Mets Captain David Wright sat down with Newsday to discuss the current state of New York baseball, and the craving for the Metropolitans to take back the city.
“That’s ultimately what New York wants,” Wright said. “They love gritty, younger-type teams, homegrown. And I think that’s what we can provide. We play exciting baseball. You get those fans behind you, you get that city behind you, you can definitely get some momentum for sure.”
New York Mets fans have been waiting for a team they can get behind now for almost a decade. This team has not seen post-season baseball since 2006.
Wright’s comeback this year, along with a solid young pitching foundation and key acquisitions of Yoenis Cespedes, Tyler Clippard, Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe have sprung this team forward from pretenders to contenders.
“Yeah, I think you have to go out there and earn the respect of the fans,” Wright said. “It’s not something that I think is given. I’d like to think we’ve done a pretty solid job thus far of trying to earn the fans’ backing and kind of the fans’ approval.”
Now with the Mets and New York Yankees both fighting for a playoff spot, this is their most high profile match-up, arguably since the 2000 World Series. Citi will be electric and both teams will be ready to go in front of more than likely three sell-out crowds.
The “subway series” has always been somewhat of a side-show but this one has more meaning than most, with games that matter for both teams and just a few games left in the season.
“It’s very similar to a college football rivalry, where you obviously want to beat the in-town rival in this case,” Wright said.
“But ultimately, you’re judged on let’s make it to the postseason. It’s a bonus if you can win this series. But in this situation, we’re not talking about May or June. We’re talking about September.”
This is sure to be a great series with it also getting national attention on Sunday during the 8:05 PM ESPN game. You have the Mets trying to clinch their division and trying to lower their magic number, while the Yankees are still chasing the Toronto Blue Jays while trying to hold onto a wild card spot. This is going to be fun.
