Jamey Alan Wright (born December 24, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for 10 different teams in Major League Baseball (MLB): the Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tampa Bay Rays. Wright batted and threw right-handed.
An Oklahoma City native, Wright was a first round draft pick of the Rockies in 1993. He reached the majors with them in 1996 and was part of their starting rotation through the 1999 season. Traded to Milwaukee before the 2000 season, he became the Brewers' Opening Day starter in 2001, winning a career-high 11 games. After being traded to St. Louis during the 2002 season, he spent most of 2003 in the minor leagues, then pitched for the Rockies again in 2004 and 2005. He was named the fifth starter for the Giants and the Rangers in 2006 and 2007, respectively, but both times he was removed from the rotation during the year. After the 2007 season, he served almost exclusively as a reliever.
With the Rangers in 2008, Wright tied for third in the American League (AL) with 75 games pitched. He spent 2009 with the Royals, split 2010 between the Indians and Mariners, and spent 2011 with the Mariners. After a year with the Dodgers in 2012, he reached the playoffs for the first time in his 18th season, with the Rays in 2013. He pitched one final year for the Dodgers in 2014, then retired after failing to make an MLB roster in 2015 and 2016. In 719 appearances (248 starts), he had a 97–130 record and a 4.81 earned run average.
Early life Jamey Alan Wright was born on December 24, 1974, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Growing up, he was part of three Little League Baseball championship teams. He attended Oklahoma City's Westmoore High School, where he was a second team High School All-American and the Southwest Region Gatorade Player of the Year in 1993. As a senior that year, he had a 7–2 record and an 0.57 earned run average (ERA), with 94 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched, leading Westmoore to a third-place finish in the state tournament. (Note: May need to click "View More Bio Info+" for some information.) Wright also lettered in basketball at Westmoore. He was the first baseball player from Westmoore to reach the major leagues, followed by Kyle Tyler in 2021.
Professional career Colorado Rockies, first stint Wright was drafted in the first round of the 1993 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft by the Colorado Rockies, the 28th overall pick. He began his professional career with eight starts for the rookie-level Arizona League Rockies in 1993 and was promoted to the Class A Asheville Tourists in 1994. Wright split 1995 between the Single-A advanced Salem Avalanche and the Double-A New Haven Ravens in 1995, then played with New Haven and the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 1996. According to sportswriter Larry Stone, he "dominated" in the minor leagues.
Wright made his Major League debut when he started for the Rockies against the San Francisco Giants on July 3, 1996, allowing one run in six innings. He recorded his first major league win with a seven-inning start against the Giants on July 17, where he allowed only one earned run. The pitcher also recorded his first major league hit that day, a double against Osvaldo Fernández, though he injured his knee when sliding into second base. The injury did not end his season; Wright started 16 games (and made 1 relief appearance) in 1996, finishing with a 4–4 record and a 4.93 ERA in his debut season. He had arthroscopic surgery to repair the knee, then slipped on some ice in the off-season, requiring a second surgery.
Recovered by 1997, Wright made the Rockies roster out of spring training. He spent most of the season with Colorado, other than a stretch from May 15 through June 8 when he was on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation and a stint from June 18 through July 2 when he was demoted to Colorado Springs. He pitched his first complete game with a 7–1 win over the Chicago Cubs on July 24, giving up a solo home run to Sammy Sosa. He made 26 starts for the Rockies in 1997, posting an 8–12 record and a 6.25 ERA.
The 1998 season saw Wright spend the whole year in Colorado's starting rotation, setting what would be career highs in starts (34) and innings pitched (). On August 5, he hit a two-run home run against Francisco Córdova and pitched a complete game in a 6–2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had a 9–14 record, a 5.67 ERA, and 86 strikeouts. Wright finished ninth in the National League (NL) with 235 hits allowed.
After posting a 7.58 ERA in his first four starts of 1999, Wright was demoted to Colorado Springs. In 17 games (16 starts) for Colorado Springs, he had a 5–7 record, posting a slightly lower ERA at 6.46. Recalled on August 2, he posted a 4.18 ERA the rest of the season for the Rockies. He won four straight decisions from August 22 to September 20, the best winning streak of his career. In 16 starts for Colorado, he had a 4–3 record and a 4.87 ERA.
Milwaukee Brewers On December 30, 1999, Wright and Henry Blanco were traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-team trade in which the Oakland Athletics sent Jimmy Haynes to Milwaukee, the Rockies sent Justin Miller to the Athletics, and the Brewers sent Jeff Cirillo and Scott Karl to the Rockies. He began the 2000 season on the disabled list with a right rotator cuff tear, but he joined the starting rotation after being activated on May 23. Despite entering August with a 6–4 record, Wright won only one more game for the Brewers all season, giving up four runs (three earned) over innings in a 7–4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on September 26. In 26 games (25 starts), he had a 7–9 record and a 4.10 ERA. Wright led the NL with 18 hit batsmen.
