It was a long road back to the playoffs for Mets captain David Wright. Since 2006, Wright has gone through two heartbreaking collapses in 2007 and 2008, years of watching the team struggle through financial constraints, and suffering through numerous injuries including a most daunting diagnosis of spinal stenosis. All the while, Wright maintained his positive outlook while remaining the heart and soul of this team.
After the Mets clinched the NL East division on Saturday, a elated and sometimes teary-eyed Wright had some heartfelt things to say about what it all meant to him.
“When I was laying on my back rehabbing for a few months this summer this is what you dream of. This is what motivates you. This what pushes you. This is what drives you. Again, not just for what we do on the baseball field, for how close this team has come and how we play for one another.” (NY Post)
The emotion poured through Wright in his post-game interview. With each word you could feel everything that he had gone through these past nine years. You could tell that it all came full circle for him and that he’s now back where he’s longed to be, with the New York Mets chasing a World Series title.
“You just can’t help but to smile. I don’t think that there’s jubilation, excitement. Get a chance to take a sigh of relief because this has been a long time coming and it’s been too long. So to be able to come back now and celebrate this, you almost have to pinch yourself because this is what you dream about.”
“It doesn’t get any better than that, to hit a home run in the clinching game and celebrate with the guys in the clubhouse, celebrate with the fans who made the trip here to Cincinnati,” Wright said. “We deserve this, the fans deserve this, the city of New York deserves it. I’m glad we could deliver for them.”
David Wright is the New York Mets. His heart, his emotion, his determination, it screams New York. Wasn’t it fitting that Mr. Wright parked that home run in the top of the ninth to solidify the NL East Title? What a game. What a day. What a season.
