The Sports Network was kind enough to share this great David Wright interview conducted by their Minor League Baseball Editor, Jonathan O'Konis. It is an amazing glimpse into the mind of David Wright, shortly before he became the Mets regular third baseman. I loved this interview back then and I still do, I think you will too.
The Mets age-old quest for a star third baseman may finally be over. From Don Zimmer in 1962 through last year with Ty Wigginton, the Mets have been searching for a long-term solution at the hot corner. The answer could be David Wright. If you haven't heard the name, you will soon. Ranked as the number two prospect in the Mets system by the Sports Network before the season started, Wright has emerged as the best third-base prospect in the Minor Leagues. I recently got the opportunity to speak with David and we discussed his future and his play so far this season.
SPORTS NETWORK: You grew up as a Mets' fan. How did that happen with you growing up in Virginia?
DAVID WRIGHT: I grew up in Norfolk. My family and I used to go to the Norfolk Tides minor league baseball games. We were big Tides fans. My Dad was also a big Mets fan. Getting to see some of the future Mets play at Harbor Park in Norfolk, the Tides park, I became a pretty big Mets fan.
SPORTS NETWORK: What was it like being drafted by the Mets?
WRIGHT: On draft day we were listening to it on the Internet, with friends and family, and when the Mets selected me with the 38th-overall pick the house exploded. It was an unbelievable feeling. To be drafted, not only as high as I was, but to be drafted by my favorite team was a dream come true. I was on cloud nine for a little bit.
SPORTS NETWORK: You don't seem to get as much press as some of the other prospects of your ability. Why do you think that is?
WRIGHT: I think I get more then enough press. Especially this year, being invited to the big league camp. Being fortunate enough last year to get an opportunity to go to the Arizona Fall League. So I think I get my fair share. When I hear people saying, I don't get enough or I deserve more, it's just one of those things. No matter what kind of press or publication I get I don't take it as pressure on myself. I know that I put a whole heck of a lot more pressure on myself than any publication or media can put on me.
SPORTS NETWORK: You've gotten off to excellent start this season hitting .338/.452/.586 (batting average/OBP/slugging percentage). To what do you attribute that to?
WRIGHT: Well the biggest thing I can attribute it too was getting the opportunity to work with our roving hitting coaches in the Mets organization. Especially HoJo (former Mets third basemen Howard Johnson). He taught me too learn my own swing, so that I can go up there and in-between at-bats or even in-between pitches, I can adjust my own swing and feel what I'm doing wrong and what I have to fix to be successful.
SPORTS NETWORK: What's been the most exciting aspect of your career so far?
WRIGHT: A couple of different things. First off would be winning the Florida State League Championship last year. We have a very close knit group of guys that I play with and we go out after the games. In the Mets' system they teach us and develop us into winning ballplayers. We expect to go out there and win every game we play. Winning the Florida State League Championship last year was definitely big. Especially with this group of guys we have here and the coaching staff, we're very close-knit. The second thing would be playing in the Arizona Fall League last season. That was a great experience for me. I learned a lot. I got to meet a lot of the big baseball guys and baseball connections that I'll have for the rest of my playing career.
SPORTS NETWORK: Often times I was told that sometimes you work too hard and it tires you out too much. What have you done to try and remedy this situation?
WRIGHT: Last year, when I was slumping real bad, I had a couple of coordinators and rovers (roving instructors) in town and they sat me and they told me that for the last three seasons my road batting average had been higher then my home batting average. So they sat down and talked to me about what routine I went through at home and what routine I went through on the road. I told them I was getting to ballpark at 1:00 PM every afternoon at home and taking a lot of early batting practice, then going out and taking batting practice with the team, and then going out on my own hitting off a tee or taking more batting practice. When I was slumping the way I thought to get out of it was to hit-hit-hit. So you just work your way out of it. What was hurting me was the fact that I was becoming very tired before games. I wasn't feeling real fresh and wouldn't play like I would if I wasn't run into the ground. Having been through that, I've learned to work smart.
SPORTS NETWORK: Your skills often get you fit with the tag of being a complete player. Meaning you can contribute with your bat, your glove, and your legs. Which aspect of the game do you find yourself working on the most?
WRIGHT: To tell you the truth when I come to the ballpark everyday I come with the mind set that I want to improve on all aspects of my game. I don't think that I'm good enough to get by on just hitting, fielding, or base running. I feel that I can improve in all aspects of the game. Working with a guy like Ken Oberkfell, our manager, and HoJo, our hitting coach, they teach me all the aspects of the game. They were both great defensive third basemen. HoJo even had a couple of 30-30 seasons. It's great being able to come to the ballpark knowing that you're going to learn something new and that you have that knowledge available to you to tap into.
SPORTS NETWORK: There has been some discussion of you possibly skipping Triple-A and jumping right to the major leagues. Does the fact that the Mets Triple-A Affiliate plays in your home town of Norfolk present a daunting challenge to you?
WRIGHT: It would definitely be great to go home and play in front of everyone. I have a lot of friends and family living in the Norfolk area. That definitely doesn't sound imposing to me. I grew up watching the Norfolk team. So it would be nice to come around full circle and play for the Tides. But I understand there are a lot of great Double-A prospects and I'll be challenged at either level, whether it be Double-A or Triple-A. I think the organization has a plan for me and so far I feel that I've been developing at a good pace and that so far their plan for me seems to be working out. I feel that day in day out I'm becoming a better baseball player.
