WHY I THINK GLENN WRIGHT SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK GLENN WRIGHT SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

In advocating for Glenn Wright I am really advocating for all players on their way to the Hall of Fame whose careers were ruined by injuries. The Hall of Fame is really for those players who stood out as being great baseball players and were lucky enough to be able to last. Now Glenn Wright was an outstanding baseball player, but without taking this into consideration he wouldn’t be a Hall of Famer. The same goes for Don Mattingly, Ted Kluszewski, Al Rosen, and many others (but no, I won’t write a post about Tony Conigliaro). Glenn Wright began his career with the Pirates in 1924, and immediately became one of the best players in the game. The 23 year old shortstop drove in 111 runs as a rookie and set the MLB record for shortstops with 601 assists. Only one player ever did better - Ozzie Smith (surprise), who had 621 for the Padres in 1980. This achievement is even more remarkable when it is realized that Wright played in all 153 games the Pirates played in 1924, whereas Smith played in 158 of the Padres’ 163. Wright had another excellent season in 1925, batting .308 with 18 home runs and 121 RBI’s. The Pirate cleanup hitter followed up with another .308 season in 1926. Wright drove in over 100 runs for the third time in four seasons in 1927, and had his third .300 season in 1928 with a .310. In 1929, however, Wright suffered a massive shoulder injury, which limited him to only 24 games all year (21 as a pinch hitter) and drastically shortened his career. He had a couple good seasons after the injury, however, and even hit .321 with 22 homers (at the time the NL record for shortstops) and 126 RBI’s in 1930. From then his career slowly wound down, and he looked finished after he batted .255 in 71 games in 1933. He made a brief Major League comeback with the White Sox in 1935, batting 3-for-25 in nine games, and never again appeared in a Big League game. When he was healthy and available, Glenn Wright was the standout shortstop in the Major Leagues. If he had never gotten hurt, then his career could have looked like that of Joe Cronin, for example. I would like to give this Hall of Fame talent some credit for his lost years. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,119 season high: 153 in 1924 and 1925 led NL: 153 in 1925 

At Bats career: 4,153 season high: 616 in 1924 led NL: 616 in 1924 

Hits career: 1,219 season high: 189 in 1925 

Doubles career: 203 season high: 32 in 1925 

Triples career: 76 season high: 18 in 1924 

Home Runs career: 94 season high: 22 in 1930 

Runs career: 584 season high: 97 in 1925 

Runs Batted In career: 723 season high: 126 in 1930 

Stolen Bases career: 38 season high: 14 in 1924 

Walks career: 209 season high: 39 in 1927 

Strikeouts career: 407 season high: 70 in 1930 

Batting Average career: .294 season high: .321 in 1930 

On Base Percentage career: .328 season high: .360 in 1930 

Slugging Percentage career: .447 season high: .543 in 1930 

Total Bases career: 1,856 season high: 295 in 1925 

Sacrifice Hits career: 113 season high: 18 in 1924 

Fielding Percentage career: .941 season high: .964 in 1930 

Double Plays career: 705 season high: 109 in 1925 led NL SS: 102 in 1924, 109 in 1925 

Putouts career: 2,240 season high: 338 in 1925 led NL SS: 296 in 1927 

Assists career: 3,504 season high: 601 in 1924 led NL SS: 601 in 1924, 530 in 1925 

DID YOU KNOW?
-nicknamed “Buckshot” 

-finished fourth in the NL MVP Award voting in 1925, 11th in 1924, and 25th in 1931 

-homered off of Hall of Famer Stan Coveleski in Game 2 of the 1925 World Series, helping the Pirates to the World Championship 

-turned an unassisted triple play on May 7, 1925, tagging out future Hall of Famers Jim Bottomley and Rogers Hornsby 

-led the NL in assists at any position in 1924 

-led NL shortstops in games in 1924, 1925, and 1927 

-hit two home runs off of Hall of Famer Eppa Rixey and one each off of Carl Mays and Wilbur Cooper 

-also played 12 games at first base, eight at second base, three at third base, one in rightfield, 52 as a pinch hitter, and one as a pinch runner