Happy Birthday Ron Wright, You Had One of the Strangest Careers In Baseball History

I saw his name today on Baseball-Reference, and could not believe what I saw when I clicked his name...

Happy Birthday (33) to former Braves prospect Ron Wright, a seventh round pick in the 1994 draft.

After eight years in the minors and an organization shift, Wright was called up by the Mariners in April of 2002. On April 14, Wright started as DH against the Rangers after a pregame injury to Jeff Cirillo. In that game, he batted three times and ended up finding his way into history.

Wright struck out in the second inning in his first Big League at bat. In the fourth, after a Ruben Sierra double and a Jon Olerud single, Wright stepped to the plate with runners on first and third. In his second career at bat, Wright grounded into a triple play.

In the sixth, with Sierra and Olerud again on base, Wright grounded into a double play. In the seventh, Sierra and Olerud were on base again, amidst a Mariner rally, and Lou Pinella sensibly lifted Wright, sending in Mark McLemore.

Ron Wright never appeared in a Major League game again.

So to recap, Wright, after years toiling in the minors, gets a random game at DH. In that game, he goes: strikeout, ground-into-triple-play, ground-into-double-play.

Damn.

(OK. Gotta find more on this story. Googles "Ron Wright")

Apparently however, Wright has no regrets, as shown in this New York Times piece from two years ago.

“I really would have liked to get a hit in the big leagues,” Wright said. “But for me, the dream was just being there.”

Wright does not own a tape of the game in Texas. He does not have any pictures. He keeps only the lineup card, tucked away in his briefcase. The briefcase usually stays in the closet.

Wright plans to graduate from pharmacy school in two years, but he still acts like a ballplayer. In the morning, he shaves his forearms, part of a minor league superstition. In class, he plays clubhouse pranks with Kenny Jones, another athlete turned student. Even Wright’s e-mail address includes the No. 7, which he used to wear on his jersey.