Mets captain David Wright cherishing first World Series
Wright suffered injuries this year and in other recent seasons -- plus a lot of losing -- before the Mets caught fire and reached the World Series.
By
Dave Brown
•
1 min read
Early in his New York Mets career, David Wright played for a World Series contender. They reached the NLCS in 2006, coming within a game of the Fall Classic, and 23-year-old Wright probably thought another opportunity would come soon. It didn't, and while many of the intervening seasons brought more personal success for Wright, recent years have been hard on him. Recurring injuries, losing records, ownership upheaval. Evaluators said the minor leagues were a treasure trove, and good young players were being promoted, but when was it going to translate into major-league success for the team?
In 2015, it finally has. Wright is going to his first World Series.
This is what he said to Sam Ryan of TBS moments after the final out Wednesday, when the Mets beat the Cubs 8-3 to clinch a four-game sweep in the NLCS:
"This city deserves this, this organization deserves this, the fans deserve it and this group of guys deserve it. You gotta believe. You gotta believe. I can't stop saying it: We're going to the World Series. This is an incredible feeling. Words can't describe the emotion happening on this field right now. When you grow up as a kid, you think about playing in the World Series. You're in your back yard with your WIFFLE Ball bat, saying 'Game 7, full count, bases loaded,' and now we get to experience it. Are you kidding me? This just feels too good to be true."
Now 32, Wright played in just 38 games during the regular season because of a spinal stenosis condition that probably was more of an inconvenience than it was a menace to Wright's long-term health. It was just one more obstacle to Wright getting to contribute to a winner. He has batted .286 with an .873 on-base plus slugging in the playoffs, coming up with two big hits in particular against the Cubs. Wright hasn't been his absolute best, but he hasn't had to be, either.
"Are you kidding me?," Wright said. "The World Series. I can't describe the emotions and feelings going through me right now. For me, individually, yeah, it's been a long year, it's been a long road. To be able to taste this, to be able to comprehend the New York Mets are going to the World Series, I'd do anything to do that."
