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Last season was a strange one for Mets captain David Wright, to say the least. After a couple of outstanding seasons in 2012 and 2013, he was just a tick above league average as a hitter and came into the year with some questions about his future production. He had been there before, after the 2011 season, which was his worst season to date at the time, but he bounced back very nicely.
In the eighth game of the season, however, Wright had to leave with a hamstring injury. That was a downer, but it didn't seem like a major problem. But his return was delayed, and then delayed some more, and then Wright was shut down because of lower back pain. Not long after that, Wright was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a condition that would clearly keep him out for a while and presented a non-zero chance that his career would be over.
From there, Wright went through a very gradual process in his attempt to make it back on the field during the season. There were plenty of non-update updates on his condition, but in late July, he started taking ground balls. He started a rehab assignment not long after that. He returned on August 24 in Philadelphia, and he put an exclamation point on his first at-bat back in the lineup.
With the condition of his back, Wright needed days off from time to time, but through the rest of the regular season, he played in 30 games and hit .277/.381/.437. Throw in the handful of games he played at the beginning of the season, and Wright hit .289/.379/.434 with a 133 wRC+. His defense didn't look quite as good as it had in the past, which was understandable given the state of his back.
With the Mets back in the playoffs for the first time since 2006, Wright got to play in his second postseason and first World Series despite having missed the majority of the season. His overall line in the postseason—.185/.313/.278—doesn't jump off the page, but there were some highlights along the way. Wright drove in two runs in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers to give the Mets a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning. They went on to win that game 3-1.
In the Mets' win over the Cubs in Game 3 of the NLCS, Wright went 3-for-4 with a couple of runs scored. And Wright was a huge part of the Mets' lone win in the World Series in Game 3, going 2-for-5 with a home run and driving in four runs in total.
Considering Wright's entire future as a baseball player came into question just a few months earlier, those performances were really pleasant surprises. Here's hoping he can continue to manage his back condition going forward and hit like David Wright in the process.