David Wright, one of the greatest players in the 62-year history of the New York Mets, turned 41 years old today. Wright, who retired after the 2017 season, is currently on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America). Wright is one of several strong first-time candidates on the BBWAA ballot, with Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, and Chase Utley headlining the list of new candidates for a plaque in Cooperstown, New York.
Wright was a 7-time All-Star and a 2-time Gold Glove Award winner in his 14-year Major League Baseball career. During his peak years (2005-14), he was arguably one of the top 10 players in baseball. At the age of 31, Wright had already appeared in those seven Mid-Summer Classics, had a career .298 batting average (with a .377 OBP and .494 SLG) along with 230 home runs, and a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 48.6.
Wright was also beloved by baseball fans across the nation for his exploits in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, giving him the moniker “Captain America.”
Unfortunately, thanks to a variety of injuries to his spine, neck, and shoulder, Wright only appeared in 77 more games in the next four seasons, plus 15 in the 2015 postseason. After a long rehabilitation that cost him all of 2017 and all but two games in 2018, Wright made a short-term comeback for just two contests in September 2018.
This balance of this article was originally posted on September 30, 2018, after Wright’s last game. It has been mostly left intact but has been updated in advance of the 2024 Hall of Fame vote.
David Wright’s Last Ride
David Wright played the final game of his career in front of a sold-out crowd on September 29th at Citi Field. Wright had two plate appearances (drawing a walk and popping out) and fielded one play cleanly at third base. At the top of the 5th inning, after taking his position at 3rd, he was removed from the game to the sounds of a roaring ovation.
For a Mets team that was a bitter disappointment to its fan base in 2018, Saturday’s game was a welcome celebration of the career of the franchise’s favorite son. For Wright, it was a chance to take a final bow and to allow his 2-year-old and infant daughters a chance to see daddy on the diamond.
It’s a testament to the character of David Wright that he has worked so hard and suffered so much pain in a valiant attempt to return to the diamond.
New York Post/Robert Sabo
“I can’t sit here and tell you that I’m good with where I’m at right now. That would be a lie. That would be false. You love something so much and you want to continue that. I obviously got a little taste of that, and I’m already feeling that physically.
It was a wonderful night. It was something that I will remember for the rest of my life. But I’m at peace with the work and the time and the effort and the dedication that I put into this. But I’m certainly not at peace with the end result. Tonight was special.”
— David Wright (post-game news conference, September 29, 2018)
The Mets Captain, who had last appeared in a big league game on May 27, 2016, has had three surgeries since that game. Wright worked hard to come back, fully intending to return at the skill level to which he was accustomed, but his body simply would not let him. This was something that became apparent in 12 minor league appearances in Port St. Lucie and Las Vegas, in which he hit .171 in 43 plate appearances.
“The goal when I was injured was to come back as the player I expected myself to be. Once things ramped up and baseball activities got tougher… it became apparent to me that goal was just I want to put this uniform on again. I needed the baseball stuff. I needed the [rehab] games for my body to finally tell me it’s not working”
— David Wright, press conference on Thursday, Sept. 13
In this piece, I’ll take a brief look at whether a Cooperstown case can still be made for Mr. Met, whose playing career ended far too soon.
Two-time N.L. Gold Glove Award winner (2007 & 2008)
Two-time N.L. Silver Slugger Award winner (2007 & 2008)
4 times in the Top 10 of MVP voting
(cover photo: New York Post)
Let’s start by being blunt. David Wright is a serious long-shot to make it into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. At the end of his career, Wright played parts of 14 seasons. However, he only managed to play as many as 70 games in 10 separate campaigns. The entire case has to be made on the ten seasons in which he was fully (or partially) healthy, 2005-2014.
There are examples of Hall of Famers who have plaques in Cooperstown due to extraordinary peak performance, but those peaks have generally been somewhat other-worldly. Sandy Koufax is the quintessential example. Koufax only had 6 really good years, but he was the best pitcher in baseball for the last 5 of those years.
David Wright was never considered the best player in baseball, although you might be surprised how close he was to being the best.
David Wright’s Statistical Ranks (2005-2014)
So, let’s look at how David Wright ranked statistically among the best players in the game from 2005-2014 and among the game’s 3rd basemen:
David Wright ranks among all MLB players and 3B (2005-14) (minimum 4,000 PA)
oWAR = Offensive WAR (adjusted for a player’s position) RC = Runs Created (from Baseball-Reference)
As an all-around player who could hit, hit with power, field his position well, and run, David Wright had tied for the 6th highest WAR (Wins Above Replacement) among all position players in baseball over a 10-year period.
