Hot-hitting Mets third baseman David Wright took a swing at some questions from Post columnist Steve Serby in a Q&A session.
Q: Should you be the Captain of the Mets?
A: It was funny, ’cause I read this quote recently. And … I’m not sure if I’m gonna nail it right, but it really hit home to me and it said something like, “Leadership is like toughness — if you talk about it, then you don’t have it.” And that kinda stuck with me because … leaders, the guys that I consider leaders … look at Derek Jeter crosstown … he commands a certain respect. … He just has a certain aura about him, because not only what he’s been able to accomplish, but the type of leader by example that he is. He’s not a guy that’s gonna go for attention’s sake — it’s funny me saying this after coming off of yelling at Terry (Collins) on camera — you don’t see him do things for show on camera. When he needs to say something, it’s almost like he pulled a guy aside and does it away from the attention and stuff, and that’s the type of leader that I want to be, and the type of leaders that I respect. The guys that go out there and lead by example first and foremost, and feel comfortable pulling a guy aside and kinda doing it privately. And also, if somebody sees something with me, I want them to feel comfortable enough pulling me aside, even if it’s a rookie or something like that.
Q: Do you feel guilty about the dugout confrontation?
A: I wouldn’t say guilty. I think it’s more … I wish that the situation would have been differently where I could have done it more privately. But it just so happened that I was supposed to hit first. I was trying to get ready to hit, obviously, and the situation kinda dictated that. I was apologetic to Terry because it made it look like I was … kinda getting on him and not respecting the position when, in essence, it was more of the situation than him.
Q: Would you welcome a C on your chest? Do you feel like you’re ready for it?
A: That’s a better question for the 24 guys in there and the coaching staff, ’cause I would want them to dictate that, not me.
Q: What would it mean to you?
A: I would hope that the guys in the clubhouse respect me as much as I respect them … and I hope that feeling is mutual. But I feel comfortable in a position where I feel like I’m one of the leaders on this team and that we can patrol ourselves in the clubhouse, that we can make the right decisions. … There’s no question I feel very comfortable in that role.
Q: Do you want to be a Met for life?
A: I would like to, yes.
Q: Why?
A: I feel like there’s so much unfinished business. I feel like that it’d be nice to kinda finish what I started. … We started going in the right direction, we got derailed a little bit, got off track, and we get kinda back going in that right direction, kinda finish what I think we started and, I guess more specifically, what I felt like I’ve started. I think it’s important to me that I accomplish what I wanted to accomplish with this organization here. I got a small taste of what it’s like in 2006 — that’s so addicting. That’s incredibly motivating. You get that one taste and you almost get spoiled with it, you think you’re going back the next year and that’s taken away from you. Then you think you’re going back the year after that, and that’s taken away from you. I think that, having been through that, it’s such a motivating force behind your offseason workouts, spring training, going through the season, because I want to be a part of getting us back to [being in] contention year in, year out.
Q: Are there any plans to sit down with the club about your contract?
A: No, there’s nothing. … I’m unbelievably satisfied with the first contract I signed. And really the ball is in the front office’s court, as far as I have a team option next year, so that’s their decision. And obviously beyond that is their decision as well because they have kinda control of me as a player for the next year-and-a-half, so … I guess, to answer your question, I’m not sure what the future holds. But it’s something that I’m not gonna lose any sleep over, because it’s very difficult, especially in this division, to face the pitchers that we face, and get ready for a game. And it’s a lot more difficult when you’re thinking about a contract in the back of your mind, so I’m in a good place right now with where I’m at, and I don’t need to be thinking about my next contract.
Q: Would it hurt you if they decided that they needed to build for the future and had to trade David Wright?
A: I guess it would be hurtful. But there’s always that ugly kinda business side to everything. I guess I don’t understand it, that business side. This organization’s been good to me and everything’s kinda flowed for me from Day 1 when I came up here, and I’ve never had any of these contractual problems. And I guess I’m a little bit spoiled because of that, but I feel like I’ve got a great relationship with everybody in this organization, and it would obviously be tough for me to leave. But, like I said, there’s so many different things that can happen between now and then.
Q: Was Jose Reyes a reminder of the business side for you?
A: I think so. It’s tough to see Reyes go, we’ve been through so much together, we’ve known each other for so long. … but yeah, that’s that side of it that kinda unfortunately happens pretty frequently in today’s game.
Q: Do you enjoy being the “face of the franchise”?
A: (Chuckle) I’m not sure what that means. But I enjoy the responsibility of being accountable, good and bad. I’ll be the first one to tell you, I loved all the perks that came along with winning here, and I enjoyed everything about it. And, I’ll tell you also that I’m willing to stand up and kinda take the heat and shoulder the burden when things aren’t going well, because I’d like to think I’m a part of both. … So if you’re gonna be jumping on all the perks and great things that come along with winning here, you gotta be understanding that you’re gonna be under a microscope when things aren’t going so well.
Q: Is it easy to play in New York?
A: Easy? No. It’s fun, because I enjoy the intensity, I enjoy the energy. I understand, like we mentioned before, kinda both ends of the spectrum, after going through the good and the bad.
Q: Not talking specifically about you — what do you think it would take to hit .400?
A: (Chuckle) A whole lot of luck. A whole lot of good health. And, to be a part of a very good lineup. That’s scratching the surface of what it probably takes.
Q: Do you allow yourself to even fathom the possibility that you could do it?