The Brewers tapped Wright to open the 2001 season, starting on April 2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He went seven innings, allowing the only run of the 1–0 loss with a solo homer to Gary Sheffield. He threw his first shutout on April 29, allowing just two hits in a 10–0 triumph over the Montreal Expos. Wright missed some time from May 21 through June 10, when he was on the disabled list recovering from a right intercostal strain. On June 28, he hit three Pirates over innings but allowed just one run, though that was all the scoring in a 1–0 loss to Pittsburgh. He struck out a career-high 12 batters over innings on August 31 against the Houston Astros, though he took the loss in a 3–2 defeat. From July 19 through September 5, Wright hit a batter in 10 straight starts, the longest streak in the major leagues since 1970. Wright had a career-high 11 wins in 2001 and struck out over 100 batters (129) for the first time, posting an 11–12 record and a 4.90 ERA. His 20 hit batsmen tied Chan Ho Park for the league lead and set a Brewers single-season record. After the season, on October 30, he had arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow.
Wright fell to third in Milwaukee's rotation in 2002, behind Ben Sheets and Rubén Quevedo. He was placed on the disabled list with a right rotator cuff tear after his first start of the year on April 4; Wright did not return until May 24. On July 1, he allowed just three hits in a 2–0 shutout of the Pirates. Through August 30, he had a 5–13 record and a 5.35 ERA.
St. Louis Cardinals On July 1, 2002, Wright was traded with cash to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later (Mike Matthews) and Chris Morris. Wright had a 2–0 record in four appearances (three starts) for the Cardinals, with a 4.80 ERA. In 23 games (22 starts) total in 2002, he had a 7–13 record and a 5.29 ERA. The Cardinals won the NL Central title and advanced to the NL Championship Series (NLCS), losing to the Giants, but Wright was not part of the playoff roster. In 2013, when Wright expressed his desire to make an appearance in the playoffs, he told reporters that his time with St. Louis "definitely does not count." After the season, he became a free agent.
Journeyman On January 28, 2003, Wright signed with the Seattle Mariners. It was a one-year, minor league contract with a $400,000 option if he made the majors. He spent most of spring training with them but was released on March 18, the last player cut prior to the regular season. He re-signed with the Brewers organization on March 26. After he appeared in seven games (four starts) with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, he was released on April 28. He was then signed by the Texas Rangers on May 7, and he made seven starts for the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks, where he was 2–1 with a 4.12 ERA. Texas released him on June 15, and he signed with the Kansas City Royals on June 20. He made 13 appearances (12 starts) with the Triple-A Omaha Royals and was 3–5 with a 3.64 ERA. The Royals called him up to the majors on September 6, and he pitched a complete game that day against the Anaheim Angels, though the team from California won 3–1. His next start, on September 13 against the Detroit Tigers, was a complete-game shutout as the Royals beat the Tigers 7–0. With Kansas City, he was 1–2 with a 4.26 ERA in four starts. After the season, he became a free agent.
Wright signed with the Cubs on December 29, 2003, but was released before the start of the 2004 season on March 27. He signed a minor league deal with the Royals on April 2 and made 18 starts in Omaha, where he was 8–6 with a 4.21 ERA. Wright made the Triple-A All-Star Game but was released on July 21.
Colorado Rockies, second stint A day after being released by the Royals, Wright re-signed with the Rockies and was added to the starting rotation. Making his MLB season debut on July 24, he held the Arizona Diamondbacks to one run in five innings, earning his first victory since September 13 of the previous season. However, he won just one more game all season, holding the Giants to one run in seven innings on September 1 in a 4–1 triumph. He was 2–3 with a 4.12 ERA in 14 starts in 2004.
After the 2004 season, Wright became a free agent, but he re-signed with the Rockies on December 22, 2004. He spent most of the 2005 season in their rotation. From June 4 through 16, he threw consecutive scoreless innings. After beating the Giants on August 2, Wright proceeded to lose his next five starts. After posting a 6–16 record and a 5.71 ERA, the Rockies moved Wright to the bullpen at the end of August to make room for Zach Day and Sunny Kim in Colorado's rotation. "This could be the beginning of the second half of my career, and I would like it to be here," Wright said of the move. He was 8–16 with a 5.46 ERA in 34 appearances (27 starts) in 2005. Wright's 16 losses were topped only by Kip Wells's 18 in the NL. After the season, he became a free agent.
San Francisco Giants