The five players ahead of Wright were Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Beltre, and Alex Rodriguez (he’s tied with Robinson Cano).
Among those six, Pujols, Cabrera, and Beltre are locks for the Hall of Fame, and Rodriguez and Cano would be if not for PED suspensions.
Advanced metrics call Wright merely an average defensive player at 3rd base, which is why he trails Beltre in overall WAR, but, offensively, he was the best third sacker over this 10-year period.
Is that good enough for a plaque in Cooperstown? As much as it pains me as a Mets fan to admit it, the answer is probably “no.” It’s easy to gerrymander a player’s career to make them look good for a seven or ten-year period of time.
Wright ranks ahead of Chipper Jones during these years because they were the last eight of the newly minted Hall of Famer’s career (his age 33 to 40 seasons from 2005 to 2014).
David Wright v Scott Rolen
On this list, Wright also ranks ahead of Hall of Famer Scott Rolen, but these are Rolen’s age 30-37 seasons and the last eight of his career. Take a look at Wright and Rolen side by side overall:
Not surprisingly, Rolen has higher counting stats (thanks to 1,649 more career plate appearances). His WAR is also significantly higher, thanks to superior defensive metrics (backed by 8 Gold Gloves). Rolen debuted on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2018 and only got 10.8% of the vote, but this past January, he passed the 75% threshold, getting 76.3% of the vote and a plaque in Cooperstown.
How Does David Wright Compare to Kirby Puckett?
I ask the question because there are similarities between the careers of David Wright and Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett.
Both spent their entire careers with one franchise, Wright with the Mets, Puckett with the Minnesota Twins
Both were forced to end their careers after their age 35 seasons
Puckett had nearly 1,000 more plate appearances than Wright (he was mostly healthy for his 12 MLB seasons), so he had significantly more hits. On the other hand (not seen on the chart), Wright had 311 more walks despite coming to the plate 962 fewer times. Wright also displayed more power and speed.
There are differences. Puckett was a full-time player all the way to the end. He made the A.L. All-Star team in each of his last 10 campaigns. Also, and this is a big one, Puckett was a key contributor to two World Championships in Minnesota. Wright appeared in one World Series (in 2015, after playing just 38 regular season games), but the Mets lost in 5 games to Kansas City.
Still, Puckett was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. When you look at their respective statistics and think about the importance each man had to his respective franchise, it’s hard to dismiss Wright’s Cooperstown case.
Mr. Met and Donnie Baseball
The player David Wright is most often compared to is the Don Mattingly, star first baseman of the crosstown New York Yankees from 1982-1995. Both were team captains of their teams. Both played their entire careers in the Big Apple. Both were forced to retire early due to back problems.
I think it’s fair to say that, nationally, Mattingly was a bigger star in his early years than Wright was in his. This is because, for a few years, many considered Donnie Baseball the best player in the game.
The Hit Man was the A.L. MVP in 1985 and runner-up in 1986. Wright’s nationwide stardom grew more slowly, punctuated by the World Baseball Classic. If you go strictly by the numbers, however, Wright’s are actually a bit better.
Mattingly never had much luck on the Hall of Fame ballot, debuting with 28% of the vote in 2001 (the same year Puckett was inducted). Donnie Baseball lasted 15 years on the BBWAA ballot and never even matched that 28% again. I weighed the pros and cons of Mattingly’s peak performance case in this piece.
My guess is that Wright won’t even come close to Mattingly’s 28% when the ballot results are revealed in January, but, as Met fans, we can hope.
The Other First-Timers on the 2024 Hall of Fame Ballot
Ironically, David Wright is on the 2024 Hall of Fame ballot with another player who spent his entire career with the same franchise, Minnesota’s Joe Mauer. The longtime catcher turned first baseman also retired after the 2018 campaign. Like Wright, Mauer’s case rests on a brilliant ten-year peak, a historically great peak for a catcher.
Then there’s Adrian Beltre, the great third baseman who has 3,162 career hits, 476 home runs, and a WAR of 93.5. Beltre is a lead-pipe cinch to get first-ballot induction in the Halls’ Class of 2024, and, in my view, his presence on the ballot really hurts Wright. Hall of Famer voters often fill out their ballots as if their filling out a lineup. If there are two third basemen, there’s a human instinct to pick just one. And Wright isn’t remotely close to Beltre in terms of career value.
