Seven-time All-Star third baseman David Wright checked in with MMO before Game 2 of the Mets’ three-game series against the Giants tonight, to share his thoughts about playing in the All-Star Game at Citi Field, the National League’s chances for the Home Run Derby, all these crazy extra inning games, and what’s in store for the second half of the season.
MMO: You’re going to your seventh All-Star Game and you have a plethora of personal accolades, but what’s it like, personally, to start the All-Star Game in your home ballpark?
DW: I think the obvious answer is that it’s a tremendous honor. I’ve been in seven All-Star Games, but this one’s going to mean the most to me by far. I grew up a Mets fan, was drafted by the Mets, developed by the Mets and hopefully will finish my career with the Mets. To represent the New York Mets in an All-Star Game at Citi Field is a once in a career opportunity and I’ll try to soak in as much as I can. It’s been a tremendous honor being associated with this organization, being associated with the fans and for them to vote me into be the starter is pretty amazing.
MMO: What do you think the National League’s chances are in the Home Run Derby this year?
DW: Probably slim to none. Hopefully I put together a good enough team. There’s some formidable guys out there on both sides, but it’s going to be fun. You know, it’s for the fans and you just want to put on a good show for the fans. Hopefully, I picked some guys that can do that.
MMO: How are you guys feeling after all these extra-inning games?
DW: You feel funny complaining and saying, “I’m flying charter flights, I’m staying in five-star hotels, I play baseball for a living,” so I feel a little funny complaining, but I’ve never seen anything like this—the weather, the travel. We had to go back to Colorado for a game, had to go back to Minnesota for a game, doubleheaders, start times at midnight. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen the weather, for the most part, wreak havoc on us the way it has this year. On top of that, you get the numerous extra innings, like last night, here and there—15, 16 innings, which it seems we’ve done pretty regularly. It makes for quite the grind so I think the All-Star break is going to be good for us.
MMO: You guys have been playing some solid baseball as of late. How do you hope to carry that into the second half and is there anything you can learn from last season’s second-half letdown?
DW: I’m not sure there’s much you can learn from it. I think that we have a lot of young, hungry guys. There will be times where we’re probably not the best team on the field, but we’re going to be prepared, hungry, especially with a clubhouse full of young guys trying to make a name for themselves and want to be a part of this organization moving forward so I think the hunger is always going to be there. Now it’s just a matter of going out there and executing. When we’ve struggled, it hasn’t been because of being complacent, it’s been because we haven’t executed. I think it’s part of my job to make sure that we’re prepared and we’re getting our work in every day and staying hungry. As far as executing, when you have a young team like we have, it’s going to be a roller coaster ride. Some weeks you play well, some weeks you don’t play well. Some of the additions we’ve had, like Marlon, has helped, you know, kind of a veteran presence. It’s also always nice when you have Matt Harvey pitching the way he has and stepping up. We have people in place, now it’s just a matter of seeing who is going to win those jobs and be a part of this thing in the future.
MMO wants to thank David Wright for taking some time to talk to us. We all look forward to seeing him lead this team back to glory in the very near future. We’re almost there… Stay tuned for more coverage throughout this series live from AT&T Park.
