Alex Cora thinks David Wright takes the hard way out. And that’s one of the ways he sees the Mets’ third baseman providing leadership.
“He shows up every day and little by little, for whatever is going on with us and where we’re at, he shows up with the same attitude, same work ethic and prepares himself,” said Cora, a veteran of the 2007 championship Red Sox. “It’s very easy for us as ballplayers to deviate from our plan, our preparation, and he doesn’t do that. And he’s showing everybody around here that, hey, for whatever is going on around us, we’ve still got to show up and do our thing because there’s always a chance.
“And I think showing guys like that, he’s showing a lot of leadership.”
Wright fully admits that not having Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes has forced him to become more of a leader.
“I think this was, or is, a learning experience,” he said. “When those guys got hurt, everybody knew that the other everyday guys were going to have to step up on the field and be more of a leader in the clubhouse ’cause we’re missing some of those core guys. And it’s been difficult. It’s been a challenge. But I think I did learn a lot from that, and I think that’ll help me moving forward.”
Indeed, whether this helps in Wright’s career evolution as a leader is the question. Though the Mets have multiple stars, Wright arguably is the organization’s face. He’s also seemed to be the captain-in-waiting.
Wright’s leadership actually was questioned this year by John Franco — ironically, the Mets’ last captain. But Cora praises Wright as “accountable,” saying that “he’s really impressed me.” And don’t forget, Gary Sheffield said Wright’s recruiting text messages contributed to his decision to come here.
Wright says that when it comes to being a clubhouse leader, this season has taught him “what it’s like to try to keep a team focused and going [for] one goal when there was a lot of adversity.” It’s similar to what Cora noted about him.
“We’ve stayed focused. The preparation’s been there,” Wright said. “It’s just sometimes it’s tough for guys that are role players or guys that normally would be in the minor leagues right now to step in an extended period of time, not just the 15-day DL but step in for an extended period of time and consistently go out there and do what the player that they’re replacing does.”
Wright’s a four-time All-Star, yet he’s just 26 years old, not a grizzled veteran who’s been around for 15 seasons. So it might seem like too much too soon to ask him to be a leader.
Though Wright’s been in the majors only since 2004, Cora notes that Wright has unique experience. Cora looks at former Boston teammate Dustin Pedroia, who started his career in 2007 with a title, then went to ALCS Game 7 last year and is now battling for the postseason again. In other words, he’s seen only team success.
“In [Wright’s] short career, he’s had some good experience and some bad experience,” Cora said, “and not too many guys in the big leagues have been going through [that].”
For Wright, he said he believes the type of leadership that should be followed is exhibited by players who play hurt and with desire.
“I think that it’s just the biggest thing for me, especially going through this time, is I want everybody to recognize what Alex Cora’s doing,” Wright said. “He’s going out there playing with a torn ligament. Those are the guys that you want to go to battle with. With Frankie [Rodriguez], the days where he pitches five or six days in a row. And that’s kind of what I feed off of, so in return I try to do that. I go out there, play with energy every day, bring that to the table, and hopefully guys kind of feed off of that.”
