Multi-Task Manager

Indians manager Wedge remains connected to region with Strike One

By Ben Larsen

BOSTON – Johnny Pesky came up to the dugout before last night’s game to tell him how proud he was of him. Pesky said “Butch Hobson was right about you from the start.”

It may not have been as a result of a major league Hall-of-Fame career, but Cleveland Indians’ manager Eric Wedge, in town for his club’s three-game stint at Fenway, has made a lot of people proud.

At age 37, Wedge, co-owner of Strike One in Danvers, has turned into one of the best managers in the game and has proved he can manage on and off the field.

“He was one of the main reasons why I came here,” Said Aaron Boone, who was back in Boston for the first time since breaking Red Sox fans’ hearts with his game-winning home run in game seven of the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Yankees. “I’ve had some pretty good experiences with managers, and he’s at the top of the list.  Since coming here, he has certainly confirmed the type of person I thought he was.  He’s just a good guy, a great guy to play for."

“He has been doing a great job all year,” said longtime reliever Arthur Rhodes, who is in his first year with the Indians after playing in Baltimore, Seattle and Oakland. “He knows what he’s doing and just asks everyone to go out and play the game as hard as they can.  He’s a great manager, up there with the best of them.”

After a tough first season as the Indians’ manager, Wedge led Cleveland to an 80-82 record last year. The club had a legitimate chance of making the postseason before a September slump.  Those 80 wins were also compiled with one of the smallest payrolls in the game.

This season, with a similar payroll, the Indians have jumped out to a 40-34 record following last nights 7-0 win over the Red Sox.  They look to be on their way to a run at the American League wild card and possibly the AL Central title, although the Chicago White Sox will be very hard to catch.

“We’re very confident about what has been going on around here,” said Wedge, who played three of his four major league seasons in a Red Sox uniform.  “We’ve worked very hard to get where we are at this point in the season and hopefully, we can keep it going.”

It seems as though Wedge has everything all set in the Indians’ clubhouse, but what about his other business interest

“Fortunately, I have some great people up there taking care of pretty much everything,” said Wedge. “They’re great business partners and they keep me in the loop on everything.  Obviously, I usually make all of the bigger decisions but as far as the day-to-day operations, I don’t have to worry or do too much with all the great people running it.  That was the design from day one and fortunately, it has worked out great.”

Wedge finds time to visit his indoor baseball and softball facility at least once or twice each time the Indians are scheduled to be in Boston.  He would like to be able to spend more time in Danvers, but being stuck in Boston isn’t that bad for Wedge.

“It’s great being back here,” he said  “It’s where I had my first big-league experience, and I still have a lot of friends up here.  And obviously, there is so much history here at Fenway.  It’s also nice to come back.”

Of course, with the resume he has and the support of a local legend like Johnny Pesky, what’s not to like about returning to Fenway?

“Johnny was great even when I was here,” Wedge said.  “He has a way with the game and just loves being involved with all the players.”