David Wright, Former MLB All-Star

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To really do it justice, you gotta widen the lens. What does this home run mean? The PBP Voices of Baseball. I bring you the people who bring you the game. Listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Alrighty, we continue here on Maggie and Perloff. Zach Yellbin for both Maggie and Andrew who are both off enjoying vacation this entire week.

I'll be here for three days today, Tuesday, and then also on Thursday. I believe JR will be in on Wednesday from the JR Sport Prefix Travaganza. Weeknights 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Eastern. And then on Friday, Amy Lawrence will be in from the Amy Lawrence show. After hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio from 2 to 6 a.m. Eastern.

Poll question today. Whose side are you on? You can always find it at Zach Yellbin at CBS Sports Radio. Is it James Harden or Daryl Morey? Where James Harden over the weekend was in China and he said that Daryl Morey is a liar and that he will never play for Daryl Morey again. So that results right now are 76.6 percent Daryl Morey and then 23.4 percent rocking and rolling with James Harden.

Let's go out to the guest line though right now. Welcome in a seven-time All-Star. Played his entire big league career with the Mets. Won a Gold Glove two times.

And that of course is one of my favorite baseball players of all time in David Wright. David, great to catch up with you again. How you been? Great. Thanks for the intro. I appreciate that. Thanks for having me. Yeah, thanks so much for coming on.

So I know that this was supposed to happen last week and rain washed it away but now it's coming back. The second annual NYPD versus FDNY charity baseball game, the Battle of the Badges. And you're going to be the commissioner for the charity event. Seems like a nice honor. Yes, second annual at Citi Field but the series is tied 12 to 12 right now. So it's a big pivotal matchup this Thursday at Citi Field.

Yeah, like you said rain washed it away. And when the Mets approached me about being the commissioner or the host of this game, I jumped at it with my father being a police officer for over 30 years. I wanted me and my family to be there to shake hands with the first responders, the firefighters, the police officers, the true heroes of New York.

So I circled it on my calendar and wouldn't miss it for the world. And obviously 9-11 didn't happen when you were on the Mets on the big league club but you know how much the Mets love to honor and deservedly so the NYPD and the FDNY. And you talked about your family background. Just how much pride did you take in that to always remember the legacies of the people that unfortunately that we lost on 9-11 when you were a player? I think you said it beautifully.

You know, I really enjoyed it. It was a somber visit but each year we try to go to a different firehouse that lost brothers and sisters during 9-11. And I always look forward to the visit because I really enjoyed being around the firefighters, the first responders, but also just an incredibly somber, sad moment and looking at the wall of recognition or the wall of remembrance and seeing faces that bravely ran towards the trouble on 9-11.

When the majority of us would be running away, it takes a different, a brave, selfless person to run towards the trouble and that's why I think all of us should, when we see a police officer on the street, see a firefighter on the street, shake their hand and say thank you because these are the true heroes of the community and ones that keep us safe on a daily basis and genuinely risk their lives on a daily basis. Well said. David Wright is here with us. The last time you were in a Mets uniform playing on the big league level was 2018. How much do you still miss the game, David?

I miss it terribly. You know, I had my family up in New York for the game, the charity game that got rained out, the Battle of the Badges game and when we snuck a Mets game in that Wednesday night against the Cubs and just being back at the ballpark and smells and sounds. You know you're getting old when you walk into the ballpark and you start reminiscing about the good old days and that's what I caught myself doing.

So it got the juices flowing, talking to some of the guys, seeing the action. I kind of got caught in the game of when I was playing, trying to see if the pitchers were falling in any sequences or patterns and I miss that competitive part about the game for sure. How do you think you would have dealt with the pitch clock?

