By David Driver
Former catcher Chris Widger had just finished his last year in the Major Leagues, with the Baltimore Orioles in 2006, when his oldest daughter had her birthday party in October of that year.
She told one of her friends that one of her wishes was that her dad would not have to leave home anymore. Widger, a former George Mason baseball standout, helped make that wish come true. Having played professional baseball since 1992, Widger was out of professional baseball for six years as he played Mr. Mom.
With his wife teaching special education at a high school, Widger took his children to and from school and did odd jobs around the house. In 2012, a few months after he and his wife had their third child and second girl, he returned to professional baseball with the independent Camden (NJ) Riversharks of the Atlantic League.
“It was time for me to go back to work,” said Widger, a third-round draft pick out of Mason by the Seattle Mariners in 1992. “The Camden job opened up and I knew the general manager.”
Widger, 44, a New Jersey native, was the pitching coach before he became the manager for the 2015 season. Working just a few miles from his boyhood home, Widger would have been content to be the Camden manager for years but after last season he was stunned to learn in a newspaper story that the team was headed to New Britain, Connecticut for the 2016 season.
With no interest in moving with the team due to his family, Widger relied on his George Mason connections in a return to affiliated pro ball. He contacted former Mason player J.J. Picollo, vice president/assistant general manager/player personnel, with the Kansas City Royals.
Widger landed a position as a coach with the Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks, a minor league team of the Royals in the high Single-A Carolina League. Other former Mason players now in the Kansas City front office include general manager Dayton Moore; scouting director Lonnie Goldberg; and scout Kenny Munoz. Widger was roommates with Goldberg at Mason, Munoz played shortstop and Moore was a graduate assistant when Widger played for the Patriots.
“I wanted to stay in the game and keep my foot in the door,” Widger said. “J.J. worked it out. I was in spring training for a few weeks (in Surprise, Arizona) and I am not on the road all of the time” with Wilmington.
“Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our staff,” Goldberg wrote in an e-mail. “His ability to relate with players, especially the catchers, will be invaluable. Widge was an extremely talented player who played with a calmness and ease to the game. I believe he will do the same as a coach.”
Widger spent time in spring training with two of the promising catchers in the Kansas City system: Chase Vallot, who began this year with low Single-A Lexington in the South Atlantic League; and Cam Gallagher, who is from Lancaster, Pa., and started the season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas of the Texas League.
Widger is at nearly every home game for the Blue Rocks and may make some road trips this summer once his children are out of school.
“I do a little bit of everything. I am considered a bench coach,” Widger said. “I help (manager) Jamie Quirk with anything he needs. I talk with Abraham Nunez, the hitting coach, and I work with the catchers. I get to keep my hand on a little bit of everything. We all work really well together.”
Widger made his big league debut with Seattle in 1995 and hit at least 12 homers for the Montreal Expos from 1998-2000. He also played with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees and was the backup catcher when the Chicago White Sox won the World Series in 2005.
The only Mason product to be a player on a World Series winner, Widger hit .238 with 55 homers in 613 big league games. He said playing for the Patriots under veteran coach Bill Brown helped him prepare for a pro career.
“From my first day I was lucky to start as a freshman,” Widger said. “I was allowed to make my own mistakes. I was allowed to call my own game (as a catcher). I think I was more prepared for pro ball. We just had a good group of guys. We all got to play together for a long time.”
A decade after his last big league game, Widger has lofty goals. “I would like to be a big league manager one day,” Widger said.
But for now the time is not right for that. His son is a high school junior and plays baseball and soccer. His oldest daughter is also in high school and is a competitive dancer.
Perhaps one day his dream will come true, and Tom Willms would not be surprised.
Willms was the radio play-by-play voice for Camden in 2015 and interviewed Widger on a regular basis. “He was fantastic. The players loved him,” said Willims, who is now with a pro team in Traverse City, Michigan. “He will make a great manager. It is funny how catchers make the best managers. They watch the whole game.”
Editor's note: David Driver is a free-lance writer who covers the Washington Nationals for a national wire service and has covered the Atlantic 10 Conference for several years. He can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com
