# Mel Wright > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mel_Wright > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mel_Wright.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Wright > Source revision: 1276169638 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American baseball player (1928–1983)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Mel Wright |position=[Pitcher](/source/Pitcher) |image=Mel Wright - Houston Astros - 1976.jpg |caption=Wright in 1976 |bats=Right |throws=Right |birth_date={{Birth date|1928|5|11}} |birth_place=[Manila, Arkansas](/source/Manila%2C_Arkansas), U.S. |death_date={{Death date and age|1983|5|16|1928|5|11}} |death_place=[Houston, Texas](/source/Houston%2C_Texas), U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=April 17 |debutyear=1954 |debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=July 18 |finalyear=1961 |finalteam=Chicago Cubs |statleague = MLB |stat1label=[Win–loss record](/source/Win%E2%80%93loss_record_(pitching)) |stat1value=2–4 |stat2label=[Earned run average](/source/Earned_run_average) |stat2value=7.61 |stat3label=[Strikeout](/source/Strikeout)s |stat3value=36 |teams= *[St. Louis Cardinals](/source/St._Louis_Cardinals) ({{Baseball year|1954}}–{{Baseball year|1955}}) *[Chicago Cubs](/source/Chicago_Cubs) ({{Baseball year|1960}}–{{Baseball year|1961}}) }} '''Melvin James Wright Jr.''' (May 11, 1928 – May 16, 1983) was an American [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) [pitcher](/source/pitcher), [pitching coach](/source/coach_(baseball)) and [scout](/source/scout_(sport)). A native of [Manila, Arkansas](/source/Manila%2C_Arkansas), who attended [Ouachita Baptist University](/source/Ouachita_Baptist_University), Wright threw and batted right-handed and was measured during his playing days at {{height|ft=6|in=3}} tall and {{convert|210|lb|abbr=on}}. Wright was a longtime associate of former MLB [center fielder](/source/center_fielder) and [manager](/source/manager_(baseball)) [Bill Virdon](/source/Bill_Virdon). Originally signed by the [New York Yankees](/source/New_York_Yankees) in 1950, Wright was traded with Virdon to the [St. Louis Cardinals](/source/St._Louis_Cardinals) on April 11, 1954, in a multiplayer transaction that sent eventual [Baseball Hall of Fame](/source/Baseball_Hall_of_Fame) [outfielder](/source/outfielder) [Enos Slaughter](/source/Enos_Slaughter) to the Yanks. But while Virdon enjoyed a decade-plus-long Major League playing tenure, Wright spent most of his pitching career at the [Triple-A](/source/Triple-A_(baseball)) [minor league level](/source/minor_league_baseball). In 543 minor league games, he won 85 games, losing 61 with an [earned run average](/source/earned_run_average) of 3.01. Wright appeared in 58 games with the Cardinals (1954–55) and [Chicago Cubs](/source/Chicago_Cubs) (1960–61), winning two of six [decisions](/source/decision_(baseball)), surrendering 119 [hits](/source/Hit_(baseball)) in 84 [innings pitched](/source/innings_pitched), and compiling a poor earned run average of 7.61. On August 15, 1955, pitcher [Warren Spahn](/source/Warren_Spahn) of the [Milwaukee Braves](/source/Milwaukee_Braves) hit a home run at [Busch Stadium](/source/Sportsman's_Park) off Wright, then with the Cardinals, to give Spahn a home run in every National League park to that point. Wright began his coaching career in 1962 with the [Salt Lake City Bees](/source/Salt_Lake_City_Bees) of the Triple-A [Pacific Coast League](/source/Pacific_Coast_League), then was a member of the Cubs' experimental [College of Coaches](/source/College_of_Coaches) in 1963–64 before becoming a Chicago scout, minor league pitching instructor, then Major League pitching coach for one season (1971) on the staff of [Leo Durocher](/source/Leo_Durocher). In 1973, Virdon, then in his second and final season as manager of the [Pittsburgh Pirates](/source/Pittsburgh_Pirates), named Wright as his Major League pitching coach. Virdon then appointed Wright to posts with the Yankees (1974–75, as bullpen coach), [Houston Astros](/source/Houston_Astros) (1976–82) and [Montreal Expos](/source/Montreal_Expos) (1983). However, Wright was suffering from [cancer](/source/cancer) when Virdon asked him to join the Montreal coaching staff. He was hospitalized one week into the 1983 season and died of [heart failure](/source/myocardial_infarction) on May 16, in [Houston, Texas](/source/Houston%2C_Texas), at age 55.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6UkgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1qUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3301,4296157&dq=mel+wright+dies&hl=en|title=Wright dies|newspaper=The Tuscaloosa News|location=Tuscaloosa-Northport, Alabama|agency=[Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press) (AP)|date=May 18, 1983|page=16|accessdate=July 26, 2016}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{baseballstats|mlb=124608|espn=|br=w/wrighme01|fangraphs=|brm=wright002mel}} : {{s-start}} {{succession box|title=[Chicago Cubs](/source/Chicago_Cubs) [pitching coach](/source/coach_(baseball))|years=1971|before=[Verlon Walker](/source/Verlon_Walker)|after=[Larry Jansen](/source/Larry_Jansen)}} {{succession box|title=[Pittsburgh Pirates](/source/Pittsburgh_Pirates) [pitching coach](/source/coach_(baseball))|years=1973|before=[Don Osborn](/source/Don_Osborn)|after=[Don Osborn](/source/Don_Osborn)}} {{succession box|title=[New York Yankees](/source/New_York_Yankees) [bullpen coach](/source/coach_(baseball))|years=1974–1975|before=[Jim Hegan](/source/Jim_Hegan)|after=n/a}} {{succession box|title=[Houston Astros](/source/Houston_Astros) [pitching coach](/source/coach_(baseball))|years=1976–1982|before=[Roger Craig](/source/Roger_Craig_(baseball))|after=[Les Moss](/source/Les_Moss)}} {{s-end}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Mel}} Category:1928 births Category:1983 deaths Category:Baseball players from Arkansas Category:Binghamton Triplets players Category:Chicago Cubs coaches Category:Chicago Cubs players Category:Chicago Cubs scouts Category:Columbus Red Birds players Category:Dallas Rangers players Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Houston Astros coaches Category:Houston Buffs players Category:Joplin Miners players Category:Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Category:Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Major League Baseball pitching coaches Category:McAlester Rockets players Category:Montreal Expos coaches Category:New York Yankees coaches Category:Ouachita Baptist University alumni Category:Omaha Cardinals players Category:Rochester Red Wings players Category:People from Manila, Arkansas Category:Sportspeople from Mississippi County, Arkansas Category:Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Category:St. Louis Cardinals players Category:Huron Cubs players --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mel Wright](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Wright) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Wright?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.