David Wright and Chase Utley
To add to the intrigue, another first-timer on the 2024 ballot is 2nd baseman Chase Utley, a longtime foe of Wright’s Mets during his years with the Philadelphia Phillies. Again, a ten-year peak is in play (from 2005-14, exactly concurrent with Wright’s). Utley’s case is actually very similar to Wright’s.
Take a look at Wright and Utley’s numbers side by side:
Utley’s WAR is significantly higher than Wright’s, thanks to defensive metrics that rank him as one of the great defensive second sackers in MLB history (a record not backed up by any Gold Glove Awards).
I generally don’t like to get too deep into the weeds of the components of WAR, but it’s important to note that Utley benefits by off-the-charts numbers defensively, numbers so good that one has to look at them with at least some skepticism. And yes, 2nd base is a more important position on the defensive spectrum than 3rd. Still, when it comes time to look at the two players on the same Hall of Fame ballot, Wright’s offensive credentials are significantly better.
What David Wright Means to Mets Fans
Growing up in New York City, I’ve been a Mets fan since 1976. How I picked the Mets is a funny story. At the age of 8, I became an Oakland A’s fan because I had started collecting baseball cards, and I liked the mustaches.
When the Boston Red Sox beat the A’s in the ’75 ALCS, I switched allegiances immediately, thanks to my fascination with Luis Tiant’s Fu Manchu mustache and his distinctive pitching style. I rooted for the Sox in their classic World Series loss to the Cincinnati Reds and have been a fan ever since.
Still, I was a kid in New York and needed a local team. It had to be the Mets since the Yankees were in the same division as the Sox.
Anyway, if you’re not a Mets fan, you can’t really understand how much we appreciate David Wright’s love of the team. Growing up in New York in the late 70’s as a Mets and Red Sox fan wasn’t easy. It was the Yankees who won the ’77 and ’78 World Series, breaking the hearts of Sox fans along the way, while the Mets weren’t much more than a laughingstock.
As a Mets fan, we appreciated Ed Kranepool as an original Met (from 1962) who spent his entire 18-year career with the franchise. You see, Yankee fans are used to players spending their entire career with their team: you had Hall of Famers, all Yankees-only, like Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle. We had Ed Kranepool.
We thought we had our Mets-only future Hall of Famer with the great Tom Seaver but then had our hearts broken when he was traded to the Big Red Machine in 1977. And then, to add insult to injury for fans of a franchise that had never had a no-hitter, we had to see Seaver get his first no-no in a Cincinnati uniform.
In the mid-1980’s, being a Mets fan was great. We had a blend of veterans from other teams (Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter) with a core of young stars that looked like they were Cooperstown-bound (Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry). I went to about 200 games at Shea Stadium in the ’80s; it was my second living room as a teenager.
As Mets fans, we got our one World Series ring in 1986 (ironically against my “other” team, the Red Sox), but it felt like we should have had more.
Then, we had to watch our great young future Hall of Famers succumb to cocaine, destroying what should have been all-time great careers. Then we got to see Gooden and Strawberry win World Series rings with the hated Yankees. We got to see Gooden, a shell of his brilliant Mets self, toss his only career no-hitter while wearing Yankee pinstripes.
I was at ESPN in Connecticut from 1989-1996, moving to Hermosa Beach, California in November 1996 after watching the Yankees win the World Series while working in the TV truck.
In 2000, still at ESPN, I attended the Subway Series games when the Mets and Yankees squared off in the Fall Classic for the first and only time. Needless to say, as a Met fan, I got to “enjoy” watching the Bronx Bombers celebrate their fourth title in five years as they mobbed each other on our field, Shea Stadium. The Yankees were led by Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, young stars who would wear no other uniform in their future Hall of Fame careers other than Yankee pinstripes.
I left ESPN in 2001 to pursue other opportunities but remain a huge baseball fan (which should be obvious if you’ve visited this website before). As a Mets fan, there wasn’t much to get excited about for several years after the 2000 World Series. Mike Piazza, the cornerstone star of the playoff teams of 1999-2000, was slowing down.
