Baseball in Fort Wayne

The Journal Gazette’s Ben Smith recently posted a great article about Eric Wedge and his baseball camp. In addition to telling the when and where, he frames the article around Wedges experiences of a rough 2008 season that turned around just a little too late:

Eric Wedge likes to draw on his own experience when he comes back to Fort Wayne in the dead of winter to teach baseball. And so this year, the lesson will be, among other things, perseverance.

Perseverance, after all, took Wedge’s Cleveland Indians from last place at the All-Star break in 2008 to within 7 1/2 games of first by the time the leaves fell and the ballparks went quiet.

 

“You talk about perseverance and not giving in. … We ended up having the best record in the second half. That’s what it’s all about,” Wedge said from his home in Cleveland last week.

“I think that’s a great example. You go out there and you play for the right reasons. Even if you don’t have a chance to win a championship, that doesn’t mean you don’t go out there and play as if you did. I think there’s a serious lesson involved in that.”

Expect it to be imparted on Jan. 24 at the Eric Wedge Baseball Camps, which will again be conducted at the ASH Centre with Wedge, former major leaguer and New Haven High School standout Dave Doster and a host of other area college and international coaches and players presiding.

Eric Wedge Baseball Camps
When: Jan. 24
Where: ASH Centre, 1701 Freeman St.
Cost: $65 a participant for morning session; $90 a participant for afternoon session
Information: 436-1507, www.ericwedgebaseballcamp.com

Fort Wayne Sports Corp. Banquet
When: 6 p.m. Jan. 29
Where: Ceruti’s Summit Park Reception Hall
Cost: $75 a person for FWSC members; $85 non-members
Information: 420-1305, http://www.ericwedgebaseballcamp.com/