Jaret Wright

# 27

Cleveland Indians

by John M Milner.

• born Jaret Samuel Wright on December 29, 1975 in Anaheim, California
• is currently single
• a first round pick in the 1994 amateur draft by the Indians (tenth overall)
• In 1997, went 8-3 with a 4.38 ERA in 16 starts made after being called up from AAA-Buffalo on June 24
• Made his major league debut that same day against the Minnesota Twins.
• Got the win as the Indians beat the Twins 10-5 (5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R)
• went 5-1 in his last 7 starts
• went 3-0 in 5 post-season starts with 4.73 ERA
• won Games 2 and 5 of the American League Division Series against the Yankees and Game 4 of the World Series against the Florida Marlins
• started Game 7 of the the World Series, the 8th rookie and 2nd youngest player to start the deciding game of a Series
• his father, Clyde, pitched in the Major Leagues from 1967-1975 with the Angels, Brewers and Rangers
• he had a career record of 100-111, and appeared in an All-Star Game
• Clyde taught his son not to panic and how to throw out of a jam
• Jaret enjoys golfing and surfing
• Jaret is a power pitcher who has a fastball in the 95-98 mph range, a hard slider, a slow curve and several change ups that will become more effective in the future
• the Indians protected him last year by limiting the number of innings he pitched, but has shown that his arm should be able to carry him into the late innings
• Infielders enjoy playing behind him because he throws strikes and challenges the hitter
• did not make an error in 16 starts in 1997
• says he enjoys music of any kind except country
• growing up in California, was an Angels fan as a kid
• Mike Hargrove says that Wright reminds him of Roger Clemens
• Jaret has a longtime girlfriend Tara. (Thanks to Kim P. Cleveland)
• Appeared in 26 games during the 1999 season, went 8-10 with a 6.06 ERA and struck out 91 in 133 2/3 innings pitched.
• He made his 1st career major league Opening Day start in his hometown of Anaheim. He went 6.1 innings and gave up 8 hits and 5 runs, all earned in a no-decision. At 23, he was the youngest Opening Day starter for Cleveland since 22 year-old Dennis Eckersley took the mound against Detroit in 1976.
• He won his 1st four decisions of 1999 and had a 5.23 ERA over 7 starts. He was the first Indian to go 4-0 to start the season since Dennis Martinez in 1995.
• Wright was branded a headhunter. He was suspended from May 10-15 after hitting Darren Lewis of Boston with a curveball on April 23rd which started a brawl. He was then fined and admonished by American League President Gene Budig after hitting Detroit's Tony Clark in the head on May 22nd which started another brawl.
• He was on the disable list twice with a strained sub-scapularis muscles in his right shoulder..His first stint on the DL came after leaving his start in Houston on July 18th (5 IP 3H, 1R) He went on the disabled list from July 19th-August 3rd. His second stint came after his August 8th start against Tampa Bay (2 IP, 4 H, 2R) He was on the disabled list from Aug 9-Sept 10.
• He made only 8 starts after the All-Star game and recorded only 1 win (on September 22nd in Detroit).
• Gave up 6 runs in 2.1 innings pitched in his last start of the season.
• Wright's biggest problem may have been that he changed his mechanics too much. He worked with pitching coach Phil Regan to work on his curveball and changeup but wasn't able to adapt to the more finesse portions of  his pitching. He is still a power pitcher who relies on his 94-96 mph fastball
• Indians told Wright that he would be their 5th starter coming into spring training and stated that he could be traded. They hoped that this would challenge him to get in shape and get serious about his profession.
• On May 11th, 2000, he left an eventual win against Kansas City with tightness in his left shoulder after 7 2/3 innings and 100 pitches, having pitched a 4-hit shutout. The injury was not expected to be serious. Wright was 3-2 in 7 games with a 3.15 ERA at the time.
• Spent the winter of 1999/2000 working with new pitching coach Dick Pole on a changeup, also lost 10 pounds
• On May 18, went on the DL with a strained right shoulder
• His last game at the major league level was a June 2nd loss to the Cardinals where he gave up 4 runs in 4.2 innings.
• Spent August, rehabbing with the Akron Aeros and then had arthroscopic surgery to repair his rotator cuff and labrum
• Was 3-4 in 9 games with a 4.70 ERA

John M's Opinion: Hargrove has also stated that Wright is "a work in progress". While Wright did well in the post-season for Cleveland (in what was ultimately a losing cause), he has also struggled a fair bit in the early part of the 1998 season. Before we praise his triumphs in the World Series or damn his struggles in 1998, we should remember that it will take several more seasons before Wright can be accurately gauged as a one-season phenom or a future legend.

Typo's Opinion: Lets hope that Jaret can continue to improve and become a pitcher of the future.  It is nice that he has Bartolo Colon along side him and they can 'learn the ropes' together.  Watching the Indians get to the World Series was cool enough, but watching Jaret play was an added bonus.  His youth was easy to overlook as he took control of the mound.  I look forward to following his career.

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Please note that I am not any of these players, nor I am associated with any of them (I wish!!!).  Just a fan like the rest of you :)    I would also like to thank everyone that has emailed me regarding my pages, it is great hearing from other fans, and some of you have been daft enough to stay in contact!  Of course the biggest thanks for all goes to John for taking the time to research and write these pages, and really do all the work for me!  I just take all the credit... well unless he does it wrong!  THANX

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