The New Mr. Met
The 2004 Mets were a 71-win team, but there was an exciting young player who made his debut in late July. David Wright, then 21 years old, a former #1 draft pick and Baseball America’s #21 overall prospect before 2004, made his debut at Shea Stadium on July 21st, starting at 3rd base.
Wright was a different kind of Mets prospect. He was a native of Norfolk, VA, the home of the Mets’ longtime AAA affiliate, the Tidewater Tides (later re-named the Norfolk Tides). Wright was a Mets fan. This was a young potential star who was really excited to be a member of the Mets.
Wright quickly became the face of the franchise, emerging as a star player in 2005, the beginning of his 10-year peak of greatness.
Living in Los Angeles and being out of the TV business, I didn’t get to see Wright in person much, just an occasional game at Dodger Stadium. Until 2015. Wright missed most of the ’15 season due to the spinal stenosis that ended his career. Still, after missing most of the season, Wright worked hard to come back in late August, as the Mets were in the midst of a run that would propel them to their first playoff appearance since Wright’s third year in the majors (2006).
2015 Postseason
Anyway, living in Los Angeles, I got to attend Games 1, 2, and 5 of the N.L. Division Series (against the Dodgers, of course). Wright didn’t do much in that series (it was dominated by Daniel Murphy), but it was good to see the Mets’ Captain in post-season play and even better to see my team beat the Dodgers again (as they did in ’06).
After the Mets swept the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS, I decided to fly to New York and attend the World Series games at Citi Field (Games 3 through 5) against the Kansas City Royals. The Mets lost the first two games in Kansas City and desperately needed to win Game 3.
In the top of the first inning, the Royals scored to take a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the frame, after a leadoff single by Curtis Granderson, David Wright hit a two-run home run deep to left-center field. The Mets took a 2-1 lead. Coming so early in the game, it was a moment of absolute magic, evoking the emotions I had felt so many times in the classic 1986 post-season.
In the bottom of the 6th, with the Mets up 6-3, Wright added a two-run single to pad the lead to 8-3. Game 3 was the one great highlight of the World Series for Mets fans; the team lost in heartbreaking fashion in both Games 4 and 5, and, just as in 2000, we had to watch another team celebrate on our field.
The 2015 World Series was the last time I ever saw David Wright play baseball in person.
Wright only managed to play in 37 games in the 2016 season; his last game was on May 27th, and he only played in two more games in his career.
What the Writers Have to Say
It’s obvious from the analysis of this piece that David Wright is on the lower end of the spectrum of Hall of Fame candidates. However, he does have some advocates, some of whom checked his name for no other reason than to keep him above 5% and keep his name on future BBWAA ballots.
“His counting stats, which included 1,777 career hits and 242 home runs, will be used against him, but Wright had an impressive nine-year peak, where he earned seven All-Star berths. The seven all-star games matched last year’s HOF inductee Scott Rolen… Only seven Hall of Fame third basemen have a higher OPS+ (133) than Wright. Should Wright be penalized for suffering what turned out to be a career-ending injury, that ended his full-time status after his age 31 season? It can be argued that durability is part of being a HOF player and that is a good case, but Wright was the face of the franchise, a perennial All-Star and a strong two-way performer.”
“I also voted for David Wright, who is likely not a Hall of Famer because of a career cut short by injuries that started when he was only 32. But there is merit in keeping him on the ballot if only to continue the discussion about how best to approach players who were clearly Cooperstown-worthy before injuries marred their résumés… He should not be quickly dismissed.”
“Wright was a hard one. His career was just so much shorter than the usual Hall of Fame standard. I left an open spot on my ballot for a week, reading, researching and asking friends for advice before I finally checked the box after seeing Thibodaux’s excellent Hall of Fame tracker had Wright far too close to falling off the ballot (if he received less than 5 percent of the vote)… I can’t say with absolute certainty that Wright belongs in Cooperstown, but I’m confident his inclusion would not diminish the Hall of Fame. For nine years, he was an essential part of the game, and he spent much of the next decade trying like hell to return from a back injury that just wouldn’t let up. When I take my sons to Cooperstown, I won’t hesitate to tell them his story alongside so many others who have been enshrined.”
