First and foremost, how do you define a superstar?  For the purposes of this post, I’m going to say that a superstar has to have been in the league long enough to be compensated like one.  This will provide a “track record” that we can use to see where Wright lies amongst his peers.  Does this leave out the Mike Trouts and Bryce Harpers of the world?  Yes, but its important to consider money because it is always an important dynamic in this argument.

With that said, if there is anything both Wright’s supports and his critics can agree on, its that Wright’s new contract compensates him like a superstar.  Despite making only $11 million dollars this season, he will average $17.5 million over the length of the deal.  So for the purposes of comparison, I will use this $17.5 million dollar figure so Wright goes up against players considered to be the best in the league.  IF Wright were to make $17.5 million dollars this season, he would find himself to be the twenty-third highest paid player in Major League Baseball.   As it turns out, there are eleven higher paid position players in the game under this scenario.  Therefore, for the purposes of this comparison, I will use those eleven players and the first eleven that fall below him.  Each of these players have been productive enough on a consistent basis to be amongst the highest paid position players in the league.  Does Wright belong in this group?

This is how they match up over the course of their careers in the major statistical categories:

Click to enlarge. All statistics obtained from www.baseball-reference.com. All statistics are averages over every 162 games played.

I chose these statistics because they are the most commonly known offensive categories for the average/traditional baseball fan.  I included batting average with runners in scoring position as a way to measure “clutchness”, which always seems to come up when discussing Wright.  So what have we learned…

Wright is actually above average when it comes to runs, hits, runs batted in, stolen bases, batting average, OPS, and finally, “clutchness”.  Consequently, he is slightly below average when it comes to power numbers and also averages a few additional strikeouts than his peers, neither of which should come as a surprise to anyone who watches Wright on a daily basis.  Which of these statistics you value most will go a long way in making your determination of whether or not Wright is in fact, a superstar.

I’ll allow you to make that determination for yourself.  What I do take away from all of this is that David Wright has earned his place amongst the highest paid players in the league.  He may never hit the epic home runs that some on this list do.  That alone may be enough for some of you to never deem Wright a superstar, and that’s okay.  However, there are other aspects of his game that help to fill his power void, which may lead others to the exact opposite conclusion.  What do you think?  How does he match up?  Is David Wright a superstar?

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83.

Disclaimer: I did not include defensive statistics in this comparison because each of these players play different positions, with several serving as a DH who don’t play defense at all.  Salaries were obtained from www.baseballplayersalaries.com/salaries.

Jim Callis of Baseball America had little fun this morning  with his mailbag piece and fielded the following interesting question:

If you had to make a 25-man roster using at most one player from any farm system, what would it look like? To make it more interesting, let’s say that the team doesn’t have to be competitive this year, so far-away prospects are fine if that’s who you want.

C: Mike Zunino, Mariners.
1B: Christian Yelich, Marlins.
2B: Jurickson Profar, Rangers.
3B: Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox.
SS: Francisco Lindor, Indians.
LF: Yasiel Puig, Dodgers.
CF: Byron Buxton, Twins.
RF: Oscar Taveras, Cardinals.
DH: Wil Myers, Rays.

Reserve C: Gary Sanchez, Yankees.
Reserve INF: Javier Baez, Cubs; Carlos Correa, Astros.
Reserve OF: Billy Hamilton, Reds; Nick Castellanos, Tigers.

No. 1 SP: Dylan Bundy, Orioles.
No. 2 SP: Gerrit Cole, Pirates.
No. 3 SP: Zack Wheeler, Mets.
No. 4 SP: Archie Bradley, Diamondbacks.
No. 5 SP: Kyle Zimmer, Royals.

Reserve P: Max Fried, Padres; Aaron Sanchez, Blue Jays; Kyle Crick, Giants; Lucas Giolito, Nationals; Jesse Biddle, Phillies; J.R. Graham, Braves.

Now that’s what I would call a Dream Team.

Sandy Alderson and Jay Horwitz chat before start of today’s game. (Photo: Matt Balasis, MMO)

Updated by Joe D. on April 15 at 12:00 PM

The reaction to Matt’s interview with Mets GM Sandy Alderson has been stunning. Over 25,000 different visitors have read the post and as I was telling Shannon of Mets Media Relations, it’s been talked about on WFAN and posted or linked to on over two dozen mainstream sites including MLB Trade Rumors, ESPN, Fox Sports, Yahoo, USA Today, MetsBlog and the Daily News to name a few.

In all fairness, regarding the Giancarlo Stanton rumor which originated with Andy Martino of the Daily News, and was covered on MMO in a post that eclipsed 300 comments, Martino offered a reply to Alderson’s denial that there were any recent conversations and wanted to add his comments here:

Just updating our item from last Thursday on the Mets’ interest in Miami outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. Two pieces of news trickled out over the weekend that both confirmed the Mets’ end of the story and moved forward the Marlins’ end beyond what we wrote.

In the original column, I reported that Sandy Alderson and Marlins GM Larry Beinfest spoke at a minor league game in Jupiter, Fla. This was probably early March. One good Mets source told me that two discussed Stanton, and that “there was heat there.” He was not talking about the temperature in Florida, but his team’s strong interest in the young slugger.

But another Mets person, also reliable, said he wasn’t sure if Stanton came up in the conversation that day. Alderson did not return a phone call seeking clarification, so I wrote what I knew to be accurate: One source said they talked Stanton, one said they talked about something or other. Regardless, we know the Mets are eyeing Stanton in their search for a marquee outfielder.

