I have noticed a theme both here and across the entire Mets fanbase of an increasing percentage of people who look at David Wright in a bad light. They put him down no matter how well he is performing and are the first to jump on him when he makes an error or strikes out in a key spot; and that’s just not right. If you are a true fan of your team, you should root FOR the longest-tenured and one of the greatest players in team history, not against.
After several years of struggles and injuries, David Wright has come busting out of the gates in 2012, batting .402/.489/.598 with four homers and 21 RBIs. While leading the league in batting average and OBP, Wright also has cut down on his strikeouts, only going down 18 times so far this year. That’s on pace for 97 strikeouts, the same amount he had last season when he missed 60 games with a back fracture. Not to mention, his defense is the best I’ve ever seen him in his career. So if there is any argument against him in 2012, I’d really like to hear it.
As for those saying that Wright is simply playing for a contract, you’re wrong. Wright has always been a player to give 100% whenever he could to the team. The 29-year old was coming off a career year in ’08 when he began to struggle at the new Citi Field, but it was not until after the concussion from Matt Cain’s plunking that Wright hadn’t been the same. He wasn’t “taking it easy from ’09-’11, he was simply trying to get himself back on track. He has worked hard and come back from an unfortunate past few seasons, overcoming plenty of nay-sayers, to start off at an unbelievable pace in 2012.
One of my favorite sayings about baseball is that some of its great heroes fail seven out of ten times. Wright so far has failed only six out ten times this year, and get treated like a villain by some of his own team’s “fans”.
Adam Rubin pointed out something pretty incredible yesterday in one of his columns:
After this season, once Chipper Jones has retired, you will be able to count on Antonio Alfonseca’s right hand the number of active players who have appeared in more major league games than David Wright and done so in only one uniform. Derek Jeter. Todd Helton. Ichiro Suzuki. Michael Young. Jimmy Rollins. Brian Roberts.
Look at some of those names, Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, Chipper Jones, Michael Young; some of the most beloved players in their respective teams history, and Wright is right up there with them. It has become such a rare phenomenon for players to spend their entire careers with one team, yet Wright has an increasingly high chance of doing just that.
Just yesterday, Sandy Alderson said “I certainly do not foresee, under any circumstances, David being a topic of discussion at the trade deadline”, and the Wall Street Journal reported that extension talks with Wright could come soon. So don’t assume he’s just going to skip town like Reyes come 2013; Wright could very well be here for a long time to come.
Wright is the face of the franchise, he has been with the organization since he was 18. He is the longest tenured Met and possibly will be the first career-Met since Ed Kranepool. He continues to show why he is one of the greatest Mets to every put on the uniform and why he is the face of the franchise. He at the very least deserves some respect from his own fans. Why that is so difficult for a disturbingly large group of fans is beyond me.
