{"id":40854,"date":"2025-03-13T06:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T06:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=40854"},"modified":"2025-03-13T06:49:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T06:49:00","slug":"former-mets-captain-david-wright-joins-spring-training-as-a-guest-instructor-reconnecting-with-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=40854","title":{"rendered":"Former Mets captain David Wright joins spring training as a guest instructor, reconnecting with players."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"David<\/p>\n

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. \u2014 The Captain suited up again Wednesday.<\/p>\n

David Wright\u2019s annual visit to spring training looked slightly different this time around, with the former third baseman putting on a Mets uniform as part of his guest instructor role. In recent years, he stuck to street clothes \u2014 office clothes, more like \u2014 since his stay was mostly marketing-related.<\/p>\n

So this \u201cprobably\u201d was his first time putting on such gear since his final game on Sept. 29, 2018, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of stuck out like a sore thumb without it,\u201d Wright said in the Mets\u2019 Clover Park dugout. \u201cSo I feel more comfortable in it for sure. But it\u2019s nice to put the hat on, it\u2019s nice to put the jersey back on and roam the field. A lot less responsibility than the last time I had the uniform on out here, but good to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wright arrived at the ballpark early, attended the coaches\u2019 meeting and chatted with staffers and players, including Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo is one of three remaining Mets who shared an active roster with Wright (Jeff McNeil and Drew Smith are the others).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really neat to come back and see Nims as a leader on the team, when I remembered him as a young pup,\u201d Wright said. \u201cIt\u2019s neat to see it from a different perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mets will retire Wright’s No. 5 jersey on\u00a0July 19 at Citi Field before a game against the Reds.<\/p>\n

Wright\u2019s Los Angeles-based life revolves mostly around his three children, including his 4-year-old son Brooks David Wright, who has started playing coach-pitch baseball. Wright is the head coach of that team.<\/p>\n

When manager Carlos Mendoza called to ask Wright to check in at camp in the uniformed alumni role \u2014 as Darryl Strawberry, Edgardo Alfonzo, John Franco and others have in recent weeks \u2014 Wright obliged.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully it\u2019s a few more days next year,\u201d Wright said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t ever want to feel like I\u2019m getting in the way. And I don\u2019t ever want to feel like it\u2019s just another distraction for these guys trying to get ready for the season. So I think that\u2019s probably my biggest hesitation. But being around the coaching staff, being around some of the veteran players that I\u2019ve gotten to know over the years, I really do enjoy coming back and pulling up a chair and talking some shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mendoza said: \u201cI didn\u2019t (convince)\u00a0him. He can do whatever he wants, right? He\u2019s David Wright.\u201d<\/p>\n

What a relief<\/h3>\n

Both relievers questionable to be ready for the start of the season continue to provide optimism in the form of steady progress.<\/p>\n

Lefthander A.J. Minter (hip surgery last August) tossed a perfect, 10-pitch inning in his Grapefruit League debut Wednesday in a 2-0 win over the Cardinals.<\/p>\n

A tad behind Minter, righthander Dedniel Nunez (flexor strain last year) is due to throw his second live batting practice session Thursday. Mendoza said the hope is Nunez will advance to game action for his next outing.<\/p>\n

The Mets, typically conservative in bringing back freshly healthy players, are taking a wait-and-see approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be hard to tell. I\u2019m going to do everything I can,\u201d Minter said. \u201cAt the same time \u2014 I\u2019ve said this \u2014 we\u2019re going to be smart about it. If that means taking a few extra weeks, it takes a few extra weeks . . . I\u2019m going to leave that up to Mendy and the coaching staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mendoza said of Nunez, though it also applies to Minter: \u201cWe don\u2019t want to rush this. If he\u2019s ready for Opening Day, great. If not, we\u2019ll listen to him too. It\u2019s been a long road for him as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Extra bases<\/h3>\n

Paul Blackburn tossed four perfect innings against St. Louis . . . The Mets had a perfect game until Pedro Pages doubled off Danny Young in the sixth . . . Attending the game at Roger Dean Stadium: Jupiter resident Bill Parcells.<\/p>\n

\n

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of \u201cHometown Hardball,\u201d a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright juggles coaching his son’s team and guest instructing at Mets spring training.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":40855,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Mets captain David Wright joins spring training as a guest instructor, reconnecting with players. - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=40854\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Mets captain David Wright joins spring training as a guest instructor, reconnecting with players. - 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