This baseball lifer deserves patience
PORT ST. LUCIE — My favorite David Wright moment of this young spring occurred not on Saturday morning, when he sat in the First Data Field home dugout and eloquently explained why he won’t give up his longshot comeback attempt, but rather on Friday afternoon, also at this ballpark, when he stood in the stands, up the third-base line, among a crowd of 150.
He held his daughter, 18-month-old Olivia Shea Wright, as Olivia’s uncle Blake Beers made his college debut for the University of Michigan. The 19-year-old righthander Beers, the brother of Wright’s wife Molly, took the mound in the top of the ninth inning, with the Wolverines leading Army, 12-2.
Beers induced the leadoff batter to stroke a lazy pop fly to short right field. His brother-in-law, Wright, positioned not too far from the place where he has played so many Grapefruit League games here, instinctively pointed up at the ball, guiding Olivia so she could follow the action along with him.
The game remains vital to Wright, who in turn is passing that love onto the next generation.
Why should he give up on his mission (nearly) impossible? Whom is he hurting with this endeavor?
“It would be easier if I didn’t have that passion for what I do,” Wright said in his news conference. “It’s a decision every athlete has to make. They get to make that decision. You don’t want your body making that decision for you.”
At the least, Wright’s body serves as chief of staff. Now 35, the second-oldest player on the Mets after newcomer Adrian Gonzalez, Wright has undergone three surgeries (neck, right shoulder and lower back) since his most recent big-league game on May 27, 2016. He is so far behind his teammates this spring that he hasn’t been cleared yet to run, let alone throw or hit. He said Saturday his team of doctors has created a rehabilitation schedule that rotates between working on his back and his throwing shoulder, the two more recently repaired areas.
“With the three surgeries that I’ve had, I want to get it right,” Wright said. “I want to take my time.”
Now that the Mets can put him on the 60-day disabled list at their leisure, Wright’s presence becomes a non-issue until November, when organizations finalize 40-man rosters for the Rule 5 draft. You’d think that if he spends a second straight year completely sidelined, an epiphany would arrive and a Mets settlement with their insurer would follow, the end game being Wright released and getting paid in full.
He earned that guaranteed contract of $138 million, have no doubt. He has earned the right to follow his heart and try every possible (legal) means to get back on the field. I’ve encountered a surprising number of Mets fans in person and electronically who want Wright to give up the ghost and give back the money, and for the life of me I can’t comprehend the logic.
In signing Todd Frazier to play third base, an excellent acquisition, the Mets have made it loud and clear they’re not counting on a Wright return. Wright, whose progress will determine how much time he spends around the Mets during the regular season, naturally endorsed the decision and said he will support Frazier in any manner possible.
“I would think everyone in baseball is rooting for David Wright to come back,” said Mickey Callaway, who might wind up with the odd distinction of being Wright’s final manager but not the manager for Wright’s last game.
By the way, that Army pop fly fell in thanks to an error by Michigan first baseman Danny Zimmerman, and Beers struggled from there, walking three against one strikeout before getting lifted, winding up with four runs allowed, two earned, on his line (Michigan held on, 12-6). His more seasoned brother-in-law expressed sympathy as well as the hope that Beers would learn from his rocky maiden voyage.
Wright has been an exemplary player and person in chaotic times for his franchise, his passion for his craft and his family humanizing him all the more in these tough times for him. How could you not root for him to beat the odds?