Ken Wright
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1970-1974)
Ken Wright was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1974 for the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees, a span of 5 seasons. Across 113 career appearances, he went 11-15 with a 4.54 ERA and 181 strikeouts.
- W (Wins):
- Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
- ERA (Earned Run Average):
- Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
- SO (Strikeouts):
- For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
- WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
- Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.
Data updated
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 210 lb
- Died
- 1/21/2017 in Pensacola, FL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1970-04-10
- Last Game
- 1974-04-28
Full name: Kenneth Warren Wright
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | KCA | AL | 1 | 2 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 53.1 | 49 | 31 | 29 | 30 | 5.23 | 3.89 (-35%) | -186.7 |
| 1971 | KCA | AL | 3 | 6 | 21 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 78.0 | 66 | 32 | 47 | 56 | 3.69 | 3.47 (-6%) | -915.7 |
| 1972 | KCA | AL | 1 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 18.1 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 18 | 4.91 | 3.26 (-50%) | 96.8 |
| 1973 | KCA | AL | 6 | 5 | 25 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 80.2 | 60 | 44 | 82 | 75 | 4.91 | 3.75 (-31%) | -1969.6 |
| 1974 | NYA | AL | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3.18 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 11 | 15 | 113 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 236.0 | 195 | 119 | 180 | 181 | 4.54 | — | -2,975 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 113 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .071 | .103 | .071 | .175 | 0 |
Career AVG .071 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 71.7% below league average.
Career OBP .103 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — 67.7% below league average.
Career SLG .071 vs. league average .371 across their career seasons — 80.7% below league average.
Career OPS .175 vs. league average .691 across their career seasons — 74.7% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | KCA | AL | 47 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1971 | KCA | AL | 21 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .091 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1972 | KCA | AL | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1973 | KCA | AL | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1974 | NYA | AL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 113 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .071 | — | — | — | — | 0 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (226 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 59 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .071 |
| Away | 54 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .071 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 59 | 121.2 | 114 | 67 | 97 | 91 | 4.96 |
| Away | 54 | 114.1 | 81 | 52 | 82 | 90 | 4.09 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-04-28 | NYY | TEX | — | 0.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974-04-13 | NYY | CLE | — | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1974-04-12 | NYY | CLE | — | 1.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973-09-10 | KCR | OAK | — | 0.1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973-09-04 | KCR | MIN | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973-07-28 | KCR | LAA | L | 0.2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1973-07-21 | KCR | MIL | W | 7.1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| 1973-07-15 | KCR | NYY | L | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 1973-07-11 | KCR | MIL | L | 2.2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 1973-07-07 | KCR | DET | W | 9.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 113 |
Ken Wright: the record in brief
Between the debut on April 10, 1970 and the final game on April 28, 1974, Ken Wright built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the Kansas City Royals (1970 through 1973) and the New York Yankees (1974). Wright, a pitcher by primary position, threw and hit right-handed. Height and weight on file: 210 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. Wright was born on September 4, 1946, in Pensacola, FL, USA. Wright's death is recorded on January 21, 2017, in Pensacola, FL, USA. The given name on file is Kenneth Warren Wright.
Wright went 11-15 with a 4.54 ERA in 113 games, 24 of them starts. The same table counts 181 strikeouts. The league ERA over Wright's seasons was 3.60, so the 4.54 figure ran 26.0% worse than average. Wright won 6 games in 1973, the most of any season listed. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.69 in 1971, when the league's was 3.47.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ken Wright
- What years did Ken Wright play?
- Ken Wright played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1974.
- Was Ken Wright a pitcher?
- Yes. Ken Wright pitched in the major leagues, recording 11 wins and 181 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Ken Wright hit?
- Ken Wright hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.
- What was Ken Wright's career batting average?
- Ken Wright batted .071 over his career, with 2 hits in 28 at bats.
- What was Ken Wright's career ERA?
- Ken Wright finished with a 4.54 career ERA, going 11-15 with 181 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Ken Wright have?
- Ken Wright recorded 181 career strikeouts.