But in a rare in-depth interview in 2010, he steadfastly maintained his allegiance to the value of a science of baseball while at the same time speaking at length about the dangers of focusing on statistical analysis to understand the game.
[5][6] Along with Wright's consulting arrangements, from 1989 to 1996 he also provided a supplemental Advance Scout service for post-season play that was used by six pennant winners and four world champions.
In this book Wright was the first to give a sabermetric perspective on many issues within baseball, including the optimal way to utilize a bullpen and pitching rotation, how to better develop pitchers so that they are primed for future success, the significance of home field advantage, and catcher's ERA.
Wright repeatedly gave recommendations, help, and encouragement to those who aspired to similar careers in baseball, including Eddie Epstein, Mat Olkin, John Sickels, Keith Woolner, and Bill James.
Of particular interest is the very different take he has on those early days of sabermetrics in major league baseball that is quite at odds with the theme in Michael Lewis's Moneyball.
Wright acknowledges that very few teams back then were adding such a perspective, and that the general usage was at times on a small scale, but he makes a strong case that there were pockets where it was not only valued but had real impact.
"[12] In remembering Wright's work with the Texas Rangers, GM Tom Grieve said in a 1999 interview: "He was an important asset to the club," and added, "The more I know Craig, the more I respect him.
I can recall when we signed Tom Candiotti [in 1991] we were looking at free agent pitchers, and Craig felt he could be a guy who could give a lot of innings and pitch successfully.
After five years of working with Wright, Claire advised him that he would make a good GM and urged him to apply for a vacancy in St. Louis with his recommendation.
[12] Wright was too far ahead of his time to be hired as a GM, and that slowed the adaptation of his progressive ideas, but that didn't prevent him from continuing to be a pioneer in the development of the game and influencing its future.
Years before the so-called Moneyball approach began in Oakland, Wright showed remarkable prescience in an interview in the summer of 1999 [13] in which he advocated for the first time publicly a radical change in pitcher usage that went well beyond what even the most progressive teams were able to envision.
His writings in the public domain are now mainly about baseball history, but in 2011 he wrote a lengthy article for The Hardball Times on how to handle pitchers and about the use of pitch counts.
For the same publication in 2015 he again stepped away from baseball history to write an analytic piece about the explosion of ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries and Tommy John surgery,[15] explained what was behind it and offered ideas for fixing it.
[16] However, he has apparently continued to do some consulting projects for major league teams, at least through 2015, according to The MVP Machine by Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik.