David Wright On The 2012 Mets, Spring Training, And Citi Field

by Eric Simon on Feb 20, 2012 10:16 PM EST in New York Mets Spring Training 2012

Mets 2012 Spring Training officially opened for pitchers and catchers today, though many players have been down there for a while. Among them is David Wright, who turns 30 this year, a fact that is probably more depressing to me than it is for him.

MLB.com snagged a video interview with him earlier today. Transcript is after the jump.

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On how he feels:

I feel great. I think the offseason really did me some good to be able to not only rest, but strengthen the parts of my body that were a little injured last year, so I feel great and look forward to a good, healthy year.

On getting to Spring Training early:

I enjoy getting down to Florida early, get a head start on things. One thing that we as an organization do a tremendous job of is that we have coaches down here, we have facilities available to us, a lot of players come down early so it's good to get down here early, solidify, do some last minute preparations and hit the ground running for Spring Training.

On the team's chances:

It's a new year, we're talking about February. Nobody knows what's going to happen over the course of the year. We have some very talented players, we have a lot of young players that are going to bring some energy. It's impossible to predict the future, and I think with the type of team that we have and the youthful energy that we have and guys that are preparing the way that we are, I think we can go out there and win a lot of baseball games.

On turning 30:

When I first got called up, guys told me to enjoy it because it flies by. Looking back over it, it's hard to believe that I'll be turning 30 this year. You look around the clubhouse and there's a lot of new faces, so I'm excited about these new guys we brought in, I'm excited about some of these up-and-coming young players, and I think it's going to be a great year.

On Citi Field:

As a hitter, you go up there and have a good at-bat you want to be rewarded for it, so hopefully these changes will help with that mindset. You go up there and be yourself and hopefully the results will be there, but you can't worry too much about the ballpark, you just go up there, try to have good at-bats, and hit the ball hard and hopefully good things happen.

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Comments

i think dwright is going to rake it this year.

by jhMLB on Feb 20, 2012 11:02 PM EST reply actions

i agree wholeheartedly.

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by jaronson5 on Feb 21, 2012 8:40 AM EST up reply actions

I really really hope that you are correct

by LGNYM on Feb 21, 2012 3:07 PM EST up reply actions

David Wright is turning 30?

God damn, man…

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by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Feb 21, 2012 12:00 AM EST reply actions

he is? wow

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by feslenraster on Feb 21, 2012 8:34 AM EST up reply actions

Not until December

But yes, hard to believe. Makes me feel old.

by LGNYM on Feb 21, 2012 11:04 AM EST up reply actions

I'm feeling a .295 30/30 year for Wrongz

And some MVP votes.

Down 2 in the bottom of the ninth?
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by ShaqKazaam on Feb 21, 2012 9:09 AM EST reply actions

But, um . . .

If he displays TOO much value, won’t he just end up being traded at the deadline? Not sure what to wish for in this scenario.

by Nomenclaturist on Feb 21, 2012 12:49 PM EST up reply actions

You wish for him to play like the superstar he can be

If he is, it’s a win-win scenario for the Mets. Either he sticks around and plays at MVP levels for us, or the return in a trade is impressive enough for it to be a net positive for the Mets. If he isn’t playing well, there’s no benefit whether he stays or goes.

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by piazza62 on Feb 21, 2012 1:07 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, this.

I don’t think there’s any positive if he has another bad year in 2012. Why would you want to re-sign him long term if he’s having another down year? I know I would be pretty wary of giving him a multi-year deal if he was still struggling and heading into his 30’s.

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by Steve Schreiber on Feb 21, 2012 4:44 PM EST up reply actions

It would be sad to see him go

(at least to me) regardless of how he performs, but yeah even moreso if he gets back to that “superstar” level. But I’m still rooting for him to do well for his sake.

And I’m not sure if him being great again would necessarily mean he’s more likely to be traded. I suppose he’d be more likely to be traded if he’s great than if he is completely awful and devoid of all value. But I don’t know if him being “great” instead of just “good” necessarily means its more likely for him to be traded. If he’s back to that elite level player instead of just a good one more teams might want him and he might have a bit more value (though maybe not THAT much more given it would likely only be for a couple months) but the Mets probably would also have a stronger desire to keep him long term.

by LGNYM on Feb 21, 2012 7:38 PM EST up reply actions