On this date in 2004, New York Mets fans finally got to see their prized prospect in third baseman David Wright make his Major League debut.
The Mets drafted Wright in from Hickory High School in Chesapeake, Virginia at the young age of 18. He was taken in the supplemental first round with the 38th overall pick the Mets received as compensation for Mike Hampton signing with the Colorado Rockies.
Wright went straight to hitting in his pro debut for the Kingsport Mets in 2001. He slashed .300/.391/.458 while being over two years younger than the league average age.
Going into the 2002 season he was ranked as the Mets No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America and here is their scouting report:
Wright has a strong body, quick wrists and improving swing extension that should allow him to hit for both power and average as his body matures. Many scouts say he has the ability and approach to hit .300 with 30 home runs in the major leagues. He’s aggressive and has good mobility at third base. He also runs well for a player his size, and Rookie-level Appalachian League observers raved about his work ethic.
While some wonder if he can stay at third base, Wright has the instincts and athleticism to make a smooth transition to a corner outfield position if necessary.
After hitting .270/.369/.459 with 39 doubles, 15 home runs, knocking in 75 and stealing 19 bases for the St. Lucie Mets in 2003, Wright was ranked as the Mets No. 2 prospect behind lefty Scott Kazmir and No. 21 in baseball by Baseball America.
Wright began the 2004 season with the Binghamton Mets where he had a 1.086 OPS in 60 games before being promoted to the Norfolk Tides. He would hit .298/.388/.579 in just 31 games before receiving his first major league call-up.
July 21, 2004, the date Wright made his major league debut against the Montreal Expos. Here is the lineup from that important day in franchise history:
- Jose Reyes – 2B
- Kazuo Matsui – SS
- Ty Wigginton – 1B
- Cliff Floyd – LF
- Richard Hidalgo – RF
- Mike Cameron – CF
- David Wright – 3B
- Vance Wilson – C
- Jae Weong Seo – P
It was a quiet debut for Wright who went 0-for-4 in the Mets 5-4 win over the Expos. His first hit would come the next day when he doubled off right-hander Zach Day. Four days later he homered off Expos right-hander John Patterson for his first in the big leagues. The 21-year-old Wright would end up hitting .293/.332/.525 with 14 home runs, 40 RBI and six stolen bases during his rookie season.
Wright would then finished 19th in MVP his sophomore season as the Mets went 83-79 after a 91 loss season in 2005. He had 42 doubles, 27 home runs, 102 RBI, 17 stolen bases and only struck out 113 times compared to 72 walks. But the highlight from his 2005 season was this ridiculous play on August 9:
Another strong year from Wright in 2006 helped lead him to his first All-Star appearance and the Mets to a National League East crown. The Mets would fall short to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series in seven games.
Wright had the best season of his career in 2007 when he hit .325/.416/.546 with 42 doubles, 30 home runs, 107 RBI, 34 stolen bases, posted 8.3 bWAR, won his first Gold Glove, his first Silver Slugger and finished fourth in MVP voting.
He would follow that season up with another All-Star appearance, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger in 2008 while setting a career high with 33 home runs and 124 RBI.
Wright was in the midst of another All-Star (albeit with less power) campaign in 2009, when San Francisco Giants starter Matt Cain drilled him in the head on August 15. He was diagnosed with a concussion that sent him to the disabled list for the first time in his career. Wright returned to play 29 games that season, but wasn’t the same guy hitting only .239/.289/.367 with 35 strikeouts.
However, Wright bounced back in 2010 with his fifth straight All-Star appearance and the fifth time in his career with at least 100 RBI.
On April 5, 2011, Wright singled against the Phillies’ Cole Hamels for his 90th career game-winning RBI, surpassing Mike Piazza for the most in Mets history. That would be one of the lone highlights in 2011 for Wright though, as he played in only 102 games that season.
On May 10, 2011, Wright and Ike Davis collided trying to catch a sort pop-up in the in front of the pitchers mound. A week later Wright was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back that was believe to have happened a month earlier when he dove to tag Carlos Lee of the Houston Astros. Wright would be on the DL until for nearly two months and posted a then career worst .771 OPS.
Again, Wright returned to form in 2012, hitting .306/.391/.492 with 41 doubles, 21 home runs and 93 runs batted in. He would make his sixth All-Star appearance and finish sixth in MVP voting. On September 26, 2012, Wright surpassed Kranepool as Mets all-time leader in base hits with an infield single, also at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In November of 2012, Wright signed a seven-year contract extension worth $138 million to stay with the Mets. Four months later his was named just the fourth Captain in franchise history.
Before the regular season started in 2013, Wright manned third base for the United States in the World Baseball Classic. He earned the name Captain America with a multitude of clutch hits and driving in ten runs in four games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYy1Rldh2-U
His WBC run ended with an injury which has been a constant issue for the third baseman since then. He would play in only 112 games in 2013, but did hit .307/.390/.514 and make his seventh (and final) All-Star appearance.
The Captain battled through shoulder injury in 2014 to play in 134 mostly unproductive games in which he had a career low .698 OPS.
Wright would play in eight games to start the 2015 season before hitting the disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Then on April 23, 2015, Mets fans were given an uppercut to the jaw when he was announced that Wright has been diagnosed with spinal stenosis.
On August 24, Wright made his return to the lineup and he certainly brought “the thunder” in his first at-bat with a long home run against the Phillies.
Wright would hit a respectable .277/.381/.437 in the final 30 regular games of the 2015 as the Mets won the National League East and went on to the World Series.
In 2016, Wright was hit with another massive blow when he found he needed surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck. He would play a career low 37 games and hit just .226/.350/.438.
At 34-years-old he would enter 2017 spring training with the hopes of ramping himself up in time for Opening Day. He would be the designated hitter in two games before being diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement.
We haven’t seen David back on the field yet in 2017 and it seems likely, however unfortunate, that we may never get to see him play again.
Wright is the Mets all-time leader in hits (1777), doubles (390), runs scored (949), RBI (970), walks (761) and extra base hits (658). He’s also second in home runs (242), second in bWAR (49.9), fourth in stolen bases (196) and fifth in OPS (.867).
Thirteen years later it seems unfathomable that such a strong career should end this way. Regardless, David Wright will go down as one of the greatest players to ever put on the Mets uniform.
