Mike House was a hothead with a short fuse and the wise words of Miles Webster were exactly what he needed.
As a 16-year-old pitcher/first baseman playing for the Victoria Senior Babe Ruth Baseball League team Webster coached, House had all the tools - a cannon of an arm, a powerful swing, slick fielding ability and mind for the game that had him destined for pro baseball.
He just needed someone to bring him back down to earth, and Webster, who died July 21 at age 73 at UHNBC after a prolonged battle with diabetes, was that guy.
"He was absolutely my mentor," said House, a resident of Las Vegas who made the trip to Prince George Friday to pay tribute to his former coach in the Miles Webster Memorial game today at Citizen Field.
"He's a guy who would give you the last piece of straw off his back. He would help you and give you advice and if you didn't want the advice he would back off, an amazing guy. I was so starving to become a good baseball player and suddenly I found the guy who was going to bring it out in me."
Now 48, House played single-A pro ball with the Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds from 1989-92. Originally drafted by the Blue Jays in the seventh round in 1985, he was the first B.C. player ever picked in the MLB draft, which filled Webster with pride. But before he got to the point where he won the batting title in the Appalachian League, House needed Webster as his sounding board.
"I was a loose cannon growing up as a teenager and Miles drafted me and took a chance on me, and he moulded me, he made me into a good reliable player," said House. "He just knew when to kick you and when to pick you up."
Webster came forward as a coach soon after he moved to Prince George from Victoria in 1988. But for most of his time in the city he wasn't on any team rosters, he remained in the background watching.
He was an extra set of eyes and ears every coaching staff needed, always willing to share his vast knowledge of the game and offer tips to correct faults in players others would miss.
Pitcher Travis McNaughton recalled on Facebook a rough inning when he was getting lit up and had given up at least eight runs when Webster walked out of the dugout to approach the mound. Angry and frustrated at not getting anybody out, McNaughton expected Webster to ask him to hand over the ball, but the coach said nothing until the umpire decided it was time for the game to resume. A puzzled McNaughton asked Webster, "Well, aren't you going to say anything?" Webster simply said: "Oh I have nothing to say to you. I just wanted to give your outfielders as long as break as possible." McNaughton chuckled to himself and proceeded to get three outs.
Whenever Webster traveled, he'd look up players he used to coach. One of those contacts was Chad Tuck. Tuck lives in Calgary and was unable to make the trip back to Prince George for today's game, but sent his thoughts in an email.
"Since the passing of Miles Webster, I have heard and read much of his strengths as a coach and mentor, the impact that he has had on the community and how much baseball in Prince George will miss him," wrote Tuck. "All of these things are true, without a doubt. Baseball was the catalyst that brought Miles into many of our lives and it became a conduit for the life lessons that he would so effortlessly impart on us. Hard work, dedication, punctuality, and respect, were never mentioned as things to work on, he simply led us there. Interestingly enough, when Miles left us, I did not think of any of these things. I did not think of Miles Webster the baseball coach. I am sure like many of you, I was simply sad that I lost a friend."
Webster grew up in Esquimalt and graduated from UBC with a civil engineering degree. He moved to Prince George in 1988, working for the Ministry of Highways. He is survived by his sister Mary-Lee in Abbotsford and a brother, Ferg, who lives on Vancouver Island. Webster never married and had no children, but he made up for his lack of family ties in Prince George by becoming an adopted father and grandfather to the many friends he made at the ballpark, the centre of his social life.
"If there was an icon of Prince George baseball it would be Miles," said Bill Perrin, who coached with Webster in the Prince George Senior Babe Ruth League. "He was more than just a coach and a manager, the amount of people he affected positively for generations is surprising to me.
"By the time I met Miles [in 1994] he had finished his coaching but he came on as a mentor. He never wore a uniform for us but he was a huge part of building our team. He was probably the most knowledgeable baseball person I've ever come across, from the fundamentals to the idiosyncrasies of the game."
Paul Wilson was a 16-year-old on his way to a college career at Oklahoma State when he met Webster, who was helping coach the Knights all-star squad. They would talk for hours about hitting and he taught Wilson how to look for positives even on a day when the hits didn't come.
"It didn't matter who you were, he had time for everybody, he was able to relate to the kids and he treated everybody the same," said Wilson. "Whether it was baseball or life, if you had any issues he would sit and talk to you and give you words of advice and people were drawn to him.
"He'd always joke about how bad of a player he was, how he wouldn't make the starting lineup on a team with just nine players. It was amazing how much knowledge he had towards the game."
Jeff Walker met Webster at the ball diamond when he was 15 and the connection was instantaneous. Walker was a pitcher at the time and Webster showed him things on the field that stuck with him long after his arm gave out on him at age 20.
"He simplified the game for a lot of players and would focus on one thing to help you develop a skill and try to improve it and that made players enjoy the game more and want to play it longer," said Walker. "He was never there to judge you on what you did outside the fences of baseball. You could talk to him about any problem you had with baseball or life and that's what made him a good coach."
Walker and Webster became lifelong friends and every spring got together to pick their fantasy baseball teams. Walker knew going into each draft he was at a serious disadvantage trying to top Webster's picks.
"What made it tough to play against him was he didn't just know the majors, he knew the minor system and had the book on future stars," said Walker. "He loved baseball."
He also loved his music. At an Elvis Presley concert in Vancouver, Webster took advantage of some lax security and jumped a fence to shake Presley's hand, a moment captured by a newspaper photographer.
Webster had his spot at Citizen Field in seat No. 1 on the top row of the grandstand, just like he did along the right field line at the old Monty Gabriele Field. Whenever a game was on, he was there, sitting in know-it-all row. And when he wasn't there, people were concerned.
Today's game is open to everyone who knew Webster and wants to play and starts at 1 p.m. Perrin will be the emcee on an open-mic session in which former players, colleagues and friends of Webster will share their stories about him. A similar gathering is being planned at a Victoria ball park in a couple of weeks.
