FWIW, I've got Wright seventh on my 3B depth chart, behind Bell, Bando, Ventura, Cey, Harrah, and Elliott. The first two players make my ballot, while Ventura is on my 25-40 waiting list and Cey should reach my top 40 within a couple cycles. Barring some serious rethinking, it'll be a loooong time before he hits my ballot, if ever.

There's definitely a bit of 'what might have been' with Wright, but I think there's enough there for him to make the bottom third of my ballot. When he was on the field, he was an offensive force who was... okay on defense. I definitely like him better than Robin Ventura who has made my ballots in the past. Prefer him to the 60s/70s third base block as well.

It's hard for me to find good comparisons. Minnie Minoso has a similar offensive profile - a bit more bulk to his career, but Wright was at the more valuable position. Better Tony Lazzeri? That kind of works. Wright's prime kind of lines up with Ryne Sandberg's prime, but Sandberg has extra bulk on his career.

It's hard for me to find good comparisons.

Dale Murphy as a capable 3B?

David Wright, ages 22-30: 5662 PA, .890 OPS, 138 OPS+, 208 HR, 812 R, 836 RBI, 657 BB, 1048 SO, 2481 TB
Dale Murphy, ages 23-31: 5652 PA, .884 OPS, 138 OPS+, 285 HR, 854 R, 825 RBI, 683 BB, 1068 SO, 2520 TB

Murphy took longer to get going and played more after his prime ended, but both guys basically had a nine-year run that accounted for most of their value. Other than HR and BA, they were very similar offensive players.

He really did seem to be on his way to a HOF career before his back problems. I have always wondered if the Mets hadn't collapsed whether he would have won the MVP in 2007. Is he the most loved player to play his entire career with the Mets? There's not exactly a ton of candidates.

yes.

in Sept. 2007, Wright went .432/.602/1.034 (after an August of 1.172 OPS)

of course, 2007 MVP Jimmy Rollins far outshone him in the homestretch, with OPSs of .858 in Aug and .875 in Sept.

wait, what? .858 and .875 beat 1.172 and 1.034 in a horse race?

yes, yes it did. I wonder if this same scenario would produce a different vote in the 2020s.

Rollins was about as good in the last two months as he was in all of that excellent season.

Wright carried 24 chumps on his back across that span and scampered like Secretariat anyway.

but the Mets lost, and so did he.

Wright placed 2nd in the 2007 MMP voting behind Alex Rodriguez. He also got votes in 2005, 2008, 2012, 2013

Is he the most loved player to play his entire career with the Mets? There's not exactly a ton of candidates.

He has to be. I mean, who’s the second-best player to have spent his whole career with the Mets (current roster excluded)? Ed Kranepool?

He has to be. I mean, who’s the second-best player to have spent his whole career with the Mets (current roster excluded)? Ed Kranepool?

For now, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Michael Conforto are #2/3/4 on this "Mt. Rushmore."

Kranepool was replacement level esque for an entire career.

And to the comments, I've never read anything negative on David Wright, I hope his spinal stenosis is under control and not a detriment for him on a daily basis.

I definitely like him better than Robin Ventura who has made my ballots in the past.

If you don't mind me asking, why? By B-R WAR, as example, Ventura is Wright, except with three full additional seasons of league average play. Is this a peak vs. prime thing for you, or a matter of you trusting the offensive evaluations more than the defensive evaluations?

If you don't mind me asking, why? By B-R WAR, as example, Ventura is Wright, except with three full additional seasons of league average play. Is this a peak vs. prime thing for you, or a matter of you trusting the offensive evaluations more than the defensive evaluations?

It's a combination of both. I rate out Ventura as a pretty good fielder, but Rfield is definitely really friendly to him compared to other metrics. My mix dampens his defense a bit - enough that Wirght's superior peak wins out.

Thank you for the response.

I’ve got him on or just above the in/out line.

Re Bleed’s Mt Rushmore comment. One of the great ironies of Wright being a Mets Rushmorian is that he’s a 3B. The Mets went through three skillion 3Bs from the 1960s to HoJo. It was something of a joke among fans. Howie Menckel, i bet you remember the old Mets 3B curse well.

yes.

in Sept. 2007, Wright went .432/.602/1.034 (after an August of 1.172 OPS)

He did finish fourth, so while I'm sure he would have finished ahead of Rollins if the collapse hadn't happened, there's no guarantee he beats out Holliday.

He has to be. I mean, who’s the second-best player to have spent his whole career with the Mets (current roster excluded)? Ed Kranepool?

By WAR, Ron Hodges (and, as you note, active players are never included).

I believe the Mets' leading "career-long Met" pitcher (or is it just starting pitcher?) is still Bob Apodaca.

can confirm on the Mets 3B curse and Kranepool's mediocrity.

14. Howie Menckel Posted: January 12, 2021 at 12:03 AM (#5999172)
[ Ignored Comment ]

WTF? I've never had Howie on ignore.

WTF? I've never had Howie on ignore.

I had the same thing the other day on this thread, with Howie's post in 5 on ignore. And sometimes I can post in this particular thread, and other times I can't.

Howie's post in 5 first showed up for me as [ignore, and I didn't even know at the time that there was such a setting.

Similarities to Al Rosen, star 3B career cut short by back injuries

I couldn’t post on this thread for like 24 hours for some reason (it told me I needed to log in even though I was already logged in to the site).

Anyway in response to Howie’s #14, I believe Pedro Feliciano is now the leader in the “career Met” category among pitchers (at least by WAR, and he has more G and IP than Apodaca). But I’m not sure whether he counts, because he signed a free agent deal with the Yankees but never actually threw a pitch for them due to injury, and then he returned to the Mets. Also, Apodaca was more of a reliever than a starter, as was Feliciano — I don’t know who the best career Mets starter (non-active players only) would be and I don’t really want to know.

Sorry for distracting from the discussion of David Wright. I’m not a voter but if I was, Wright wouldn’t make my ballot. Great player and great Met, but to be a HOF/HOM player with <7,000 PA is a tall order.

I was very surprised to find that Wright took ballot spot #15 for me. He is in a virtual tie with Robin Ventura who got bumped to 16th, so I think that is a very apt comparison (both Mets 3B interestingly enough). For such a short career guy, I would not have expected such a strong debut, I think I expected him to be somewhere in the top 30 or so.