This weekend in Minnesota, Matt Balasis of Mets Merized Online spoke to Alderson. The GM, in a backhanded way, acknowledged that the teams had talked during spring training (he also said there was nothing happening now. To be clear, I never reported, suggested or implied that the teams were talking now).

To be clear, Alderson said they haven’t talked since “early spring training”. So we are talking about well over a month ago. Also, as Matt tells it, the exchange as it took place told more than just the words alone:

I wish I had video footage of the interview. When I mentioned Stanton for Wheeler and D’Arnaud he scoffed and just said “No,” then there was an awkward pause.

I followed up and said, “So there’s nothing to the rumors?”

And that’s when he said they hadn’t spoken since early spring. He was very, very clear that there was nothing to the recent rumors.

Anyway, both Andy and Matt added more context to the story regarding the Stanton rumor. Though while it was incredibly fun to consider, it was never nothing more than a longshot at best and one that ran out of steam over a month ago.

Original Post by Matt Balasis on April 13 at 8:00 PM

I had a chance to chat with Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson today during batting practice before the game at Target Field. I thought he gave me some very interesting answers on a number of different Mets topics. My thoughts follow the interview. Enjoy…

MMO: On the Stanton rumors, they’ve been all over the news, are there any truth to them?

Sandy: No, no we haven’t had any conversations with them since early spring.

MMO: Will adding players and payroll at the break be based on how well the team is doing or whether revenue is up?

Sandy: You mean adding players? If we feel the team is doing well we will add players.

MMO: Adding payroll, will you base that decision more on revenue or performance or both?

Sandy: Performance, but if we are winning, revenue will be up.

MMO: How do you feel about organizational depth as a whole? This is an organization that’s had poor organizational depth for a long time.

Sandy: It’s getting better. We are starting to see some effects of improved depth and we should be seeing more in the near future.

Sandy Alderson watching his team take batting practice before today’s game. (Photo: Matt Balsis, MMO)

MMO: If Buck keeps hitting the way he has been, how will you handle it when D’Arnaud comes up? Will you keep playing Buck or will he take on more of a mentor’s role?

Sandy: We’ll find a way to play both of them.

MMO: Any chance you will trade Buck?

Sandy: No. We are not trading Buck.

MMO: How do you feel about the bullpen, this team has struggled with bullpen depth for the greater part of the past decade?

Sandy: The Bullpen seems to be doing well, we still have Fransicso rehabbing and Familia down there so we feel we have some good depth there.

MMO: How do you feel about the team’s performance as a whole?

Sandy: Well it’s only been 10 games.

Thoughts from Matt

I got the sense that there is nothing to the Stanton rumors at all. A lot of the press around me seem to agree as well. Totally unfounded …

Overall I get the impression from watching Sandy interact around his players that while he does appear to be a consummate professional and an exemplary administrator, this is not the uncaring hatchet man he’s been accused of being.

The players joked around a lot (especially Justin Turner) with Horwitz and Collins, but with the exception of a short exchange between Wright and Sandy, there was little fraternization between Alderson and the players.

Nevertheless, he was intent and focused on the players and I would venture to say passionate even, which came out more during the interview when it was obvious the guy cares about this team.

As fans it’s probably difficult for us to distinguish between the job’s specifics and the person. A good General Manager can’t get too attached to his players, a good GM will deal a player when it improves the team.

As much as many of us have lamented the loss of some of our favorite players, this young season has been a case in point for why big long contracts and players whose game is dependent on their legs are risky propositions.

We want to thank Sandy for being gracious enough to answer a few questions for us. It was a pleasure to hear him respond to so many of the questions on many Mets fans minds. We appreciated the time he took to answer them.

I’ll be back at Target Field again on Sunday, and hope to have more video, pictures and maybe a surprise interview or two.

Let me sum up this past weekend for those of you who couldn’t bare to watch for yourselves…our offense was mediocre. Our pitching was lacking.  And our defense was, if nothing else, questionable.  Even with an additional hitter in the line-up because of the DH, the Mets still couldn’t pull it off.

Was it the curse of the Yankees?  Nope.  The Mets are only three and twelve in the month of June.  They were slumping well before setting foot into the House that Ruth built.  But despite this current losing streak, the Mets are STILL on top in the NL East.  They are nine games under .500 so far for June and still have only lost three games in the standings to the second place Braves.  What other team could get away with that?

Only a team with true talent and heart could go on this long, consistently playing poorly and losing, and still be adored by their fans and their city.  Overshadowed by their cross-town rivals, who just happen to be playing well right now, have the Mets  reverted back to being the  underdogs?  Once again, nope.  Player for player, the Mets are just as capable, with the talent, know-how, and hunger to do it.  And they will.

Remember, the only reason why it hurts so much is because we care.  When they hurt, we hurt. Our hearts are with this team till the end, whether that is September or October.  Mets fans stay true to the orange and blue.  And our team won’t let us down  They can’t lose forever.  Just look at the Yankees – they were 14 games out and playing some of the worst baseball I have ever seen.  Even with guys like Jeter, A-Rod, Damon and Posada, they still couldn’t find a way to win.  Now they have won 11 of their last 12, losing only to the Mets Friday night.  What makes anyone think the Mets can’t turn it around too?

Kind of makes “Ya Gotta Believe” seem more realistic, huh?

This MMO Fan Shot was written by Denise Winter aka: MetsWrighter.