Former AL Manager of the Year Named Drillers New Manager

For the first time in seven seasons, the Tulsa Drillers will have a new leader in the clubhouse. The Drillers and the Los Angeles Dodgers announced today, that 10-year major league veteran manager and 2007 American League Manager of the Year, Eric Wedge, will be the team’s 24th full-time manager, taking over for Scott Hennessey who was named skipper of the Oklahoma City Comets earlier this offseason.

Wedge becomes one of the most accomplished managers in Tulsa baseball history. He has spent ten seasons leading major league clubs, including seven seasons with the Cleveland Indians from 2003-2009 and three with the Seattle Mariners from 2011-2013. During that time, he won 774 games in the majors.

“I am thrilled that the Los Angeles Dodgers organization has trusted me with the opportunity to manage the Tulsa Drillers for the 2025 baseball season,” said Wedge. “The Tulsa fan base and ONEOK Field have great reputations as being among the best in professional baseball, and I look forward to helping lead our team and ballplayers to an exciting and successful season this year.”

Wedge’s managerial career began in 1998 in the minors when he was named manager of Cleveland’s Single-A affiliate. He spent a total of five seasons managing in the minors, amassing three Manager of the Year awards before being named manager of Cleveland ahead of the 2003 MLB season.

Wedge accumulated a 561-573 (.495) record in seven seasons with Cleveland, including a 96-66 regular season mark in 2007 while guiding the club to the American League Central Division title. Wedge was named AL Manager of the Year that season.

After his stint in Cleveland, Wedge was named manager of the Mariners in October 2010, and won 213 games during three seasons in Seattle.

“We are excited to have someone with Eric’s experience as our new manager,” said Drillers President Mike Melega. “We were fortunate to have Henny as our manager for most of seven seasons, and now we welcome Eric who comes to Tulsa equipped with ten years of MLB managerial experience. It shows the commitment that the Dodgers have to player development, and the Drillers organization is a beneficiary of that commitment.”

As a player, Wedge was an All-American catcher at Wichita State where he helped the Shockers reach two College World Series, winning the national championship in 1989.

Professionally, Wedge was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the third round of the 1989 draft and made his major league debut in 1991. He eventually played in parts of four seasons in the majors with the Red Sox and Colorado Rockies before retiring after the 1997 season.

From 2014-2015, Wedge worked for ESPN as a baseball analyst.

Most recently, he returned to his alma mater as head coach and led the Shockers to a 65-61 (.515) record from 2020-2022.

Throughout his amateur and professional career as a player and a manager, he has been inducted into 14 different halls of fame.

Before reporting to spring training in Glendale, Arizona, Wedge will be in Tulsa the first week of February to visit with the media.

His Drillers team will open the 2025 regular season on Thursday, April 4 by hosting Northwest Arkansas at ONEOK Field. Single-game tickets for all 69 home games are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking HERE. A wide variety of season memberships are also still available. Fans can contact the Drillers Ticket Office by calling (918)744-5901.