OAKLAND – Even though he’s just 22 years old and hasn’t even played a full season in the majors, it seems there are few things that David Wright doesn’t do well.
Sixty-three games into his first full major league season, Wright has his average around the .300 mark (.297, entering last night). He’s posted 10 homers, 34 RBIs and even six steals – the latter particularly impressive for a third baseman.
But while it’s hard to quibble with potential greatness, the one area that Wright is struggling with is his defense.
Through 63 games, Wright has committed 11 errors, which are the most among major league third basemen. He’s also last among third basemen with a .929 fielding percentage.
It’d be one thing if the errors were relatively harmless, but his mistakes are starting to prove costly. And none might have been more so than his most recent one, which came in the ninth inning against the Angels on Sunday. Wright couldn’t backhand Darin Erstad’s grounder, allowing the game-winning run to score.
“It was kind of an in-between hop, and if I had to do [it] over again, maybe [I would] try to go get that rather than backing up on it,” Wright said on Sunday. “You can practice it as much as you want. But when it happens in the game, it’s a different story. You just have to get out there and start playing more relaxed.”
Indeed, one of the problems Wright seems to have been having with his defense is that he hasn’t been playing instinctively. As he said Sunday, “I’m almost outthinking myself.”
Wright’s miscues have been various, so there has not been one overriding problem that he’s exhibited. Of his 11 errors, four have been on ground balls, six have been on throws and one occurred when he dropped a foul pop-up.
Wright is working to get better, but he knows the improvement is not going to show tomorrow.
“I’m learning things I think can help me out in the infield,” Wright said Sunday. “And as much as you want to see results right away, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Until it does, of course, nobody is going to panic. Manager Willie Randolph, a patient skipper to begin with, looks at Wright and sees a kid who is getting an education.
Just like plenty of other young third basemen did before him.
“He’s working pretty hard every day, and he’s a young third baseman still learning how to play the position I think,” Randolph said Sunday. “Just like all players, good players, not so good players, great players who have gone through growing pains of knowing how to play the game. It’s going to happen.
“He looks like a young player and is trying to establish himself as a third baseman. I remember Mike Schmidt and guys like that who their first year or so had ups and downs, if you will. And ended up being Gold Glovers. As long as he keeps working hard, he’ll be fine for me.”
Indeed, in 1974, when Schmidt was 24 and in just his second full season, he committed 26 errors. Two years later, he won the first of 10 Gold Gloves. The Mets can only hope Wright follows a similar defensive path.