STILL GOT IT: Third baseman David Wright, who says this year’s Mets squad “is going to be a fun team to root for,” throws out a baserunner yesterday against the Padres. (Getty Images)
STILL GOT IT: Third baseman David Wright, who says this year’s Mets squad “is going to be a fun team to root for,” throws out a baserunner yesterday against the Padres. (Getty Images)
In his 10th season with the Mets, David Wright experienced a career first.
Jogging toward the first-base line during pregame introductions on Opening Day yesterday at Citi Field, Howie Rose called Wright out by his new title: “Captain.”
“That was cool,” Wright said. “That was special. You talk about adrenaline. I felt like I was just floating out there shaking everybody’s hands and giving high-fives. That was a memorable one. All memorable days are memorable, but this one is going to stick out above the rest for obviously being announced as the captain and the performance of the team today.”
The Mets named Wright the fourth captain in team history last month. His first real day on the job went pretty well.
The third baseman went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, a run scored and an RBI and the Mets romped to an 11-2 victory over the Padres. Wright made a pretty diving grab in the field and liked what he saw from his teammates.
“This is going to be a fun team to root for,” Wright said. “Obviously it’s tough to guarantee wins and losses, but if you’re a fan of baseball and kind of a purist this is going to be a fun team to watch. This is going to be a fun team to root for. You’ve got the guys that bring that energy. You’ve got the guys that play the game hard, play the game the right way, scrappy, there’s a ton of adjectives you can use to describe this team.”
Wright has seen plenty of bad Mets teams in his time in Queens. He has played in every Opening Day since 2005, getting a hit in each one.
Opening Day was a question mark for Wright just a few weeks ago when he injured an intercostal muscle in the World Baseball Classic. The injury cast some doubt on whether Wright would be ready, but not in his mind.
“I like to think I know what I’m capable of and not capable of,” he said. “I said the first day when I got back to camp that my goal was to be ready for Opening Day. I thought it was a realistic goal and here we are. I don’t want to go out there and hurt the team, but at the same time I think I know what my body can take and what it can’t take. I was pretty confident that I could be ready.”