Jaret Samuel Wright (born December 29, 1975) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played all or parts of 11 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, primarily as a starting pitcher.

Early life and education

Wright was born on December 29, 1975, in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

, and is the son of Clyde Wright, who himself pitched for nine seasons in the major leagues and three seasons in the Japanese equivalent. Wright graduated from Katella High School in Anaheim, where he also played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the football team. He was named league MVP and High School Player of the Year by the '' Orange County Register'' and ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''.

Professional career

Jaret was drafted out of high school by the

in the 1st round (10th pick overall) of the

1994 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players * Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did no ...

. Following the draft, Wright began his professional career with the Burlington Indians, the team's rookie league affiliate in the Appalachian League. The 18-year-old started in four games and had a 5.40 ERA. For 1995, Jaret progressed to the Class A Columbus RedStixx in the South Atlantic League, where he went 5–6 with a 3.00 ERA in 24 games. In 1996, he moved up to the Kinston Indians, the team's "High-A" affiliate in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. He went 7–4 in 19 starts, with a 2.50 ERA. '' Baseball America'' rated Wright as its #22 prospect and was regularly mentioned by the Cleveland front office as one of the organization's top prospects. The following year, 1997, was a breakout season for Jaret. He started with the

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

, the Double-A in the Eastern League, where he went 3–3 with a 3.67 ERA. He was quickly promoted to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, going 4–1 in 7 starts and sported an impressive 1.80 ERA. On June 3, he pitched a 7-inning, 2-hit shutout against the Indianapolis Indians. That earned Wright a promotion to the big club when a spot opened up.

Major leagues

Jaret made his major league debut in 1997 with the Indians. The team was a top contender, having made the playoffs the prior two years and included a trip to the

1995 World Series The 1995 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1995 season. The 91st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Atlanta Braves and the Ameri ...

. However, injuries to starters like

Jack McDowell Jack Burns McDowell (born January 16, 1966) is an American former baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, McDowell played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Anaheim Angels of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Ni ...

and inconsistency from

Albie Lopez Albert Anthony "Albie" Lopez (born August 18, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He graduated from Mesa Community College. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 20th round of the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. Lopez spent ...

and Brian Anderson forced the team to bring up its top pitching prospect. Jaret found instant success. He posted an 8–3 record with a 4.38 ERA in 16 starts, and also pitched effectively in the postseason, which is rare for a rookie. In the deciding game 7 of the

1997 World Series The 1997 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1997 season. The 93rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians and the National L ...

, the Indians decided to start Wright on three days' rest, rather than the usual five.

Charles Nagy Charles Harrison Nagy (born May 5, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball All-Star right-handed pitcher who played for 14 seasons in the major leagues from to . He played for the Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres. He served as th ...

had been the probable starter. Wright left the game after innings with a 2–1 lead; however, the Indians would lose in 11 innings. He finished fifth in the

American League Rookie of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

voting. Jaret would follow that up with a .500 season (12–12 with a 4.72 ERA) in 1998. He never got the chance to reach his potential in Cleveland due to a chronic shoulder injury that would first crop up in 1999, when he went 8–10 with a 6.06 ERA in 26 starts, and would later require two surgeries to repair, costing him parts of the following three seasons. After going 2–3 with a 15.71 ERA in 2002, the Indians decided not to re-sign Jaret. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, and signed with the

in early 2003. He did not fare well in San Diego, going 1–5 with an 8.73 ERA in 39 games, all in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

. He was traded to the

in August. He did not allow a run in all but one of his 11 appearances with the Braves, going 1–0 with a 2.00 ERA, and was told that he was going to be made a starting pitcher again for the next season. Jaret started 2004 in the minors to build up arm strength, but was called up by the Braves when it was discovered pitcher Paul Byrd needed more time to rehab his arm (he had missed the entire 2003 season due to Tommy John surgery). Wright became the Braves best pitcher that season, going 15–8 with a 3.28 ERA in 32 starts while amassing 159 strikeouts in innings pitched. In December 2004, Wright signed a three-year, US$21 million deal with the

. On November 12, 2006, the Yankees traded Jaret to the

for Chris Britton and cash considerations. The Orioles were responsible for paying only $3 million of the $7 million left on Wright's contract. Jaret's shoulder problems returned in the 2007 season and caused him to spend time on the disabled list twice; he did make three starts in April, each five innings or less, but lost all three of them and accumulated a 6.97 ERA. The Orioles reported that Wright's velocity was also down. Wright had started a rehab assignment in September and after 3 games he decided to go home ending the rest of the season and maybe his career. On October 1, 2007, the Orioles released Wright. On January 23, 2008, Wright signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, which included an invitation to spring training.SportingNews.com – Your expert source for MLB Baseball stats, scores, standings, blogs and fantasy news from MLB Baseball columnists
/ref> At the end of spring training, he declined his assignment to the minor leagues and elected to become a free agent. He went unsigned, and never pitched professionally again. When Jaret broke in with Cleveland Indians, he threw a two-seam

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

that topped out at 98 MPH, along with a hard curveball and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. After battling numerous shoulder injuries, his fastball topped out in the low 90s.

Personal life

Wright lives in San Clemente, California, with his wife Julie and their four children: Gunnar, Jett, Memphis, and Sloan.

References

External links