Former Mets captain and current team executive David Wright was interviewed briefly today at Port St. Lucie. One of the topics that reporters brought up was how he perceives the atmosphere currently present in the Mets clubhouse. With a big smile on his face, Wright was only too happy to answer.

It seems that the timing of the reporter’s question was perfect because Wright indicated that very topic was broached in a meeting today with himself, Al Leiter and John Franco with the results later disseminated to Met general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. Wright was pleased with the friendships he noted in the clubhouse and remarked that past winning Mets teams had similar close-knit clubhouses.

Wright noted that he won on teams that did not necessarily have the best talent, but the closeness of the team propelled them to winning. Wright specifically mentioned the 2015 team as probably not the best team in the National League, but won the pennant anyway partly due to team camaraderie.

Photo by Ed Delany, MMO

Wright remarked the 2019 Mets are “pulling that rope in the same direction” and that the guys know each other on a personal level. They know about each other’s girlfriends, families and such and how they want to win for one another. At lunch breaks, they eat together and are constantly talking baseball and after hours, frequently go out to dinner.

Wright specifically mentioned that with the addition of Robinson Cano, the return of Jeurys Familia, and the presence of reigning Cy Young Award winner, Jacob deGrom, the clubhouse has a new and special feel to it reminiscent of winning Mets teams of the past. With today’s meeting between the three Met executives, it appears a priority to have team unity and closeness as a unit.

Hopefully, this unity will result in positive results for the Mets as the season begins next week. David Wright went out of his way to expound upon the virtues of this Mets team. It would not be a reach to suggest that the seven-time All-Star knows a thing or two about winning and if he sees similarities between this team and past winning Met teams, it’s worth taking notice.