Quarterback Club Hall of Famer Thad Weber

THAD WEBER

Redshirt year produces big results
for Thad Weber

Thad Weber came to Hutchinson Community College for the 2003-04 school year as a shortstop from Friend, Nebraska. He joined a Blue Dragon roster that was steeped with talented players.

The Blue Dragon coaching staff optOed to redshirt Weber that season. Instead of being offended by the decision, Weber decided to use that time in 2004 to better himself in all facets of the game.

It was time well spent.

Weber went from redshirt, to Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year, to pitching in the weekend rotation at a major university to being drafted and ultimately playing Major League Baseball. Now Weber is a member of the Quarterback Club Hall of Fame induction class of 2018.

“When I was pulled in right before we went home for Christmas in 2004 and was told I was being redshirted, it was a big shock to me,” Weber recalled. “The more coach (John) Wente and I talked about it, taking that redshirt year was going to give me an opportunity to get stronger and not waste a year of eligibility.

Looking back, it was the best thing to happen to me because it helped me get bigger and stronger and get those reps. I rolled into next year and I was ready to play.”

When Weber broke into the Hutch lineup, he had a new head coach in Kyle Crookes, who was an assistant with the Blue Dragons in Weber’s redshirt season.

“Thad made the most of that (redshirt) time,” said Crookes a, 2016 Hall of Fame inductee. “Instead of taking it as a slight, he took it as an opportunity to grow and get better. He had an opportunity for him to come out of the redshirt and he had a real mature mindset and stayed with the redshirt.”

Finally playing in 2005, Weber became a two-way player as a starting pitcher and third baseman. He also hit in the No. 3 slot in the order. Weber hit .376 as a freshman with nine homers and 48 RBIs, and on the mound, posted a 4-4 record with a 4.80 ERA.

Weber will also have the distinction as being on the roster of Hutchinson’s first NJCAA World Series team in program history. After finishing in a four-way tie for first place in the Jayhawk West, the 2005 Blue Dragons had to win three elimination games to win the first Region VI championship since 1975 and advance to Grand Junction, Colorado for the first time.

One year later, Weber led Hutchinson to a second-straight Jayhawk West championship. He was named the 2006 Jayhawk West Most Valuable Player and 2nd-Team NJCAA All-America honors.

Weber hit .453 with 82 total hits in 2006. He had 63 RBIs and a school single-season record 27 doubles – that is still the record at the time of his induction. On the mound, Weber was 10-0 with 2.58 ERA and 67 strikeouts.

After Hutchinson, Weber’s time as a two-way player ended.

Perhaps the best performance he had as a Blue Dragon came in a 2006 Region VI Tournament opening-round series game against Labette – what is known in the Hutch baseball office as the most dominant 1-0 game in Blue Dragon history. Weber needed only 92 pitches to twirl a nine-inning complete game with 12 strikeouts and no walks. He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. Fittingly, Weber drove in the only run of the game in the sixth inning.

“It was the most comfortable I’ve ever felt in a 1-0 game,” Crookes said.

He transferred to the University of Nebraska where the Cornhusker staff made him strictly a pitcher. Weber eventually worked his way into the weekend rotation at Nebraska. During his senior season in 2008, Weber went 9-5 with a 6.15 ERA and earned second-team All-Big 12 honors.

In 2007, Weber was a 35th-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds. He didn’t sign and returned to Nebraska. After his 2008 season, Weber became a 16th-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2008. He also played in the San Diego, Toronto and Colorado organizations.

Now Weber transitions to a new facet in his career. After induction night, Weber will begin a career as a scout in the Chicago Cubs organization.

Weber threw a no-hitter in the minors for the Erie Seawolves, and was called up to the Tigers on April 21, 2012. One day later, Weber made his major league debut.

All of that happened because Thad Weber used a redshirt season to his advantage.

“It allowed me to grow in a variety of ways,” Weber said. “It allowed me to materialize into being the best I could be.”