Post by The Admin on May 13, 2020 13:40:33 GMT -6
Kris Webb - and his celebrated beard - ready to lead Enid Majors
www.enidnews.com/sports/local_sports/kris-webb---and-his-celebrated-beard---ready-to-lead-enid-majors/article_1af617bb-468d-5e10-96fa-aae165072910.html
www.enidnews.com/sports/local_sports/kris-webb---and-his-celebrated-beard---ready-to-lead-enid-majors/article_1af617bb-468d-5e10-96fa-aae165072910.html
Enid baseball fans will have no problem recognizing new Enid Majors head coach Kris Webb. The 35-year-old’s facial plumage would make ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons envious, and Webb has no doubt who wears it better.
“It ain’t even close. It’s me,” Webb said. It even celebrates its own anniversary. “Its four-year anniversary is May 12. It’s pretty important to me and my family.”
Of course there’s more to Webb than his celebrated beard.
He succeeds Chris Jensen after Jensen stepped away last season as the Majors’ head coach after a successful tenure.
Webb comes to the Majors well-acquainted with the team’s history, himself being affiliated with longtime rival Woodward Travelers.
“I’ve coached in Western Oklahoma all my life and was a Woodward Traveler for 15 years of my life, and I’ve always played Enid. They’ve always been a rival of ours. Growing up as a Woodward Traveler, we played Enid almost daily.”
He said the rivalry really took off when the teams were battling for state championships.
“It was a respectful thing,” he said. “We wanted to beat each other. They knew they were the best and we thought we were the best and you just had to go compete.”
Webb said he has gotten to know Enid Plainsmen head coach Brad Gore over the past couple of years, and that led to his becoming the Majors head coach.
“I guess he likes what I do and he offered me the position after it became open and I took it. I thought it would be fun, a new adventure for me and my family.”
Gore has known Webb both as an opponent and from working together.
“Kris and I have coached against each other in the summer for several years now, and Kris has also helped me with the Oklahoma State games that we do every summer,” Gore said. “I think he’s a good baseball guy. He does stuff for the right reasons and he’s going to be a good fit for what we’re trying to do.”
Plus there’s that whole beard thing Webb has going.
“I always ask him if I can touch it when I see him,” Gore said, laughing. “That’s the first thing I want to do.”
However, before the Majors’ games even could get started, a completely unexpected adventure in the form of a pandemic struck and altered the game plan.
“I don’t think anybody could have dreamt this in their wildest dreams,” Webb said. “I think you could have pitched this to Hollywood as a script and they would have shot it down because it was too crazy.”
Vici was coming off a 30-7 campaign in Webb’s second year and was off to a 2-0 start when the season was canceled.
“I’m thankful I went undefeated in my high school this spring,” Webb said with a laugh. “I went 2-0 baby, first time undefeated in my life. I’ve crowned us the Class B champions.”
Webb graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State and played baseball for one semester at Northern Oklahoma College Enid before deciding he needed to take a little break from baseball.
“When you play since you were 4 years old every summer and back then (in American Legion) we were playing 80-90 games per summer, I was done,” he said.
But the love of baseball didn’t leave him. Need proof? He and his wife Megan named their two sons (ages 2 and 1) Rawlings and Rookie. He also has two daughters from a previous marriage.
Even though Webb resides roughly 90 miles from Enid, he doesn’t see the distance presenting an issue, especially considering the summer Connie Mack baseball season is not nearly as grueling as it was during the height of American Legion baseball.
“Everyday games don’t happen anymore,” he said. ‘It’s pretty much a weekend warrior type of thing. So, I’ll be up there on the weekends and will be staying at David Allen (Memorial Ballpark) or staying at Brad’s. If I need to get a hotel, I can. It’s not that big of a deal and it’s only an hour and 20 minutes away. When you live in Western Oklahoma that is not very far.”
Current plans have the Majors opening on June 1 at David Allen. Gore is in the process of putting together the “Enid Shootout” that would tentatively run through June 4. The shootout is expected to have an eight-team field.
“We’re hopefully going to get to play one game per day (in the Enid Shootout) and ease into this thing as much as we can,” Webb said. “We just need to be open-minded. Everybody wants to play, we understand that, but we’ve got to be safe, too.
“I’m coaching some high-level players with some very bright futures, and I don’t want to be the idiot that ruins that.”
Webb said currently the Majors have 13-14 “core players” on their roster, and that includes EHS Plainsmen Willie Fleece and Titan Stephens. He said most of the players are from around Western Oklahoma including Tonkawa standout Blake Scott, who has signed with Northern Oklahoma College Enid. Others on the roster include Cowley County (Kan.) signees as well as players from Kingfisher, Blanchard, Piedmont and of course, Vici.
Webb said he has been in contact with NOC Enid head coach Scott Mansfield about bolstering the Majors’ pitching staff. “He’s going to try to get me some arms,” Webb said. Webb also believes the rosters will likely be rather fluid.