“Because he played in just 77 games after his age-31 season, Wright wound up with fewer games played (1,585) and plate appearances (6,872) than any post-1960 expansion era position player in the Hall of Fame; he has 91 fewer games and eight fewer plate appearances than 2022 Golden Days Era Committee honoree Tony Oliva, the low man in both of those categories… I can’t really make a good case for Wright to be in the Hall, but The Athletic’s Jayson Stark took a swing at doing so, suggesting that he at least deserves a longer look instead of going one-and-done, and I have no quarrel with that. I do believe Wright was on a Hall of Fame path before the injuries destroyed his career. He was certainly one of the elite players of his era.”
“Coulda shoulda woulda been a contender, just didn’t play long enough for the Mets. Even Don Mattingly made a longer case before he faded from contention. Great guy and great memories, even for the USA in that first World Baseball Classic.”
“David Wright sneaks into the conversation, too, though he played 273 fewer games than (Joe) Mauer and 352 fewer than (Chase) Utley. That’s not nothing, considering Utley and Mauer are already on the low end, so Wright doesn’t quite match up, even though he was brilliant when healthy. Injuries suck.”
I doubt David Wright will ever make it into the Hall of Fame. His career was just too short. My great hope, however, is that there are enough BBWAA members who do indeed check his name so that he can remain on the ballot for several more years. He was a Hall-worthy player when he was healthy.
Does that mean he deserves credit for what he might have done? No, I’ve never believed in that, except for time lost due to war, the color barrier, or strikes. Still, if you take the first ten years of his career (2004-13), he was one of the top position players in the game. There are plenty of players in the Hall (including Puckett) who are there due to ten years of brilliance.
Why do we, as New York Mets fans, love David Wright so much? It’s because, despite all of the surgeries and all of the pain, #5 (his uniform number) spent two years and nearly four months working to get back onto the diamond. On September 29th, 2017, Mets fans got to see him take the field for one last time at Citi Field.
Wright spent his entire career wearing one uniform, the uniform of the New York Mets. In the 1970’s, we had Kranepool and we still love him to this day. Today we have Wright. He’s a legitimate baseball star who is only ours and has never been shared with any other team.
In the sport of baseball, Wright is Captain America. To us, he is and forever will be Mr. Met.
“There are not that many people who can say they got to play for one team their entire career and got to captain that team and have the success, at least in my mind, I would like to think that I had.”
6 thoughts on “David Wright: Cooperstown Cred for Mr. Met”
As a non-Mets fan, I always liked David Wright. Despite the fact that the Mets were mediocre for much of his career, he never wanted to play for another team. He never shied away from the pressures of playing in New York. When healthy, he was an excellent player, and he has always been a stand-up guy.
David Wright’s chances of getting into the BBHOF are close to zero. Beside that 3rd baseman are underrepresented – you can’t let someone in who only has – (1) 1777 hits, (2) 949 runs, (3) 970 rbi, (4) 390 doubles, (5) 242 home runs, (6) 2945 total bases, and (7) 1570 games started at 3rd base. In his 13 year career, if he plays on Sept 29th, then 14 years. He will have played – 1, 37, 38, and 69 games in four of those years. Wright just wasn’t on the field long enough. He wasn’t a ROY or even the league MVP (best showings were 4th and 6th). There just isn’t anything memorable about Wright’s career that justifies getting into the BBHOF; unlike, David Ortiz. Can the story of baseball in the 2000s be told without David Wright – yes it can. Can the story of the NY Mets in the 2000s be told without David Wright – no it can’t; therefore, the Mets should retire his number and elect him into their team HOF.
It should also be noted that Adrian Beltre could retire this year and be on the 2024 ballot as well; if not 2024, then 2025 or 2026. Adrian Beltre’s current stats – (1) 3157 hits, (2) 1519 runs, (3) 1697 rbi, (4) 633 doubles, (5) 474 home runs, (7) 5288 total bases, and (7) 2710 games started at 3rd base.
Wright trails Beltre by 1380 hits, 570 runs, 727 rbi, 243 doubles, 232 home runs, 2343 total bases, and 1140 games started at 3rd base. There is a ton of difference between the two contemporary players, making it harder for Wright to gain any traction.
Will leave with this – Scott Rolen. If Rolen can’t get any love from the BBWAA, fairly certain Wright isn’t either.
