David Wright opens up about the uncertainty of his MLB future with the New York Mets.
During his prime, New York Mets All-Star third basemen David Wright was the best in the game at the hot-corner — hitting over .300 seven times, eclipsing over 100 RBI five times and earning back to back Gold Glove awards in 2006 and 2007. The lifetime .296 hitter is approaching 2,000 hits, but will he ever have the opportunity to reach that milestone?
David Wright has not logged an MLB game since 2016, where a plethora of severe injuries has slowed down the once elite player.
"Doctors diagnosed him with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column, in 2015. The following year, Wright underwent neck surgery."
Recovering from injuries of that magnitude are difficult, especially when you play baseball — where you continuously are rotating all of those before mentioned aspects of your body. Recently, David Wright caught up with Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, discussing his potential future with the New York Mets.
"“It really hurts to say this, but I obviously can’t be relied on to go out there and do what I’ve done throughout my career.”"
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It seems that Wright wants to either play at a high level or not play at all. Plus, if he’s not entirely recovered upon his return, another setback may turn into something even more severe.
"“The surgeries are obviously serious stuff, but it just kind of plays with your mind mentally, where you don’t know how your body’s going to hold up.”"
Teammates and those close with Wright have encouraged him to retire now, but he wants no part of that talk. He wants to give it one last shot and let the chips fall where they may.
"“”I don’t want to have regrets. If I can’t play? Then I’ll be able to say I gave it my best shot, I really did… When the end comes, the end comes. Hopefully, I’ve got a little more left. But I guess that’s to be determined.”"
MLB is a much better place with a healthy David Wright, so we are all hoping for a return of some sort. Not one full of injuries or regret, but of success and triumph.
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Wright has played in many meaningful games such as the World Series and All-Star contests, and even recognized for his play on the field with Gold Gloves. However, winning Comeback Player of the Year might rank up there with those list of prestigious accolades. We hope he gets one last shot to go out on his terms with the New York Mets.