SPRINGDALE — Vance Wilson has called Springdale home for the past 20 years.
But for just the third time in two decades, Wilson, the former New York Mets and Detroit Tigers catcher, really is at home in Springdale. Except for a major portion of 2009 when he was a catcher for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, and then in 2010 after he retired, the Arizona native has spent the majority of time in different cities during his playing days, and now professional baseball managerial career.
Wilson’s wife, Bridget, and daughter, Peyton, often accompanied him along the way. But Springdale has always been home, and now the Wilsons won’t be packing up any more.
“I don’t think we could be any more lucky,” Bridget said. “Peyton is over the moon. We earned a lot of frequent fl yer miles over the past few years.”
Wilson joined the Kansas City Royals’ coaching family in 2011 as the manager for the organization’s Class A affiliate, and he has been on the fast track ever since. After the Royals promoted Brian Poldberg to manage Triple-A Omaha, Wilson was tabbed as just the Naturals’ second manager since the franchise moved to Springdale from Wichita, Kan.
Wilson will make his Double-A managerial debut in April when the Naturals open the season on April 3 at Frisco, Texas. The home opener is set for April 10, also against Frisco.
“Vance lives in Springdale, is a well known supporter of our local community and brings tremendous enthusiasm, knowledge, and experience from his own big league career into our dugout,” said Naturals general manager Justin Cole. “It’s going to make for a very exciting 2014 season.”
FINDING ARKANSAS
Wilson grew up in Arizona and was a three-sport star in basketball, baseball and football at Red Mountain High School in Mesa.
“It was a new school and I was part of the fi rst graduating class,” Wilson said. “I got to play varsity sports as a sophomore, and if I had gone to any other school I wouldn’t have had that opportunity.”
He injured a knee his senior season in football and decided to skip basketball to concentrate on being a catcher in the spring. That led to a chance to play college baseball at Mesa Community College.
“I wanted to make sure my knee was ready for baseball,” he said. “Football was my fi rst love, but there are a lot of high school football players and that is usually where that journey ends.”
But Wilson was told he would redshirt his first year of college baseball, and that didn’t sit well. He thought about giving up baseball, but his mother, Sue, quickly put an end to that.
“Coach sat me down and said I had some funky mechanics and that he wanted to redshirt me,” Wilson said. “I was going to quit. I said, ‘I’m not going to sit out a year.’ But my Mom said I was going to have to get a job. So I said, ‘Maybe I will redshirt.’”
A solid junior college career resulted in several college offers, including one from Arkansas. Wilson’s first visit to Northwest Arkansas was Oct. 1, 1993.
“When I came on the recruiting trip, I knew I was going to come here,” he said.
But the recruiting trip went even better than expected as Wilson met Bridget while in Fayetteville.
“The guys that took me around on the visit, they lived near Bridget in the apartments,” Wilson said. “She actually didn’t give me the time of day, but I did get a phone number.”
It was a number that Wilson dialed often. The two started a long distance relationship, and they would see each other on occasion.
“We hit it off, and we kept in contact,” Vance said. “I knew I was coming here. I came back a month later to see her, and see the college again. We started dating, and she came out for spring break.”
PROFILE
VANCE WILSON
POSITION: Northwest Arkansas Naturals Manager
AGE: 40
FAMILY: Wife, Bridget;
Daughter, Peyton
NOTABLE: Has lived in Springdale the past two decades. … Spent six seasons as a catcher for the New York Mets (1999-2004) and then two seasons with the Detroit Tigers (2006-06). … Played in over 400 Major League games and finished with a .250 batting average. … Played catcher for the Naturals in 2009 while trying to come back from elbow surgery. …. Was manager at Kane County in 2011 and was the manager at Class A-Advanced Wilmington the past two seasons. … Wife, Bridget, is from Springdale.
But shortly after that 1994 spring break visit, Wilson had a decision to make. The Mets had drafted Wilson in the 44th round of the Major League draft in 1993 and they still had the rights to him.
“I had a decision right before the (1994) draft,” he said. “I could go play college, go back in the draft or sign with the Mets. I decided to sign with the Mets.”
Shortly after, Wilson asked Bridget’s father, Tom, for permission to marry his daughter and the two were married in January 1995.
“We hit it off ,” Bridget said. “We talked a lot on the phone, and visited four times. The fifth time I saw him, he asked me to marry him.”
“When you know, you know,” Vance said.
ROAD TO THE BIGS
The two then set out on a career that would see Vance break his arm three times in two of his five Minor League seasons, that included stops in fi ve diff erent cities.
“You want guys to play hard, but I played too hard,” he said. “Strange injuries, but I was able to do well when I did play.”
All the hard work paid off in April 1999 when Wilson made his Major League debut with the Mets. He was then the Mets’ regular backup catcher from 2001-04 where he backed up Mike Piazza.
He was later traded to the Tigers and was the backup to Ivan “Pudge” Rodriquez in 2005 and 2006.
But in Detroit, the injury bug set in and Wilson was forced to have Tommy John elbow surgery and he was not resigned by the Tigers. Wilson ended his Major League career with a .250 batting average after playing in 403 games with 1,054 at-bats.
He wanted to try and mount a comeback and he decided to call the Royals, who by that time had moved their Double-A team from Wichita to Springdale. He called Tony Tijerina, a former roommate who is a coach in the Royals organization. That led to talks with Scott Sharp, the director of the Royals’ Minor League player development.
“Tony was a roommate of ours in A ball,” Wilson said. “I wasn’t looking for a job, I was wondering if a team would be crazy enough to sign me on a rehab. I asked for the bare minimum salary. And it just happened that they were looking for a veteran catcher because they had a staff of prospects.
“Scott also asked what my plans were if this did not workout, and right then I knew this could be a special opportunity if the rehab did not work. Obviously, the geography of the situation was special to.”
Wilson spent the 2009 season with the Naturals, but decided at the end of the season that his playing career was over. But his days in the Royals’ organization were only beginning.
In the fall of 2010, he was named the manager at Kane County, Ill., in what Royals owner David Glass called one of the best acquisitions the club made that year. The next year he was promoted to manage the High-A club in Wilmington, Del. Wilson spent two seasons in Wilmington before being named the Naturals’ manager last month.
Wilson said his time behind the plate prepared him for the rigors of being a manager.
“I think I am a better coach and manager than I was a player,” he said. “I am good at multitasking, and I did that during a game. That is what a lot of managing is.”