Forgotten: David Wright and the making of a neglected star

By Joe Schackman

New York is where sports stars shine brightest. So why are so many in the dark when it comes to David Wright?

Countless ingredients went into making the magic potion that was Linsanity. From Jeremy Lin’s nationality, to his college major, to his couch surfing early days, you couldn’t draw up a more organically interesting story.

But even with all of that, Lin would not have gone from NBA sensation to global phenomenon without the New York City Factor.

In early February, the Knicks and the City were ripe for the taking. The Knicks were star-studded but floundering, a point guard away from contention. The New York fans and media were desperate for a feel-good story, someone to erase the cloud of brooding underachievement that blanketed Madison Square Garden. Lin answered both simple needs, and was briskly rewarded with fame that soon escalated beyond the Manhattan streets.

Broadway’s bright lights molded Lin’s legacy. He wasn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last. New York City loves its stars, embellishes their careers and makes them into legends. A player who excels in New York will never be ignored. 

Except for one.

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David Wright is the player that every team wants. He’s a clean cut, team-first, homegrown star. He stays out of the tabloids and handles the media well. And most importantly, is really good at baseball. Here’s a question for you: According to Fangraph’s WAR, the all-encompassing baseball stat, who are the five best position players in baseball since 2004?

Most likely, you’re on a first-name basis with the top four: Albert, Chase, Alex and Miguel. They’re undeniable superstars, players on a fast track toward Cooperstown. At number five, it’s David Wright.

Now, WAR is a counting stat, meaning the more you play, the greater the potential number. And the parameters are a bit geared in Wright’s favor; he broke into the league in ‘04 (although he only played 69 games in his first season) and is having a monster 2012 season. 

But his stellar play holds up against the best players of this generation no matter how you splice it. Condense the parameters to 2007-2012 to bring in guys like Ryan Braun and Joey Votto, and Wright still holds strong at the fifth slot. Compare him head-to-head against New York icon Derek Jeter’s first nine seasons, and he beats out the captain by a WAR of 45.4 (and climbing) to 44.1. Simply put, Wright has ranked better statistically than all but four position players for nearly a decade. 

So if David Wright is among the best players in baseball and also plays in the world’s largest sports market, all the ingredients should be there. If Lin was a comet shooting through New York, Wright should be one of the city’s suns. 

And yet. He’s largely left out of the superstar conversation nationally, and in his own city is excluded from the Jeter/Manning/Lundqvist circle of sports elites. Why?

The answer is that Wright plays for the New York Mets. And the Mets suck. While David Wright was putting up MVP numbers, the organization’s string of embarrassments routinely overshadowed any individual praise he deserved.

Wright cemented himself as a premier player in 2006, his second full year in the bigs. He compiled a 5.2 WAR driven by 26 home runs and 40 doubles. He stole 20 bases and played decent defense. 

But 2006, for better or worse, was the Year of Beltran. The Mets centerfielder put up MVP-like numbers that propelled the team into the 2006 NLCS. There, the Mets’ season, and in many ways Beltran’s entire career, became obscured by New York’s crippling Game Seven loss. 

Then came 2007. Everything about Wright that season screamed Most Valuable Player. He upped his ‘06 numbers, mashing 30 home runs and 42 doubles while stealing 34 bags. He played the best defense of his career. The Mets, meanwhile, jumped out to a big lead in the NL East and looked ready for another trip to the NLCS. Until the collapse. After building a seven-game divisional lead on Sept. 12, New York lost 12 of its next 17 games and missed the playoffs. Wright’s monster season was erased.

The MVP award went instead to Jimmy Rollins, whose numbers were not as good as Wright’s, but whose team did not just complete one of the most stunning collapses in baseball history. Wright finished either tied with or better than Rollins in home runs, doubles, walks, average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Rollins stole more bases (41), but Wright had 35 and was caught less, giving them the same successful steal rate. Rollins played better defense at a more crucial position, but Wright’s third base was anything but poor. 

None of it mattered, though, though thanks to the collapse. It wasn’t even a contest. There was no way Wright was going to be handed the MVP award after his team failed down the stretch.

Wright maintained his high-level performance in ‘08, hitting a career-high 33 home runs and driving in 124. But the Mets stumbled again down the stretch and, instead of the postseason rhetoric revolving around Wright’s Hall-of-Fame level start, the team and its fans dwelled on the collapses. 

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Everything about Wright seemed to fit as the unequivocal face of the Mets. Unlike Beltran, who arrived via free agency, Wright was their player. The Mets drafted him, groomed him and watched him grow into a star. But it never clicked the way it did across town with Derek Jeter. Burdened by the Mets’ struggles, he remained underrated and underappreciated in a town that knows not the meaning of either. 

And when things turned south in 2009, those around the team failed to realize they had something special. After three years of just above-average play (even then, he ranked 10th among third basemen in WAR), Owner Fred Wilpon called him a “very good player. Not a superstar.” The Mets, busy returning to their familiar mediocrity after a period of botched attempts at success, dangled him as high-priced bait.

But Wright chose just then to return to his true form. He rejuvenated his power stroke in ‘12, played lock-down defense and carried the Mets for the season’s first half. And for once, it feels like people are beginning to realize the true extent of Wright’s talent and importance to the franchise.

But it’s not yet genuine. It feels any-port-in-a-stormish on a team that doesn’t have Jose Reyes or Carlos Beltran anymore. A few months ago, fans were preparing themselves for his departure. Wright burst out the gate, and that talk evaporated. For now. 

Wright is up for free agency at the end of 2013. Fairly or not, one more under-the-radar season could spell the end of his time in the City, because for every athlete that New York launches into orbit, it sends hundreds, even thousands, crashing to Earth.

Joe Schackman is an editor and co-founder of Began in '96.