James Clifton Wright (born December 21, 1950) is a former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played two seasons in

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for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in 1978-79. Wright was born in Reed City, Michigan.

Career

Wright was drafted out of high school by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft. He spent several years working his way up through their minor league organization, primarily as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

. His breakthrough came in 1977 with the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, where he went 12-8 with a 2.94

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

. Wright made the Red Sox out of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 1978 and went on to pitch 3

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s in 24 games (16 of them starts) as a rookie. He posted an 8-4 win–loss record with an ERA of 3.57 by the end of the season. As a fielder, Wright committed one

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

in 17

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

. Wright pitched six shutout innings in his first start of 1979. However, it wound up as his only start of the year, as he was moved to the bullpen to make room in the rotation for rookie

Chuck Rainey Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,00 ...

. He did not pitch at all after an arm injury in early June, playing his final game on June 6. He finished with a record of 1-0 and an ERA of 5.09. He also committed no errors that season. In 1980, Wright returned to the minor leagues, pitching for Pawtucket. He finished his professional career spending the 1981-82 seasons in the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

organization with the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Jim Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Sox players Jamestown Falcons players Greenville Red Sox players Winston-Salem Red Sox players Anderson Giants players Bristol Red Sox players Pawtucket Red Sox players Rhode Island Red Sox players Syracuse Chiefs players Baseball players from Michigan People from Reed City, Michigan Living people 1950 births 20th-century American sportsmen