THE WRIGHT CREDENTIALS : HART STANDOUT HONORED JACKIE ROBINSON IN GRAND MANNER.Byline: Dave Desmond Daily News Staff Writer No one had to explain the historical significance to Hart High School Hart High School may refer to:
n. Baseball The player who defends right field. Noun 1. right fielder - the person who plays right field outfielder - (baseball) a person who plays in the outfield Chris Wright Chris Wright may refer to:
As the only African-American varsity baseball player in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. , he was well aware that last Tuesday Last Tuesday is a Christian melodic punk rock band hailing from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They played their final show on March 10th, 2007. Last Tuesday was formed in 1999 in Harrisburg, P.A. marked the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson Noun 1. Jackie Robinson - United States baseball player; first Black to play in the major leagues (1919-1972) Jack Roosevelt Robinson, Robinson breaking professional baseball's color barrier. ``I definitely knew the importance of the day,'' said Wright, 16. ``It was a special day. Jackie Robinson endured a lot for the rest of us (abuse) for The Rest Of Us - (From the Macintosh slogan "The computer for the rest of us") 1. Used to describe a spiffy product whose affordability shames other comparable products, or (more often) used sarcastically to describe spiffy but very overpriced products. 2. and opened the door for a lot of minorities in many areas other than baseball.'' Last Tuesday became even more special to Wright. Later that afternoon, he went 4 for 4 with two grand slams and 10 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in against Saugus. ``I've never had a day like that in my life,'' said Wright, a junior who became only the ninth player in state history to slug two grand slams in one game. ``I feel like I'm in a zone right now.'' Longtime Saugus coach Doug Worley stood in the opposite dugout, a victim of Wright's stellar performance. ``I can't ever remember seeing anyone getting 10 RBI in a game, nothing close to it,'' he said. ``Everyone is going to have their day, but that was a day's day.'' It's no surprise Wright is playing such an important role in Hart's season. He batted .403 as a sophomore to help lead the Indians to the 1996 Foothill League championship. This season, Wright has been nothing short of amazing. As Hart's No. 2 hitter, Wright enters this week's crucial two-game Foothill League series against Burroughs batting .587 with four home runs and 24 RBI. Hart (11-7, 5-2) needs to sweep Burroughs (12-5, 7-0) to have a realistic chance of claiming its sixth-consecutive league title. ``This is certainly more than I expected from him,'' coach Bud Murray said. ``You're not counting on anyone to hit .600, and you're probably dreaming if you did.'' Wright's hot streak has even his teammates talking. ``He's just pounding the ball,'' leadoff hitter In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. Strategy Leadoff hitters must possess certain traits to be successful: they must reach base at a proficient rate and be able to steal bases. J.T. Stotts said. ``It's amazing. Everything he hits is so hard. We discuss it among the team and we're in shock. It's like, jeez jeez interj. Used to express surprise or annoyance. [Alteration of Jesus1.] , he's not human.'' Wright credits much of his success this season to his experience last summer while playing for the USA in the Pan-American Games Pan-American games, amateur athletic competition among representatives of countries in the Western Hemisphere. The competition, held every four years, follows the organization and eligibility rules of the Olympic games and is held in the year before the Olympics in . There, he studied the aggressive offensive approach taken by players from countries like Cuba and Brazil. ``I wasn't nearly as aggressive last year,'' he said. ``Just playing with and against players like that made me much better.'' The improvement came rapidly. He slugged a home run that helped seal a victory over Brazil in the gold-medal game. While he would like to play baseball beyond high school, Wright's not counting on it. His statistics may be out of this world, but his feet are on the ground. ``The odds are probably better of becoming a doctor or a lawyer than they are of becoming an athlete,'' said Wright, who carries a 3.0 grade-point average. ``Academics are the most important thing a person can have and I've made that my first priority.'' Wright, who has received numerous letters from interested colleges, seems more focused on laying the groundwork to earn a job in the computer field than in the outfield. Wright plans to major in computer science and eventually earn a job developing software. ``You can't put all your hopes and dreams on a game,'' he said. ``My immediate goals for baseball are to enjoy playing the game while improving every day. ``Those are my only real goals, other than winning a championship.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1) Chris Wright, the only African-American varsity baseball player in the Santa Clarita Valley, is well aware of Jackie Robinson's place in history. (2) Hart right fielder Chris Wright hit two grand slams against Saugus last Tuesday. Shaun Dyer / Special to the Daily News |
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