Memories of another David Wright walkoff hit

On May 19, 2006, the Mets played the Yankees at Shea in the first Subway Series game of the season. For the first time in years, the Mets were ready to take on the Yankees as equal contending teams.

With a pitching mismatch of Randy Johnson vs. Geremi Gonzalez, the Mets fell behind by four runs, but rallied to tie the game, 6-6, going into the bottom of the ninth. With two outs in the ninth and Paul Lo Duca on second, Mariano Rivera walked Carlos Delgado intentionally to bring up David Wright.

Before 56,000 screaming fans, the 23-year-old Wright proceeded to win the game with a walkoff hit off of the greatest closer in history.

“There’s nothing better,” Wright said after the game. “New York’s the greatest baseball stage.”

As a Met fan, I would hope that Wright would continue to feel that there is nothing better than succeeding in New York. But even if he does place Tuesday night's winning hit at the top of his baseball highlights, we are ultimately talking about a walkoff hit in March vs. a walkoff hit in May.

Let's hope that this year brings Wright some memories he can cherish from October.

David Wright says all the wrong things

Squawker Jon, I know you that you inhaled the WBC and all, given your most recent column, but I'm going to have to mock your guy David Wright, the star of Team USA's victory over Puerto Rico.

Or should I just call him Mr. March again? Yeah, yeah, I know somebody could say that about my team's third baseman, Alex Rodriguez. And come to think of it, Wright may not have made the USA squad in the first place if it weren't for A-Rod remembering his Dominican roots.

Speaking of A-Rod, Wright seems to be channeling his propensity for saying dopey things. After David's walkoff hit the other night, he told the media, "That situation is what you dream about when you're a kid."

Mets blogger I.M. Forme at It's Mets for Me is having none of it:

Really? Wright dreamed about playing for Team America in the World Baseball Classic? The WBC wasn't a dumb glimmer in Bud Selig's greedy eyes when Wright was a kid. Get your head on straight, Sugarpants, when you were a kid, you dreamed about winning the world series with the NY Mets. That is the situation.

I don't even root for the Mets and I'm nodding my head agreeing with this guy.

But wait, there's more! According to today's Kevin Kernan column in the New York Post:

Wright had scratches on his face, the result of being dog-piled by teammates. He also had the glow in his eye such a hit builds in the baseball soul.

"I've heard from everybody," he said. "I got more phone calls and text messages in the last 24 hours than I had the last 24 months."

He's thrilled that his bat is being sent to the Hall of Fame. One of the best messages came from his brother Daniel, a high school senior. "He sent me a text that said, 'This is by far the coolest thing you've ever done,' " Wright explained.

Can Wright get a little perspective here, please?

Team USA hasn't even won the WBC yet. They made it to the semifinals. The semifinals. Which means that they're one of four teams left. To paraphrase a Chris Rock routine, you're supposed to make it to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic if you're the US. What does Wright want, a cookie?

Wright is darned lucky that, despite the Mets' two epic September collapses in a row, he still essentially gets a free pass in this town. Because I think the other New York third baseman would get a little more criticism if he told the media what golden boy David did yesterday:

"Being in these kind of high-pressure situations, you know, big at-bats in March, can only help you out come April and hopefully beyond that," Wright said of the two-run single that beat Puerto Rico, 6-5. "You're talking about being up there with the game on the line, and when you wear those three letters across the front of your chest, you have quite a bit of pressure and weight on your shoulders.

"I think that can only help," Wright said. "It's good to get that big hit because when you do get those big hits it allows you to take a deep breath and maybe not put as much pressure on you the next at-bat."

Again, can you imagine if A-Rod had said something so damning about himself? Good grief.

What do you think about David Wright? Leave us a comment!

I, uh, watched the WBC and enjoyed it

Yesterday, I complained about Met pitchers getting overworked in the WBC and wished the whole thing would go away. Last night, with the WBC still on my mind, I tuned in to USA-Puerto Rico. I swear, I was just going to check the score to see which Met players would be coming home. I wasn't planning to inhale.

But when every other player seemed to be a Met, and the other players all seemed to be from the Phillies, Red Sox or Yankees, I found myself watching. And it turned out to be an exciting finish, featuring a walk-off hit by our own David Wright.

USA-Puerto Rico. The gateway drug to the WBC!

I'm still worried about pitch counts, but I did see the potential for the WBC, and also how to improve the All-Star game.

What made last night's game so exciting was that the top players were still on the field at the end. Except for one pinch-runner, everyone in the US lineup played the entire game, and we're talking players of the caliber of Wright, Derek Jeter, Jimmy Rollins (who was DH), Kevin Youkilis and Brian Roberts. Most of the Puerto Rican stars, such as Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Alex Rios, also played the full game.

MLB wants the All-Star games to "count," but they also want to get everyone in the game, even when some of those players are only on the team because their franchise is required to have a representative. But if you really want the All-Star game to count, you have to find a way to have the David Wrights on the field at the end of the game.

Speaking of Wright, Squawker Lisa has already referred to him as Mr. March. But, as ESPN research points out, Wright is more clutch than some think:

Wright has six career regular-season walk-off hits for the Mets, one shy of the club record. However, none of those came in a situation in which his team was trailing.

Of course, Wright wouldn't have been hitting against someone named Fernando Cabrera in an All-Star game. Cabrera came in with the bases loaded in the ninth and cemented his audition for the 2008 Met bullpen by walking in a run to cut the lead to 5-4 before giving up the winning hit to Wright.

Cabrera came on for Phillies reliever J.C. Romero. It was strange to see Romero on the mound, since he's been suspended 50 games for performance-enhancing drugs. But the announcer explained that the suspension does not apply to the WBC. A few minutes later, the announcer hastily explained that the WBC does not condone the use of PEDs and that it has its own drug testing.

But that's Bud Selig's world for you. He's solved the PED problem, except when he hasn't. Suspensions have teeth, except when they don't.

Tonight, the US plays Venezuela. It's just for seeding, since both teams are in the semis, so I'm not planning to watch any of it. Unless there's a chance to see J.J. Putz face off against K-Rod...

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One other note: Best wishes to Aaron Boone. No middle initial today, since Boone is going to undergo open heart surgery. It's not an emergency and, while he will miss this season, he is supposed to be back for the 2010 season.

Did you watch any of the game last night? Are you planning to watch any of the remaining WBC games?