PORT ST. LUCIE — David Wright’s swing was all wrong last season. Here’s the plan to make it right.
Hitting coach Howard Johnson says the Mets’ key hitter can overcome his batting woes from 2009 with several adjustments.
“The foundation is laid this offseason,” Johnson told The Post.
Johnson and Wright spent time together in early December trying to correct the third baseman’s swing.
The theories about Citi Field affecting Wright can be thrown out the window. It comes down to two things — timing and Wright not trying to carry the offensive burden on his shoulders. And it all starts with Wright’s set-up.
“I want him to be ready earlier,” said Johnson, who has a strong working relationship with Wright. “I want him to hit the ball further out front.”
Essentially, Wright allowed the baseball to travel in too deep toward him last season. That’s how he wound up with a career-high 140 strikeouts, 22 more in 91 fewer at-bats than in 2008. That’s how he wound up with a career-low 10 home runs. The previous season he blasted 33. That’s how he wound up with 52 fewer RBIs than in 2008.
Earlier this winter, Wright talked about trying to do too much at the plate, trying too many different approaches, but most of all he has to correct his timing. That’s the hitting bottom line.
The swing is the most intricate of baseball maneuvers. Everything has to be just right for it to work, and when a batter tries to do too much, “things can get out of whack very easily,” Johnson explained. “What we have to do is bring him back a little bit so mentally he’s not feeling he has to be the producer. Jason Bay is going to help that. Jose Reyes is going to help that.
“Once you establish a mindset, then you can start working on the other things. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing.”
It won’t be long before Wright shows up here. He always is one of the early arriving Mets. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 20. You can be sure Wright will arrive before that. When he does, class will be in session.
Some of his drop-off can be attributed to the fact that the Mets had a disastrous season. As one NL scout noted, “Wright was a victim of being isolated in that lineup.” Wright changed his approach so many times, the scout said, “He never looked comfortable.”
If Wright starts hitting the ball out in front as he used to do, he will have much more success. “That’s where we start,” Johnson said.
Wright was trying to be a little too perfect with every swing. “He was trying to manipulate the ball a little bit,” Johnson explained. “Sometimes when you are good, you think you can do that, there’s a danger in that. That’s the meat of it.”
To get the meat of the bat on the baseball, Wright will work on setting up earlier and attacking the ball. That will be the focus throughout spring training. Getting players comfortable at the plate and not trying to do too much, Johnson said, is “how guys reach their ceilings, reach their potential, when they unlock that. That’s always the first part of anything.
“There are a number of factors that went into the home-run production, the strikeouts and everything,” Johnson added.
But it all starts with being ready to hit and hitting the ball out front. The process of fixing the swing began in early December when Wright and Daniel Murphy visited Johnson to work on making key adjustments. In essence, Wright was making it harder on himself last season. “And he’s so good he was still able to hit .300,” Johnson marveled.
Wright did bat .307. But he hit only .200 with two outs and runners in scoring position. In interleague play he batted .213. Timing is everything. Hitting the ball out front will make David Wright again.