Random Brave Wednesday - Jaret Wright
For one year, Jaret Wright finally looked like the starter so many expected him to be
There he was, all of 21 years old. He wasn't just matching the veteran, Al Leiter, pitch-by-pitch, he was out-performing the two-time All-Star. And not just in any random game, but in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series where the Cleveland Indians were trying to win their first world title since 1948 while the Florida Marlins were aiming just to win their first. But the son of a former major leaguer, Jaret Wright, didn't know a situation that was too big for his right arm.
Wright took a 2-0 lead into the seventh before Bobby Bonilla, a future random Brave himself, hit a first-pitch homer to cut the lead in half. After a strikeout of Charles Johnson, Wright walked Craig Counsell on four pitches. That got him lifted after 6.1 innings, two hits, one run, five walks, and seven strikeouts. Wright would be powerless as he watched the bottom of the ninth unfold. Jose Mesa gave up a single to Moises Alou before striking out Bonilla. Johnson followed with a base hit and then, there was the future Brewers' manager again. Counsell hit a sacrifice fly that tied the game. In the eleventh, Counsell (again) reached on an error and would score when Edgar Renteria singled through the middle to give the Marlins the title.
Wright was robbed of his second win of the World Series and, perhaps, the World Series MVP. That went to Livan Hernandez instead. Who shouldn’t have even been there, Eric Gregg!
But the future was still very bright for Wright and his Cleveland ballclub. They had just picked up their second AL pennant in three years. And now, they had the young Wright to help supplement or maybe even lead the staff to their next pennant or two.
That, of course, did not happen. While Cleveland would win three more division titles over the next four years, they would not again advance to the World Series until 2016. It cost Mike Hargrove his job despite five consecutive division titles and two trips to the World Series. And Wright's inability to build on his 1997 promise was a microcosm of lost opportunity for Cleveland and their window of being a contender.
Over the next five years, Wright's ERA was 5.73 after 4.38 during his rookie year. Injuries, starting in 1999, limited him severely. In three consecutive seasons, he failed to reach double figures in appearances. His control was missing and the hits just kept coming. When he exited the mound in Game Seven back in 1997, he seemed to be on a rocketship to All-Star appearances and maybe even a Cy Young. When he exited Cleveland after the 2002 season, he was just another example of a dynasty that never really went anywhere.
Wright would head to San Diego next, hoping to recapture some of his glory under first-year pitching coach, Darren Balsley. Later on, Balsley would be known for his work with Jake Peavy, Heath Bell, and even Greg Maddux. When the latter was enshrined in the Hall of Fame, he made a point to mention Balsley as a guy who helped him in his later years. One of his first projects was Wright. Tasked with long relief, Wright started the year on a high note. In his eighth game of the year, he even picked up his first save. On April 19, thru ten games, Wright had a 3.97 ERA, 10 K's, and just 3 walks.
But the wheels came off and they stayed off for Wright. He spent most of June in the minors after an 8.90 ERA as the Padres tried to get him moving in the right direction. When he returned in mid-July, it seemed to do the trick as he allowed just a run in his first seven innings with two walks and seven Ks. But the wheels came right back off over his next nine games as he allowed 13 runs in ten innings. Finally, the Padres had enough and put Wright on waivers.
Let's talk about the 2003 Atlanta Braves bullpen for a second. The offense that year was absurd, leading the league in several categories. The rotation was decent enough behind Maddux. But the bullpen was a real weakness for Atlanta. Not John Smoltz, who finished the campaign with a 1.12 ERA, but the guys trying to get the ball to him. Trey Hodges, Roberto Hernandez, Ray King, Kevin Gryboski, Jung Bong, and Darren Holmes (to some extent) struggled massively. The Braves added Will Cunnane and Kent Mercker, trying to shore up the 'pen. Near the deadline to add players to the roster for postseason eligibility, they took a gamble on Wright.
