LOS ANGELES — David Wright wore the scars yesterday of a man who had been ambushed by a Kung Fu Panda.
Just when it appeared the popular Mets third baseman would be the All-Star Game starter at third base for the National League, Wright learned he not only lost out to the Giants’ Pablo Sandoval for the honor, but got clobbered in the process.
It leaves Wright as a reserve for the July 10 All-Star game in Kansas City after he was selected in a vote of players and NL manager Tony La Russa. The Mets will also be represented by pitcher R.A. Dickey, who made the team with his 12-1 record and 2.15 ERA.
Wright led Sandoval — who goes by the nickname “Kung Fu Panda” — by about 460,000 fan votes in the tally released by MLB on Tuesday. But Sandoval ended up trouncing Wright by roughly 1.6 million votes.
“That’s the way the system is — and Pablo is having a very good year — and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed,” Wright said before the Mets’ 8-3 loss to the Dodgers last night.
Wright is batting .354 with nine homers and 50 RBIs — far superior to Sandoval’s .300 average with six homers and 25 RBIs. Sandoval was joined by catcher Buster Posey and outfielder Melky Cabrera as Giants selected by the fans.
“We’ve just got to do a better job of making sure our fans want to come and see us. We’ve got to start winning more games so we don’t have this happen,” manager Terry Collins said.
Johan Santana took getting snubbed from the NL team in stride.
“It’s not the first time it’s happened — to me or anybody in baseball — so I’m fine,” said Santana, who is 6-4 with a 2.76 ERA.
* Jason Bay, who is recovering from a concussion, will resume baseball activities tomorrow. Bay will run and hit off a tee under the supervision of the medical staff. … Frank Francisco (oblique) will begin playing catch today.
* The Mets will have a fireworks display that follows tomorrow night’s game against the Phillies at Citi Field. The show is scheduled to begin shortly after the final pitch.