Jaret Wright. Get used to the name, the face, the aura.
The Cleveland Indians, who believe in living dangerously, are not so brave that they can’t depend on this 21-year-old prodigy.
It isn’t supposed to be thus. But, then, the Indians aren’t supposed to be in the World Series, either.
Wright began this season in nearby Akron, a Class AA affiliate that is a long way from the big show. When he was summoned here in June to help an ailing staff, the Indians didn’t know what to expect, other than the usual stuff.
They would find the kid a place to live, issue him a uniform, and draw him a map of what streets to avoid.
Now, Jaret Wright points the way. Most rookies lack confidence. He spreads it. This is a team, don’t forget, that held an emergency clubhouse meeting only a couple of months ago, because the White Sox were closing fast. The Indians wondered, were they worthy of even a modest division title?
Wednesday night, they gave Wright the ball for a game they had to have, Game 4 of the World Series against the Florida Marlins. He beat them 10-3. Was he nervous? Nah, not really.
“He’s as good as we heard he was,” said Marlins manager Jim Leyland. “The kid has what it takes to be great.”
Strange how teams chase multimillion-dollar veterans to create hope and patch holes, yet a kid making $150,000 can be so commanding, such a catalyst. When asked whether his tank might be getting low on gas, the kid responded, “it’s full, very full.”
Wright, who went 8-3 for half a regular season, declared himself early in the playoffs. Recall Game 2 in New York of the division series, after the Indians had forsaken a five-run lead to lose the opener 8-6.
Mike Hargrove, the Cleveland manager, commissioned Wright to go out and get Game 2. He barely got out of the first inning. He walked three batters in a row, the Yankees scored three quick runs, and it looked like a short Indian summer.
But Wright steadied. He yielded just those three runs on three hits through six innings, and Cleveland rallied to beat Andy Pettitte, of all people. That game, early and explicitly, established the Indians’ October-resilient personality. Then, just for fun, Wright beat Pettitte again in Game 5 to eliminate the defending champions.
“We gambled a bit using Jaret in New York,” Hargrove said. “You never know if a rookie will be intimidated. But I’ve never seem him awestruck. He never lets you see him sweat.”
Wright started Game 4 of the ALCS against Baltimore, and lasted only three innings. But the Indians won. They always do when he’s around. They’ve won the last eight games he has started, including two against the White Sox in September.
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Charles Nagy is tentatively assigned to pitch Game 7, if necessary, for the Indians. But, the thought of having Wright available is comforting. He logged six innings Wednesday night, threw 105 pitches, and departed with a 7-3 lead. The Indians were up by a similar count Tuesday night when their defense and bullpen imploded.
This city was gray and depressed after that grotesque defeat in Game 3, but a half hour into Game 4, the Indians once again propped up their fans through Wright, a fearless presence. It is an inexact science, trying to determine whether the Indians feed off their crowds or vice versa.
But it’s something to see and hear. Thursday night will be the last game of the 1997 season at Jacobs Field, no matter what. Then in a few weeks, tickets will go on sale for the 1998 season, and they’ll be gone just like that.
Baseball fever. It’s easy to catch in Cleveland. And so is pneumonia.