SPORTS NETWORK: Do you have a personal hitting philosophy?
WRIGHT: I think my philosophy as a hitter is pretty broad. I like to be very aggressive early in the count. I kind of like to, "zone-hit" is what we call it, I don't really look for a specific pitch. I look for a specific location. If it's a ball on the outside that I think I can handle. Whether it be a fastball, breaking ball, or a change-up outside I try to hit it. So I go up there and look for any pitch in a particular zone. Sometimes I go up there and I'm looking for a pitch on the outer half and they bust me in with fastballs. I don't try to go up there and guess which pitch is coming, I try and look for a specific location. I definitely like to go up there and be very aggressive early in the count.
SPORTS NETWORK: Do the Mets, as an organization, try to impart a hitting philosophy to all their prospects in the minors?
WRIGHT: Oh, absolutely. One of the things I mentioned earlier about being under control, but, aggressive early in the count is exactly what the Mets are trying to teach. We're very big advocates of getting on base. The whole OBP way of thinking. Then once we get on base they really like us to try and run. Especially here, in Double-A, we have a good running team. We have a lot of guys who can steal a bag. So if we can get on base and steal some bags it puts a lot of pressure on the defense and puts runners in scoring position for our middle of the lineup guys.
SPORTS NETWORK: How is life in the minors treating you, especially all the travel?
WRIGHT: I got kind of spoiled last year playing in the Florida State League. Our longest bus trip was two 1/2 to three hours. This year we've a had a couple ten-hour trips, a couple of six and seven-hour trips. It just makes you want to work harder to get the big leagues, where you don't have to worry about things like the bus breaking down at 3 o'clock in the morning and you don't have to worry about eating McDonalds everyday. But life in the minors is great. This is where you develop friendships and you make those baseball connections that you'll have for the rest of your life. I know personally I've made some great friends over the last couple of years playing in the minors leagues. We're very close, both on and off the ballfield. It's great to go out and go to battle with those kind of people.
SPORTS NETWORK: What was the biggest benefit you got from attending the Mets Major League spring training this year?
WRIGHT: Oh man. There are so many. The biggest thing I learned was how they handle themselves as professionals both on and off the field and also how they get their work done. You watch Baseball Tonight and see the long homerun that Mike Piazza hit, or the great pitching performances of Tom Glavine or Al Leiter. But what people don't see is the behind the scenes work that those guys do to stay in shape and get ready for the season. Those guys work extremely hard and I think that motivates the younger guys in the organization to work that much harder because they see guys who are going into the Hall of Fame working their butt off to get better. So they know there's always room for improvement and if a future Hall of Famer can go out there work his tail off. Then we sure as heck can.
SPORTS NETWORK: Do you find the possibility of playing in a market like New York imposing?
WRIGHT: Imposing? Definitely not. From what I've experienced going to the couple of Mets games I've been to so far is that the fans really care. They care about the team and they know their baseball. When you hear the stories about the fans booing and what not, I think it's because they care. I'd much rather play in a place where the fans know about the game, they care about the team as opposed to a place where they just sit around and don't care or express their opinions about the team. I think it's a great atmosphere to play in. Just from sitting and talking to HoJo and talking with (Mets Hall of Famer) Gary Carter it's a great place to play when you win. Hopefully with our core I'd like to experience that.
SPORTS NETWORK: You've said that one of the adjustments you've made is trying to think of the season as a marathon instead of a sprint. How's that going?
WRIGHT: I think the biggest goal that I had headed into this year was to become a consistent all-around player, I know last year I had three months where I hit over .300 and then I had two months where I hit .200 or .150. So I just came into this year trying to be more consistent and so far I've been able to accomplish that, but we're only a quarter of the way through the season. I think that it's a good philosophy to have: To try to not get too high when you're doing well or get too low when you're doing bad. If you can just limit the roller coaster up-and-downs, you can become a more consistent player that will show in the numbers at the end of the season.
SPORTS NETWORK: Which players, 3B in particular, have you looked up to?
WRIGHT: Well, I watched HoJo a lot growing up. I was a big fan of HoJo. The other player wasn't a third basemen, but he ended up being a third basemen: Cal Ripken. I was a big fan of Cal Ripken. They were the two guys, when I was younger, that I really looked up too coming up through the baseball ranks. Once I got into high school and professional ball I started watched Scott Rolen a lot. I really admire the way he plays the game. I know that it's a scouting term, but he's really a five-tool player. That's the type of player I would like to become one of these days. A guy who can hit, hit for power, steal some bases, and play some defense with a strong arm.
SPORTS NETWORK: Do you set goals for yourself every season?
WRIGHT: As far as goals wise each year, I just hope to keep improving on the year before. I know that doesn't sound that interesting. I don't shoot for certain numbers or certain accolades. I try to go out and everyday do what I can to help the team win. I feel that if I go out there and play my game the numbers will show up. I try to improve from day-to-day and improve from year- by-year. If I feel that at the end of this year that I'm better then I was at the end of last season, then I've had a more successful year.
