In a major surprise was AL comeback player of the year in 1970 with 22 victories....add a no hitter and the season was near perfect.....the back story was Clyde was at the nadir of his career with a W-L of 1-8 in 1969.....offered up on waivers, no other team took interest....enter teammate Jim Fregosi who was going to start his managerial career during Winter ball....Wright took the offer on advisement....worked on a screwball and change up to bolster his pitching arsenal....such high yield could make 1971 and ‘72 somewhat of a letdown but he still a consistent force with an ERA still under three runs a game....His game ground down in 1973 with a sizeable jump in ERA and losing a disproportional number of games; 19 defeats over victories 11......A change of scenery to Milwaukee brought further unraveling going 9-20....An unsuccessful test trial in Texas in 1975 spelled his exit from the big leagues.....Played overseas in Japan until 1978, a tumultuous period intermingled with culture clashes ala Tom Selleck’s movie Mr. Baseball....opposite of Hollywood ending struggled with alcohol to masking his isolation in the far east...once retired, was able to overcome his addition.....A small college star, the lefty began career out with a straight fastball/curveball assortment....while some success was derived (10 wins in 1968) in his first three years....but never could establish himself in a particular role on the Angels staff.....Like one time teammate Bob Oliver opened an instructional school and had a son who was successful player, Jared who won 68 MLB games....still active in Angel activities.
That's a pose you would normally expect to see for a 3rd baseman, not a pitcher.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the photographer wanted another Billy Cowan (scheduled to be posted on 9/25) halo shot, and Wright pulls a fast one on him. I think Wright's pose make him look considerably heavier than in all his other cards.
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