Lenny Webster

[William Malone]

Leonard Irell Webster was born on February 10, 1965 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Minnesota Twins drafted him in round 16 of the 1982 MLB Draft out of high school, but he did not sign. Webster attended Grambling State University, and was re-drafted by the Twins in 1985.

He blossomed into one of baseball's best catching prospects, winning Midwest League MVP at the Class-A level in 1988. Webster debuted for the Twins in 1989, and spent the next several seasons periodically coming up whenever Minnesota needed a third catcher. He hit .300 with a .911 OPS between 1989 and 1991, but that was just a 34 game sample size. Junior Ortiz departed as a free agent following the 1991 season, allowing Webster to become the full time backup to Brian Harper.

Webster slashed .280/.331/.407 in 53 games during the 1992 campaign, but his performance dipped the following season. He hit just .198 in 1993, and was traded to the Montreal Expos for cash during spring training in 1994.

The rest of his career was spent making the rounds as a journeyman backup catcher. This included three separate stints in Montreal (1994, 1996, 2000). He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1995), Baltimore Orioles (1997-99), and the Boston Red Sox (1999). While in Baltimore, Webster served as the personal catcher for former Twins teammate Scott Erickson. He started all three of Erickson's starts during the 1997 postseason, while Chris Hoiles started the Orioles other seven playoff games that fall.

View full player

[Doctor Wu]

I have a fun Lenny Webster memory. Back in the late 1980s, when I was living in Orlando, Lenny was a member of the AA Orlando Twins. During one of those summers, in mid-August (I remember the date, because it fell during "Elvis Day," the anniversary of Presley's death on Aug. 16), a friend an I were visiting Memphis and the O-Twins were in town. By sure chance we stayed at the same hotel as the Twins. One afternoon, as I walked through the lobby, there was Lenny Webster, playing the piano in the lobby, with Willie Banks serving as his audience. I still get a laugh, thinking about that. I talked to both players and there were very friendly and down to earth. Good memories. I can't offer a professional critique of Lenny's piano skills, but he seemed very good to my ears.