I understand what you’re saying, but I have to disagree, and the fact is that David wright was one of the best at his position for the time he played, since third base is such an under represented position in the HOF I think that’s exactly why he might make it, compare him to his peers and his numbers are right up there with some of the best in the game at his position….and if you are putting him in the HOF that’s how he gets in…comparing him to the guys like a-rod, and rolen and what he did vs them, David Wright did more in less time, plus I heard that scott rolen was kind of a douche, so rolen has that whole jim rice kind of deal following him around, as far as the mattingly comparison DW is a better player and this article will tell you why http://metsdaddy.com/2017/06/david-wright-was-better-than-don-mattingly/ but basically DW has a higher war more steals and played third base which is a harder position than first…..DW also had a higher war per season than mattingly…..mostly the mets don’t get any national love bc they’re the mets and they’re living in the yankees shadow, but be that as it may….third base is an underrepresented position in the HOF and I think that the writers don’t know how to judge it, I think that DW being a top player at his position and his leadership and sportsmanship will get him in….
I had always thought that his career took a downturn after the August 2009 beaning by Matt Cain. But looking at his platoon splits, it doesn’t look like it affected him much. A hell of a competitor, I just don’t think he did enough in his shortened career to be a Hall of Famer. MAYBE if they Mets had stayed in Shea Stadium, he would have put up more impressive numbers, but Citi Field hurt his power numbers.
As a non-Mets fan, I always liked David Wright. Despite the fact that the Mets were mediocre for much of his career, he never wanted to play for another team. He never shied away from the pressures of playing in New York. When healthy, he was an excellent player, and he has always been a stand-up guy.
David Wright’s chances of getting into the BBHOF are close to zero. Beside that 3rd baseman are underrepresented – you can’t let someone in who only has – (1) 1777 hits, (2) 949 runs, (3) 970 rbi, (4) 390 doubles, (5) 242 home runs, (6) 2945 total bases, and (7) 1570 games started at 3rd base. In his 13 year career, if he plays on Sept 29th, then 14 years. He will have played – 1, 37, 38, and 69 games in four of those years. Wright just wasn’t on the field long enough. He wasn’t a ROY or even the league MVP (best showings were 4th and 6th). There just isn’t anything memorable about Wright’s career that justifies getting into the BBHOF; unlike, David Ortiz. Can the story of baseball in the 2000s be told without David Wright – yes it can. Can the story of the NY Mets in the 2000s be told without David Wright – no it can’t; therefore, the Mets should retire his number and elect him into their team HOF.
It should also be noted that Adrian Beltre could retire this year and be on the 2024 ballot as well; if not 2024, then 2025 or 2026. Adrian Beltre’s current stats – (1) 3157 hits, (2) 1519 runs, (3) 1697 rbi, (4) 633 doubles, (5) 474 home runs, (7) 5288 total bases, and (7) 2710 games started at 3rd base.
Wright trails Beltre by 1380 hits, 570 runs, 727 rbi, 243 doubles, 232 home runs, 2343 total bases, and 1140 games started at 3rd base. There is a ton of difference between the two contemporary players, making it harder for Wright to gain any traction.
Will leave with this – Scott Rolen. If Rolen can’t get any love from the BBWAA, fairly certain Wright isn’t either.
All True, Ray.
I understand what you’re saying, but I have to disagree, and the fact is that David wright was one of the best at his position for the time he played, since third base is such an under represented position in the HOF I think that’s exactly why he might make it, compare him to his peers and his numbers are right up there with some of the best in the game at his position….and if you are putting him in the HOF that’s how he gets in…comparing him to the guys like a-rod, and rolen and what he did vs them, David Wright did more in less time, plus I heard that scott rolen was kind of a douche, so rolen has that whole jim rice kind of deal following him around, as far as the mattingly comparison DW is a better player and this article will tell you why http://metsdaddy.com/2017/06/david-wright-was-better-than-don-mattingly/ but basically DW has a higher war more steals and played third base which is a harder position than first…..DW also had a higher war per season than mattingly…..mostly the mets don’t get any national love bc they’re the mets and they’re living in the yankees shadow, but be that as it may….third base is an underrepresented position in the HOF and I think that the writers don’t know how to judge it, I think that DW being a top player at his position and his leadership and sportsmanship will get him in….
I compared him to Ryan Sandberg as an infielder, he deserves to get in.
I had always thought that his career took a downturn after the August 2009 beaning by Matt Cain. But looking at his platoon splits, it doesn’t look like it affected him much. A hell of a competitor, I just don’t think he did enough in his shortened career to be a Hall of Famer. MAYBE if they Mets had stayed in Shea Stadium, he would have put up more impressive numbers, but Citi Field hurt his power numbers.