David Wright was among the Mets legends at camp this week as a guest instructor. Wright arrived in Port St. Lucie on Wednesday afternoon while the team was on the road, but spent all day Thursday with them.
The Mets, of course, wanted him there to be around the team. But they were also looking for the former captain to impose some of his words of wisdom on young third base prospects Mark Vientos and Brett Baty.
Sure, it would’ve been helpful having the former two-time Gold Glover work alongside them in the field, but Mets manager Buck Showalter expects Wright’s off-the-field intangibles to make the biggest impact.
“You’ve got obviously a great Met player in David Wright. David’s very open and trying to help,” Showalter said. “It’s not necessarily about catching a ground ball or throwing a ball or hitting a ball, it’s all the other things. The professionalism, all the intangibles that David brought that separated him.”
While their sit-down was brief, Baty told reporters following the Mets’ loss to the Braves at Clover Park, that it was a really cool experience getting to hear from the legendary third baseman.
“We really just talked about navigating the New York market and stuff like that,” Baty said. “And just really being consistent day-to-day and really just trying to improve on the little things and just staying consistent with that. It was cool getting to chat with him.”
Many view Baty as the next great third baseman in Mets history. He’s certainly shown that potential so far. The former first-round draft pick has raked at every level of the minors.
He enjoyed some success in a brief cup of coffee at the big-league level last season, though Baty finds himself trying to fight his way onto the Opening Day roster this spring,
So far, he is making an awfully strong case. Baty has impressed at the plate, hitting .500 with a homer and 4 RBI through 12 Grapefruit League at-bats.
The future certainly seems bright for the talented young slugger and he hopes to continue to pick Wright’s brain down the road of his big-league career.
“I want to learn as much as I can from him because he’s probably the best third baseman to come through the New York Mets organization,” Baty said. “So I definitely want to learn as much as I can from him.”
