David Wright is the current face of the Mets and hopes that he can continue to be the main attraction at Citi Field for the foreseeable future.
Wright, who has a $16 million team option for next season, is making a case that he is worth the money next season and beyond. Wright currently leads the team in batting average (.412), RBIs (24), runs (29), on-base percentage (.513), slugging percentage (.626) and steals (four).
““That’s a great question. I hope,” Wright said when asked if he would be on the Mets two years from now in an interview that aired on MLB Network Monday night.
“I’d love to get this thing turned around and headed in the right direction and I think we’ve done that, taking that first step. Hopefully, I’m a big part of that.”
Wright is currently the longest tenured Mets player and one of the few holdovers from the 2006 team that came within one game of advancing to the World Series. Wright has watched as Jose Reyes (Marlins) and Carlos Beltran (traded to Giants, now with Cardinals), two of the other main components of the Mets’ last playoff team, have gone on to other ball clubs.
“Well, it’s funny because we have team pictures in the clubhouse and you [got to] go year from year and we were looking back on the 2006 team that won the NL East and we were searching, searching, searching and there was a lot of faces that aren’t here anymore,” Wright said.
Following 2006, the Mets went through two highly-publicized September collapses and have struggled in recent years. Despite that, Wright remains motivated for a chance to play meaningful baseball in October once again.
“[The postseason is] addicting. The atmosphere here was incredible,” Wright said. “I was like, ‘Man, this is [it], doesn’t get any better than this.’ I kind of took it for granted. But it continues to push you and motivate you and drive you.”
Wright also looks to the future in terms of what his legacy will be regardless of where he finds himself playing. Wright, who was close with late Mets legend Gary Carter, hopes to emulate the Hall of Fame catcher.
“New York wants winners,” Wright said. “I see how these fans react to Gary Carter when he would come to Shea. That’s what I want my legacy to be is this guy was a winning player, he did everything he could to help his team win.”
Wright also discussed his relationship with Carter and how The Kid helped out an 18-year-old Wright when he came into his first spring training.
“It’s incredible,” Wright said. “You have a Hall of Famer and a World Series champion that’s helping an 18-year old, teach[ing] him out to be a leader.”
According to Wright, Carter never lost his enthusiasm for the game, even as his battle with brain cancer entered its later stages.
“Up until he passed, he would call once-a-month, twice-a-month and just want to talk baseball,” Wright said. “I’d ask him how he was feeling and he [would say], ‘Enough about me, how’s the team doing? What’s it like in the clubhouse? How these young guys doing?’ Just the energy in his voice, talking about the game will be my lasting memory.”