Righteous Righting of Ed Wright's Story (Written)

Ed Wright had a couple nice seasons as a pitcher in the majors in 1945 and 1946 with the Boston Braves.

1947 and 1948 weren't so kind to Wright and he found himself back in the minors in 1949, resurfacing for a short while in 1952 with the Philadelphia A's.

His Baseball Reference major league page has the following for his transactions:

Before 1949 Season: Sent from the Boston Braves to the Philadelphia Phillies in an unknown transaction.

Well, he was in Milwaukee at the end of 1948, the Boston minor league club, then Toronto of the Phillies system in 1949. We find out how that happened in this from the Feb. 8, 1949 Milwaukee Journal...

“The Brewers Monday [Feb. 7] announced the sale of pitcher Ed Wright to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International league. Wright, 30, spent the 1948 campaign with the Brewers on option from the parent Boston Braves, winning nine games and losing 12, and was purchased outright at the end of the season.”

So the Braves sold him outright to the Milwaukee club, then Milwaukee sold him to Toronto!

 July 5, 1950: Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the New York Giants for Donald Robertson (minors). (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)

from the July 7, 1950 Toledo Blade:

 “The Minneapolis Millers have traded pitcher Don Robertson to Toronto of the International League in exchange for hurler Ed Wright.”

He was in the Phillies organization for a season and a half, then went in a deal to the Giants' Minneapolis team.

A 2-1 record with an ERA over 6.50 in his 1952 A's stint was the last Wright pitched in the majors. Not listed on the Baseball Reference site is what the A's did with his contract. From the Victoria Advocate of  Feb. 6, 1953...

“The Athletics….sold pitcher Ed Wright to Memphis in the Southern Association.”

Wright made a few more lower minor league stops before he was done pitching.

Wright stolen from sabr.org

Eddie Lake Holds Out, Gets Shipped Out

Eddie Lake was an infielder for the Browns, Red Sox and Tigers from the late thirties into the forties.

He was a scrappy type of player that took a lot of walks, received some MVP consideration in 1945, and even pitched a few games in 1944.

After an abbreviated season in 1950, where he played in just 20 games, going 0-for-7 at the plate, Lake came to spring training with the Tigers as an unhappy camper.

Actually, he didn't come to spring training, holding out after getting a contract offer slashing his pay from $10,000 to $7,500 for the season. Baseball Reference's Eddie Lake page doesn't list any transaction after the move to the Tigers, but we found this: From the St. Petersburg Times of Apr 6 1951...

“Outright sale of Infielder Eddie Lake to San Francisco of the Pacific Coast League was announced yesterday by the Detroit Tigers.”

The price was not announced according to the short article. Lake did well with the Seals, a Yankee farm club at the time, clubbing 27 homeruns. In the off-season, though, he was on the move again. From the Eugene Register-Guard of Feb. 24, 1952:

“Eddie Lake, the highest-paid player on the San Francisco Seal roster last year, was traded to Oakland for pitcher West Bailey and utility infielder Jimmy Moran.”

Bailey and Moran were career minor leaguers. Lake wasn't nearly as successful in Oakland as he had been in San Francisco, and after two seasons he went to lower minor league cities to finish his career.

Eddie Lake Seals photo from

sflib1.sfpl.org

Capping Mark Christman's Major League Career

Marc Christman was a solid infielder in the late thirties and into the forties with the Tigers, Browns and Senators, receiving a few MVP votes along the way.

His Baseball Reference major league page is a good example of why I do this blog. The list of transactions end with his being purchased by Washington in 1947, though his career continued into the high minors afterwards...leaving open the question "How did he get to Seattle from the Senators?"

He could have been released by Washington, or traded for another player. It turns out, according to this article from the Milwaukee Journal of Dec. 29, 1949, his contract was sold to the independent Rainiers...

“The Washington Nationals Wednesday sold infielder Mark Christman, 36, to Seattle of the Pacific Coast League for Cash, Vice-President Calvin Griffith announced.”

As a baseball nut, I think that is important to note. Christman didn't last long in Seattle, and was given a chance to go to Milwaukee. From the Milwaukee Journal of June 5, 1949:

“Mark Christman, former major league infielder, is going to join the Milwaukee Brewers, President Jake Flowers announced Monday. Christman, who was given his free agency by the Seattle club of the Pacific Coast league last week, accepted term in a long distance telephone conversation.”

 

Christman played for a couple of lower minor league clubs as he went into coaching.

Christman photo from

www.ootpdevelopments.com