NEWPORT, RI- One month from today is the Newport Gulls Fifth Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. On February 2, 2019, at Gurney’s Newport Resort, Daniel Wright will be joined by four former Gulls players and two long-time volunteers to be inducted into the Newport Gulls Hall of Fame. Daniel is the feature of this Inductee Spotlight. 

 

A native of Bartlett, Tennessee, Daniel Wright pitched collegiately in the neighboring state of Arkansas for the Red Wolves of Arkansas State. Wright joined the Newport Gulls after his sophomore season in 2011 and junior year campaign in 2012. Wright’s first season with Newport, 2011, he made 11 appearances, two of which starts. He completed the year with 29.2 innings pitched, recorded 22 strikeouts, and allowed only eight runs resulting in a 2.27 earned run average. 

 

After making just three starts in his first two years at Arkansas State, Wright transitioned into a key member of the Red Wolves rotation as a junior in 2012. During his second stint in the City by the Sea, Wright made 10 starts including the 2012 NECBL All-Star Game. The 6-foot-2 right-handed pitcher led the NECBL in wins during the 2012 regular season after finishing a perfect 6-0. He tacked on two more victories during the playoffs as the Gulls went on to capture their fifth Fay Vincent Cup and were ranked the #1 Summer Collegiate Baseball Team in the country. Overall, Wright hurled 62.2 innings, struck out 59 batters, and recorded an ERA of 3.30. Wright was named a 2012 All- NECBL First Team performer and after another strong collegiate season, the Cincinnati Reds selected Wright in the 10th Round of the 2013 First- Year Player Draft. 

 

As a member of the Cincinnati Reds, Wright made his Major League Debut on May 24, 2016, when he toed the mound as the starting pitcher against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Reds went on to lose the game 8-2 but Wright showed no first-time jitters as he tossed 5.1 innings and allowed three earned runs with four strikeouts. Wright was claimed off waivers in September of 2016 by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after making a few more appearances for the Reds. He made five additional starts for the Angels that season and a couple more in 2017 before spending the 2018 season in AA for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

 

Manager Mike Coombs coached Wright during both years with the Gulls and stated “Wright was one of the best kids I have ever had. A yes-sir, no-sir kind of guy that always pitched his heart out and made you proud to share the same dugout.”

 

The Newport Gulls are excited to induct Wright and six additional individuals that have made significant contributions to the organization on and off the field. Tickets to the event are still available via newportgulls.itemorder.com or by contacting the Newport Gulls Front Office at 401-845-6832 or operations@newportgulls.com. 

 

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The Newport Gulls, members of the 13-team New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded as the Rhode Island Gulls in 1998 in Cranston, R.I., before moving to Newport in 2001. In addition to recruiting, fielding, and developing a team of the nation’s top collegiate baseball athletes and attracting 50,000 fans annually to Cardines Field, the predominantly volunteer organization strives to benefit the community of Newport County via summer camps, reading programs, fundraisers, scholarships, and charitable donations – totaling over $1 million since 2001. The Gulls are six-time champions of the NECBL – the winningest franchise in league history – and were ranked as the overall No. 1 summer collegiate baseball team in the country by Perfect Game USA in 2012.

 

For more information about the Newport Gulls, visit facebook.com/newportgulls, follow the Gulls on Twitter @NewportGulls or visit www.newportgulls.com.