Glenn Wright Stats & Facts

Player

Glenn Wright Essentials

Positions: Shortstop
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 5′-11″ Weight: 170
Born: Wednesday, February 06, 1901 in Archie, MO USA
Died: April 6, 1984 in Olathe, KS USA
Debut: April 15, 1924
Last Game: June 5, 1935
Full Name: Forest Glenn Wright

 

Notable Events and Chronology for Glenn Wright Career

Biography

 

Glenn Wright, shortstop for the Pirates from 1924 until 1928. He had played three seasons of minor league ball before the Pirates purchased his contract from the Kansas City Blues of the American Association. Wright had an outstanding rookie season in 1924, finishing third in the NL with 111 RBIs, third with 18 triples, and he led the league with 616 at-bats. He also set a record for assists by a shortstop with 601, a total that has been topped only once since (Ozzie Smith in 1980). Wright would finish 11th in the NL MVP voting that season. His second season was even better than his first. He hit .308 and drove in 121 runs while scoring a career high 97 runs. He collected 60 extra base hits, led NL shortstops again in assists and this time finished fourth in the NL MVP voting. The Pirates went to the World Series that year and Wright struggled with a .185 average, but the Pirates still took the series in seven games. On May 7, 1925, he turned an unassisted triple play, just the sixth in MLB history at the time.

In 1926, Wright played just 119 games, missing some time in August after suffering an injury during a clubhouse scuffle. Prior to the injury he was hitting .324, but upon returning three weeks later, his average dropped down below .300, only coming back to .308 by going 6-for-8 in the last two games of the season. Healthy for the 1927 season, he hit .281 and drove in 105 runs, topping the century mark in RBIs for a third time in four years. He led all NL shortstops in games played, putouts and also errors. The Pirates made the World Series again and again Wright had his postseason troubles, hitting .154 as the Pirates lost in four games. He played just 108 games in 1928, missing some time with off-field problems and he was now in the manager’s doghouse. After the season, the Pirates traded him to the Brooklyn Dodgers in exchange for pitcher Jesse Petty and a backup infielder named Harry Riconda. Wright would be injured almost all of 1929, come back in 1930 to hit .321 with 22 homers and 126 RBIs, before injuring his leg. That injury would effectively end his days as a star shortstop. He was a career .294 hitter with 723 RBIs in 1,119 games.