“There will be people that can jump back and forth because we don’t know what teams are going to make up the summer,” he said. “I think there will be some renegade stuff going on. There will be a good free agent market at the beginning of June, I think.”
Webb likes the Majors’ prospects for the summer campaign.
“We’re going to be pretty good, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “I’m really excited for the summer. The town of Enid begs to have that place (David Allen) filled ... that was a big part of it for me was to be able to call that park home. It’s pretty special.”
“It ain’t even close. It’s me,” Webb said. It even celebrates its own anniversary. “Its four-year anniversary is May 12. It’s pretty important to me and my family.”
Of course there’s more to Webb than his celebrated beard.
He succeeds Chris Jensen after Jensen stepped away last season as the Majors’ head coach after a successful tenure.
Webb comes to the Majors well-acquainted with the team’s history, himself being affiliated with longtime rival Woodward Travelers.
“I’ve coached in Western Oklahoma all my life and was a Woodward Traveler for 15 years of my life, and I’ve always played Enid. They’ve always been a rival of ours. Growing up as a Woodward Traveler, we played Enid almost daily.”
He said the rivalry really took off when the teams were battling for state championships.
“It was a respectful thing,” he said. “We wanted to beat each other. They knew they were the best and we thought we were the best and you just had to go compete.”
Webb said he has gotten to know Enid Plainsmen head coach Brad Gore over the past couple of years, and that led to his becoming the Majors head coach.
“I guess he likes what I do and he offered me the position after it became open and I took it. I thought it would be fun, a new adventure for me and my family.”
Gore has known Webb both as an opponent and from working together.
“Kris and I have coached against each other in the summer for several years now, and Kris has also helped me with the Oklahoma State games that we do every summer,” Gore said. “I think he’s a good baseball guy. He does stuff for the right reasons and he’s going to be a good fit for what we’re trying to do.”
Plus there’s that whole beard thing Webb has going.
“I always ask him if I can touch it when I see him,” Gore said, laughing. “That’s the first thing I want to do.”
However, before the Majors’ games even could get started, a completely unexpected adventure in the form of a pandemic struck and altered the game plan.
“I don’t think anybody could have dreamt this in their wildest dreams,” Webb said. “I think you could have pitched this to Hollywood as a script and they would have shot it down because it was too crazy.”
Vici was coming off a 30-7 campaign in Webb’s second year and was off to a 2-0 start when the season was canceled.
“I’m thankful I went undefeated in my high school this spring,” Webb said with a laugh. “I went 2-0 baby, first time undefeated in my life. I’ve crowned us the Class B champions.”
Webb graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State and played baseball for one semester at Northern Oklahoma College Enid before deciding he needed to take a little break from baseball.
“When you play since you were 4 years old every summer and back then (in American Legion) we were playing 80-90 games per summer, I was done,” he said.
But the love of baseball didn’t leave him. Need proof? He and his wife Megan named their two sons (ages 2 and 1) Rawlings and Rookie. He also has two daughters from a previous marriage.
Even though Webb resides roughly 90 miles from Enid, he doesn’t see the distance presenting an issue, especially considering the summer Connie Mack baseball season is not nearly as grueling as it was during the height of American Legion baseball.
“Everyday games don’t happen anymore,” he said. ‘It’s pretty much a weekend warrior type of thing. So, I’ll be up there on the weekends and will be staying at David Allen (Memorial Ballpark) or staying at Brad’s. If I need to get a hotel, I can. It’s not that big of a deal and it’s only an hour and 20 minutes away. When you live in Western Oklahoma that is not very far.”
Current plans have the Majors opening on June 1 at David Allen. Gore is in the process of putting together the “Enid Shootout” that would tentatively run through June 4. The shootout is expected to have an eight-team field.
“We’re hopefully going to get to play one game per day (in the Enid Shootout) and ease into this thing as much as we can,” Webb said. “We just need to be open-minded. Everybody wants to play, we understand that, but we’ve got to be safe, too.
“I’m coaching some high-level players with some very bright futures, and I don’t want to be the idiot that ruins that.”
Webb said currently the Majors have 13-14 “core players” on their roster, and that includes EHS Plainsmen Willie Fleece and Titan Stephens. He said most of the players are from around Western Oklahoma including Tonkawa standout Blake Scott, who has signed with Northern Oklahoma College Enid. Others on the roster include Cowley County (Kan.) signees as well as players from Kingfisher, Blanchard, Piedmont and of course, Vici.
Webb said he has been in contact with NOC Enid head coach Scott Mansfield about bolstering the Majors’ pitching staff. “He’s going to try to get me some arms,” Webb said. Webb also believes the rosters will likely be rather fluid.
“There will be people that can jump back and forth because we don’t know what teams are going to make up the summer,” he said. “I think there will be some renegade stuff going on. There will be a good free agent market at the beginning of June, I think.”
Webb likes the Majors’ prospects for the summer campaign.
“We’re going to be pretty good, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “I’m really excited for the summer. The town of Enid begs to have that place (David Allen) filled ... that was a big part of it for me was to be able to call that park home. It’s pretty special.”
