Note: David Wright, Captain and Clutch
Last night, David Wright had two hits, including a game-tying single to left field in the fifth inning.
…it was an inspiring at bat, since, unlike in previous weeks, he shortened his swing, and muscled the ball through, instead of swinging for a five-run homer from his heels…
Following the game, Wright said:
“I’ve had my problems with runners in scoring position, but I’m glad I could come through…It’s a big at-bat for my confidence, and for the team.”
In his first few seasons, Wright was viewed as being the inexperienced, wide-eyed, innocent rookie, trying to find his way, while exceeding expectations on route to becoming the guy we hoped would be the team’s captain and face of the franchise.
However, he is no longer inexperienced. He is no longer wide-eyed, instead he is focused and serious. Thanks to last September, he is no longer innocent. He is no longer unproven, in fact he is putting up MVP statistics for the third-straight season. In short, in the view of many fans, it is time he become the captain, it is time he become the guy who sees this team through the darkness, to better days and to a championship.
Instead, though, whether accurate or not, Wright is getting a reputation among some of his team’s fans for being the ‘Alex Rodriguez of the Mets,’ i.e., a fat, cosmetic stat line, while he is nowhere to be found in the big game.
The thing is, he’s hitting .325 in September.
Yes, he is hitting .247 with two outs and runners in scoring position, and is batting just .214 in the ninth inning, but he’s also batting .310 when the game is tied and is batting .315 when the game is within one run.
Wright is also batting .288 this season in 73 at bats against the Phillies, and .371 against the Marlins.
I believe there are clutch situations, but it is virtually impossible to define clutch in any one statistic.
That said, it is impossible to ignore the language being directed towards Wright, regardless of his stats.
To me, when facts are ignored for the sake of emotion, it suggests that people are pulling from an existing narrative they believe is in place. For Wright, his perceived narrative may be a player stuck between that wide-eyed, innocent rookie, and the MVP captain his fans expect him to already be – regardless of whether he is or isn’t.
Last night, however, is what I and other fans like to see. I mean no disrespect to Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado or Ryan Church, but I sense a different level of excitement and confidence from fans when Wright and Reyes are leading this team. We want them to be ‘The Guys,’ and I hope last night was the turning point towards realizing their leadership.
