A deep dive into David Wright's magnificent career
Plus, after a heartwarming ceremony honoring an icon, the Mets offense failed to capitalize on an early lead and left plenty of runners on base
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What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets took an early lead but failed to hold it as they dropped their second straight contest to the Reds, 5-2 (box)
RHP Clay Holmes had a tough day on the mound, surrendering five runs (four earned) on six hits against just three strikeouts over 5.1 innings
DH Mark Vientos started the scoring with an RBI single in the home half of the first inning
2B Brett Baty mashed a solo homer to the upper deck in right field, his tenth of the year
RF Juan Soto stole his 12th base of the season
SS Francisco Lindor had another hitless night at the dish, as did Soto; both struck out three times
The Mets went 1-for-10 with RISP in the contest
Roster Moves 📰
RHP Kevin Herget’s contract was selected from Syracuse
LHP Brandon Waddell was optioned back to Syracuse
Play of the Game 🌟
Even in a game that wasn’t exactly overflowing with highlights, Jeff McNeil gave us all something to smile about.
Down 5-2 in the eighth with two outs and a runner on, Reds C Tyler Stephenson slapped a ball into the gap in right-center. Plummeting towards the earth, it could have easily hit the grass and potentially let the Cincinnati scoring onslaught continue.
Not while Jeff’s around.
Living up to his nickname, McNeil came flying in from center field, laying his full body out to make the catch and keep the Mets within striking distance.
Who’s Hot? 🥵
LF Brandon Nimmo is batting .307/.373/.491 with five homers, seven swipes, and 16 RBIs in his last 30 games
Down on the Farm 🌾
C Francisco Álvarez (Triple-A): Game 1 - 2-for-5, 2 HR, 1 BB, 4 RBI; Game 2 - 1-for-2, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB
RF Gilberto Celestino (Triple-A): Game 1 - 3-for-4, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 RBI
CF Carson Benge (#3 Prospect, Double-A): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 2 K
RHP Wellington Aracena (Single-A): 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 2.38 ERA
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR (Gm 1) | Triple-A SYR (Gm 2)
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (55-44) vs. Reds (52-47)
Where: Citi Field - Queens, NY
Starters: LHP David Peterson (6-4, 3.06 ERA) vs. LHP Andrew Abbott (8-1, 2.07 ERA)
When: 1:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: WPIX
The Captain: Finally, formally immortalized ✍️
No matter the audience, outlet, or format, writing about David Wright is a daunting task.
There’s just so much to talk about: the stellar career on the field, the incredible stories off of it, the legacy he left behind — summarizing the Captain’s contributions to this franchise into words is much harder than it sounds. You’re always afraid you’re leaving something out, probably because you are.
It’s forgivable. He gave us a lot to talk about. In addition to seven All-Star appearances, two Gold Gloves, and two Silver Sluggers, Wright is also the franchise leader in:
Position Player WAR: 49.2
Hits: 1,777
Runs Scored: 949
RBI: 970
Walks: 762
Doubles: 390
Extra-Base Hits: 658
…the list goes on.
Given the number of thinkpieces and profiles that have been published in the last 48 hours alone, I wanted to try to find a way to (somewhat) quickly capture just how valuable David Wright was while he was playing. Considering he played in a total of 80 games over his final three seasons, I decided to look at some of his key numbers from his debut as a 21-year-old rookie in 2004 through his age-31 season in 2014.
I mainly sought to compare Wright’s season-by-season OPS, wRC+, and ISO with both the team and league averages from those same years. I also tracked games played for additional context, as well as Wright’s Baseball Reference WAR (bWAR) and FanGraphs WAR (fWAR). There are plenty of ways to measure Wright’s on-the-field contributions, of course, but for the sake of this exercise, these three seemed an appropriately succinct way to show just how good his bat was when it was (w)right.
Let’s check the numbers:
A .900+ OPS player in each of his first four full seasons as a big leaguer, Wright had an instant impact on the lineup. His prowess at the plate showed up almost immediately, as he led the Mets in doubles every year from 2005-2010 and hit at least 20 homers in all but one of those seasons. With over 300 total bases each year from 2005-2008, Wright’s presence provided a consistent offensive boost that would last for well over a decade, including the best individual offensive season in Mets history with his 2007 campaign — the season that saw him finish fourth in MVP voting.
But, even still, all the above only tells so much of his story.
So, I made another sheet, this time comparing his HR%, K%, and BB% from 2004-2014 with the team and league rates for each respective season.
To summarize what you’re seeing here: on average, for a decade, Wright walked more often than the rest of the league while hitting more homers without striking out at a significant rate. More often than not, he was plate discipline personified.
Wright was as pure an all-around threat at the plate as they come. Over the first decade of his career, he was simply sensational, on both a team and a league level. From 2005-2014, Wright posted the fourth-highest fWAR in all of baseball with 48.0. He trailed only Albert Pujols (57.8), Miguel Cabrera (57.8), and Chase Utley (57.6) — not half-bad company to keep.
“But he was always injured!” claim the woefully ill-informed. “He was hurt for half his career!” remark the casuals.
Enough.
From 2005-2014, Wright played at least 140 games a year in all but three. From 2005-2010, he averaged 156 games per season. And even in his second-shortest season in this span, Wright still made the most of the games he played. In 112 games in 2013, he still managed 5.2 bWAR, a top-five mark in his career — that’s like Angels RF/DH Mike Trout posting 6.1 bWAR in 119 games in 2022.
Did Wright miss a considerable amount of time towards the back half of his career? Unquestionably. But it’s important to look back at the beginning of his career and remember the pace he was on. This wasn’t a player who was some made-of-glass, brittle-boned infielder from the get-go: Wright’s scouting report famously described him as a ‘workout nut’ who had no serious injuries or health concerns.
Simply put, he was as dependable as it gets.
David Wright meant so much to this fanbase that it’s difficult to put into words. Wright was so much more than a great player: he was the perfect ambassador for the franchise and the game of baseball, and he was (and still is) a model human being.
David Wright is the Mets. He is now, and was then, everything you want the face of your franchise to be. And I mean that literally: he was the cover athlete for MLB The Show 07 — the same year as his MVP-4 finish.
With #5 now flying high over Citi Field, current and future Mets will forever play under the watchful Eye of Wright: a symbol of perseverance, excellence, and the standard that’s expected of all who wear the blue and orange.
It’s a privilege few will ever know or understand, and one even the Captain himself is still coming to grips with.
But there’s no person more deserving.
Around the League 🚩
The Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-7 for their ninth straight win; they’ve beaten the Dodgers in five of those wins
Yankees SS Anthony Volpe and CF Trent Grisham led the way with nine total RBIs in a 12-9 victory over the Braves in Atlanta
Mariners rookie 2B Cole Young got the game-winning hit as the M’s walked off the Astros, 7-6
Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead grand slam in a 9-5 win over the Angels
10-20 in our last 30. That’s a large sample size of bad baseball. We’re living off our hot start.
Dreadful fielding yesterday. In that sixth inning, can someone explain why after Alonso took the relay from right field, he then soft-tossed it to home? As if he was throwing to a pitcher covering first. Does he ever practice throwing the baseball?