full of "men amongst boys" in his description. Wedge, Forbes, Mike McDonald, Mike Lansing and others possessed a maturity and a confidence earned through previous seasons, many victories and a few painful defeats. They played a hard-nosed style, different even from the 1991 and 1992 teams that Dreifort played on and advanced to the College World Series. 
 
He considered Wedge one of the coaches.
 
"It was like 'Eric, what are we doing?'" Dreifort said. "When you look at him, it screams 'Coach, Respect, No quit. No giving up.' That's what comes across to me. It's the perfect hire at the perfect time."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.