I’m reminded of a scene in a movie, where Jack Nicholson is walking out of a psychiatrist’s office. He stops, looks at the patrons in the waiting room and asks…
“What if this is as good as it gets?”
Well, what if this David Wright, the peaks and valleys, the streaks and slumps, the hold your breath every time he throws the ball to first base…
What if this is as good as he gets?
No one will argue that Wright has shown flashes of brilliance in his Major League career.
His numbers from 2005 thru 2009 are impressive.
Stats Courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com
In his best season in 2007 he was an All Star, he won a Gold Glove & a Silver Slugger Award, and he was fourth in MVP voting.
The problem with Wright is his numbers never tell the whole story.
I’m sure Mets fans everywhere will agree with me when I say Wright has never been clutch, and although he’s a Gold Glove winner, it sometimes looks like he’s throwing a ball made of solid gold to first base.
Wright’s offensive effort last season, where his strikeouts were way up and his home runs were way down, was written off as an anomaly.
This season, when Wright hit a home run in his first at bat of the year, I was convinced things had changed. 15 games into the season, it seems like things haven’t changed that much after all.
Wright already has 18 strikeouts in only 70 plate appearances. Although he’s already hit three home runs and walked 19 times (which may be a result of Jason Bay’s early season struggles), he’s clearly struggling at the plate. Struggling so much that he’s being booed frequently at Citi Field after at bats.
I’m not a believer that a 15 game sample is in any way indicative of what the full season will look like when it’s over, but I am a believer that Wright’s season will be full of highs and lows just like it was last season.
So Mets fans are at a cross roads.
Do we call out the boo birds when Wright is in a down swing and not hitting anything, or do we accept that fact that this is the hitter he’ll always be.
Maybe lowering our expectations will be good for everyone, David Wright included.
Here’s me hoping I’m wrong.
Fans need to stop being so hard on him. He takes the brunt of criticism because he has ability. The players around him do not. You can’t blame him. His last year was WEIRD, to be sure, and this year has been somewhat weird. It’s been strange how him and HoJo have messed with his approach, which never had any issues.
Eventually, he will re-find his 05-08 stroke. He is still just 27. Maybe his ceiling will be an annual .300/25-30/100/20 steals guy. But that’s not bad. He’s a good defender with the glove, and will work through his throwing issues. In any event, he will be the best position player the Mets have ever had. Furthermore, I’m sure he will be spending his whole career with this team. Does Wright become a baseball legend? Who knows…John Elway had a reputation for “not winning the big one” until he was 35 and he was united with Mike Shanahan. Wright has a good dozen years left in him. Let’s just watch and see what happens, because anything can.
I just think the expectations may be too high for David being a “superstar” in New York. He’ll be a solid player, there’s no doubt about that, but that may be all.
Saying he’s only 27 is not the same as saying he’s only 24. He’s got some solid time under his belt and he seems to be regressing (particularly at the plate).
I would definitly say that hes a star and not a superstar. There was a day when 30 HR and 100 RBI was a superstar but thanks to steroids those days are over. He needs to be in the mix i dont think hell be a guy who carries the team in his own but he sure can when guys around him are getting pitched around. You like to give the guy the benefit of the doubt after last season especially and the fact that the man behind him is not hitting so that doesnt help things along. He also is not always a fast starter as i believe it was 07 that he didnt get his 1st homer until may so lets see what happens as the first month of the season comes to a close. If we can get 30/100 and however many bags he steals for the next decade then hey ill sign for that.