It, shockingly, paid off. In one short month, Wright went from a guy headed potentially to the independent leagues to a pitcher the Braves relied on. In eleven outings, Wright worked nine innings, walked three, and struck out nine while allowing just two runs. He allowed more than two runs five different times with the Padres prior to them giving up on him. It seemed like Leo Mazzone had done it again. Leo's trick with Wright was simple - worry less about velocity and more about strikes. Maybe being under the veteran pitching guru rather than a rookie pitching coach in San Diego helped when it came to buying into the message, too.
For the first time since an ugly two-inning stint out of the bullpen in Game 3 of the 1999 NLCS for Cleveland, Wright was back in the playoffs. He worked four times in the Braves' five-game loss in the NLDS against the Cubs. He didn't allow a hit, walked two, and struck out four.
After the season, the Braves still had another year of arbitration left with Wright and it was a no-brainer to bring him back. The expectation, at first, was that Wright would continue to serve as a setup reliever, but Wright hadn't given up on his hope to once again be a major league starter. After a great camp, Wright was named the fifth starter. He would perform like so much more than the last guy in the rotation, though.
Over 32 starts, Wright would set a career-high in strikeouts with 159, allowed the fewest homers per nine innings in the NL (0.5 HR/9), and his 3.28 ERA was over a run lower than any other year of his career. In short, at 28 years old, Wright had finally had the year so many expected after 1997. Wright was good throughout the year with the occasional stinker keeping him humble. He was especially great from July 2 through August 12. In those seven starts, with both him and the Braves winning six of them, Wright had a 1.39 ERA and allowed just a .558 OPS against him.
Wright took the ball to open the NLDS against the Astros. He started strong with three Ks in the first two innings, but the Astros got to him for four runs in the third and another two runs on a Carlos Beltran homer in the fifth. Beltran was unconscious the entire playoffs that year. Five days later, with a chance to redeem himself, Wright took the ball in a decisive Game 5. Matched up with Roy Oswalt, Wright gave up a pair of runs in the second and a Beltran homer in the third. After the Braves pulled to 3-2 in the fifth, Beltran homered to open the sixth. Following a strikeout and a walk, Wright was pulled. It was just 4-2, but the Astros were about to turn the game into a laugher. They would win 12-3, easily advancing.
Wright's final pitch that walked Lance Berkman would also be his final pitch as a Brave. While the team was definitely interested in bringing back the right-hander, they could not compete on the open market with the New York Yankees. The Yanks handed Wright a $21 million contract over three years.
It was not a good match for Wright. He spent much of 2005 hurt and, when he did pitch, he struggled with a 6.08 ERA in 13 games. The following year was a bit better in that he made 30 appearances, including 27 starts, but his 4.49 ERA was hardly a Godsend for the Yankees.
After two years, the Yanks paid more than half of Wright's 2007 salary to send him to Baltimore. The hope was, for the O's, that re-connecting Wright with their new pitching coach, Leo Mazzone, would spark a return to his magical 2004 season. Unfortunately, Wright would only make three ugly starts to finish his major league career with a 5.09 ERA. He tried to make the Pirates roster to open the 2008 season but failed and decided to retire rather than return to the minors.
While he never lived up to what people expected after 1997, Wright did have the best days of his career in Atlanta. He maintained a 3.23 ERA over 195.1 innings, over two runs less than what he did in Cleveland. It was a good fit that sadly was so short-lived as it would have been interesting to see if, had he stayed in Atlanta, would things have gone any better for the righty than they did in the Bronx? I lean toward saying they would have, but it would have been a gamble either way.
After retiring, Wright returned to California. He continued to do Cleveland events and show up on the occasional broadcast. In 2013, he sued his former financial advisors and SunTrust Bank (now Truist) for swindling the money he earned during his career. Six years later, he and his father, Clyde Wright, released "Baseball the Wright Way." I haven't read it, but it sounds interesting. More recently, Wright was named the pitching coach for the Windy City Thunderbolts, a team in the independent Frontier League. Their manager is his former teammate, Richie Sexson.
One final thing before I go - when Wright signed with the Yankees, the Braves received two compensation picks. With the 41st pick, they selected lefty Beau Jones. In the second round, they used the Yankees' second-round selection to grab Jeff Lyman. Neither high school arm would throw a pitch in the majors, but Jones would be part of the Mark Teixeira trade in 2007.
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