A: (Chuckle) No. No, no, no. You think about it. There’s so much, to me, variables. There’s so much luck that comes along with getting a base hit. I can go up there and do everything I’m supposed to do, and hit the ball right at somebody. You go up there and be completely off and have a terrible at-bat, break your bat and loop one over the first baseman’s head for a hit. You feel good about the hit, you don’t feel so good about the lineout. It just goes to show you, to have that kind of consistency, it’s incredible. … To do that over the course of six months is damn near impossible.
Q: Describe what it’s like being in a zone.
A: I don’t know, let me know if you talk to somebody that knows (chuckle). For me, being in the zone means that every day you come to the ballpark and you can kind of repeat what you did the day before. And in this game, it’s so tough ’cause you could be off by a fraction of an inch, you can be off by a fraction of a second, and not be able to duplicate the same thing that you did even the swing before, much less the day before. So, for me, it’s about coming in, kinda going through the same routine, getting my work in and trying to duplicate the consistency over a long stretch. And that’s impossible. You can’t have the same swing day in, day out, but you try to come as close as you can.
Q: Are you going to be like Jeter and stay single for another 10 years or so?
A: (Chuckle) I don’t know. … It’s one of those things where, as passionate as I am about the game, it’s difficult to have … You see the guys bring their kids into the clubhouse and kinda hang out with them in the clubhouse and stuff, and that’s really cool. So, hopefully that’s in the cards for me.
Q: So there is a possibility you would get married before your career is over.
A: Yeah. I mean, I hope I play a little bit longer! I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, I hope not at least (smile).
Q: How has being a New York baseball star affected your privacy?
A: I do the restaurant thing, but I’m not a big going out-type guy. And it’s one of those things where I think that — not saying that I’m old by any means — but I found how important I think rest is (chuckle). It’s nice to kinda sit at home and play some video games against my brother, or watch some DVDs or something and kinda take it easy and get off my feet, because this is a grind and I can definitely use my rest. I think that I’m just not all that of an exciting person away from the baseball field (chuckle). I’m kinda boring. … So I like to go out to the movies, go to dinner. … I haven’t quite gotten into the Broadway thing yet, but I’d like to kind of try to get a little … more cultured, I guess, so we’ll see.
Q: Are you ready to host ”Saturday Night Live”?
A: (Laugh) That bar’s been set way too high. I think Eli [Manning] did a fantastic job. … First you gotta win. So if we win, I’ll be the first one to sign up for that (smile).
Q: You would sign up for that before “Dancing With the Stars”?
A: Without a doubt. I don’t think I can compete with Donald Driver (smile).
Q: Is there a sense that “I know I’m entering my prime and it’s time to have the career that I want to have?”
A: Yeah. … It’s funny ’cause you look back, and you realize what, I guess, could have been as far as some of those teams that we’ve had. And you kinda look back and you see: Wow, it’s been eight years now, and this is what we haven’t accomplished. And it’s almost like: OK, well, we gotta get this thing going. I still feel like I got a lot of (chuckle) very good baseball left. … It’s not like I’m getting ready for the end of my career, but I also understand that this is the time where I think that we’ve got to make a move and we’ve got to get it going in that right direction, start taking those steps in the right direction. I think we’ve done that. But yeah … if you look back over the eight years that I’ve been here, I think that it’s definitely been … I’ve had a small taste of success. … I’ve had quite a bit of … failures … and I think that there’s been some missed opportunities that we’ve had no doubt. I’m realizing that it starts now, with kinda getting this thing going in the direction that I think we’re capable of going.
Q: How hungry or driven would you say you are to win big here?
A: Extremely. With the (club record) RBI thing, people ask, “You obviously gotta be satisfied with that,” and it’s humbling, it’s satisfying, but I want to be with that group of guys — the [Darryl[ Strawberrys, the Gary Carters, the Hojos [Howard Johnson] … the [Mike] Piazzas … not because of these individual things, but because of what they were able to accomplish here as a team and the way that they’re remembered here, their legacies here. And the way that they’re remembered — as winners. Not because these individual performances, not because of these Mets team records — that’s not what they remember. [Fans] remember because of ’86. They remember because of ’69, because of 2000. … They remember these teams. And that’s what these New York fans want, and that’s not what I’ve been able to accomplish so far. And that’s not what I want kinda when it’s all said and done.
Q: So there’s a sense of unfulfillment.
A: Of course, yeah, no question.
Q: What did the recent Giants parade tell you about how New York embraces its winners?
A: Yankees, Giants … I still see replays of the ’86 parade … just second to none, the way that this town celebrates those winning teams. … I’ve been here for far too many other teams’ parades. So that’s something that obviously I’m a little jealous of and something that I want one of kind of our own. Yeah, I watch that stuff and I see just how ready I think this city is for the Mets to re-establish themselves … because there’s so many National League fans in this town, and I think that they truly back us here. There’s just something about New York Mets fans — they’re blue-collar, they obviously want to see a winning team, a winning product on the field, and I think that this is a team that they can kinda get behind. We’re young, we make mistakes, but we do it with passion, we do it with energy, and I can see from a fan’s perspective, I’m a big fan of a lot of the players on this team, and I can see why fans would really want to back this team. We might not have the most talent out there on the field, but we’re gonna go out there and prepare and do things the way that they should be done and have fun with it.
steve.serby@nypost.com