Mitch Webster
Mitch Webster was born in Larned in 1959, and was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1977 MLB Draft. Now he’s heading to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. The 2018 induction class was announced Wednesday afternoon that includes 13 individuals with sports ties to Kansas.
Webster spent 13 seasons in the Majors, hitting a career .263 batting average with 70 home runs. He played for Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles. The switch hitter made his MLB debut on September 2nd, 1983 for the Blue Jays.
The former Great Bend resident spent four years as a coach in the Dodgers’ minor league system, before becoming a scout for Los Angeles. He has served as a scout in the Kansas City Royals’ organization since 2009.
Other members of the 2018 Hall of Fame class include Paul Pierce (University of Kansas All-American basketball guard and former NBA player), Adam LaRoche (12-year MLB veteran from Fort Scott), Ewing Kauffman (founder & owner of the Kansas City Royals), Laurie Koehn (Kansas State University women’s basketball player from Moundridge), and Chuck Smith (St. Mary’s – Colgan football coach).
The induction ceremony will take place in Wichita on October 7. This year’s class brings the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame total to 286 inductees.