Because I always remember David Wright stepping out of the box and fixing the batting gloves obviously. I think that would have been a tough adjustment for you, David. So you thought I was like a human rain delay, huh? Well I enjoyed watching you play. You don't think my game would have translated into playing a little quicker? No, it really would have been an adjustment period because I think from a fan's perspective the game just flows better. There's a lot more action, but as a player I'm assuming or betting that it takes a little getting used to because like you were right, I had a little in-between pitch routine that I did and I think it would have taken some getting used to and I certainly would have had some strikes caught on me in spring training getting used to that.

And that's the thing. I think a lot of it is mental now because baseball players are so superstitious. A lot of those things that you guys would do are just superstitions and it's like how do you avoid that and then mentally just how does it play with your mind? One thousand percent you are correct because it's not necessarily that we need the time in between the pitches but when you come up with a routine and you're taught your whole life in baseball that you have to have a routine.

To be successful you have to have a routine. You have to take so many breaths and you have to do something that kind of gets you in the moment and then all of a sudden the next year you have to get in the box, out of the box, in the box, out of the box. It definitely takes some getting used to and unless baseball players are creatures of habit. So I'm sure it took a little getting used to in spring training. I think everybody kind of learned together both fans and players when guys were getting punched out in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and a pitch hadn't even been thrown. So certainly an adjustment period but I think the guys are doing a phenomenal job with it.

David Wright here with us. Since I was talking about the mental side of it, you know mental health there's a heightened awareness for it now. You had to go through some serious injuries that you still deal with today. What was the mental side of that like for you knowing that your career was going to get cut short a little bit? You know for me it took a while for my mind to catch up with my body. My mind always said you got this, you got this, you can do this.

You got to work harder, you got to want it more. And my body was just saying whoa this isn't going to happen, slow down a little bit, you're pushing me too hard. So it took a little while for those things to kind of sync up and finally realize that hey I'm getting towards the end. I've said it a million times and I'll say it again, I can't thank the Mets organization enough for giving me that farewell game, that send off in front of my kids and my family and my friends. To be able to say thank you to the organization, to be able to say thank you to the fan base, the city for always having my back. It really meant the world to me and those are the types of memories that hit me when I get back to the ballpark at Citi Field. For me it just gets flooded with different emotions, all great when I see that ballpark. Do your girls start to understand how big of a deal dad was now? My oldest one who's seven brags all the time that she got to throw the first pitch out when she was two years old at the ballpark. So she was telling all of her friends and I think every once in a while they'll play it when there's a rain delay.

Been a lot of those this year, I'll tell you that. Yes, so she thinks now that she's some big celebrity and kind of walks around with her chest puffed out because she got a chance to throw the first pitch out at Citi Field. So pretty cool to kind of see. We walked in and my kids wanted to see the team pictures. We have all the team pictures kind of leading down the hallway to the clubhouse. Wanted to see all the team pictures that I was in. So pointing out dad and all the team pictures. So it's one of those proud dad moments. I know that we've talked about this before and I've always told you I believe that one day you will be a big league manager, David Wright.

You said now you want to be home with the family. Do you start to maybe get that itch at all to manage? I mean, once you don't wear the uniform anymore, you always have that itch to get back out on the field.

For now, and I guess I'll never say never, but I don't have much of a desire to do it on that level. My desire right now is to do it on the five-year-old all-girls pony league team that I'm coaching starting in two weeks. So that's kind of, for me, being around my kids, getting a chance to be there to coach their soccer teams, their baseball teams.

Go take them to school on their first day of school. Be a part of that part of life is much more important to me right now than the baseball side or kind of what I did throughout my career. I guess never say never, but I would give it a very, very slim chance moving forward just because I'm really enjoying this part of life of being around my kids and watching them grow up every day. Totally respect that answer, David Wright here with us. And we know how great of a leader you were when you were a player. Let me just say, if you were still in that Mets clubhouse, the season not going the way that they expected it to, a lot of people were traded right before the deadline. Some tough moments that they're going through now. If you were still in that clubhouse, just what would the message be to the guys for the final month, month and a half of the season? Well, I don't think there's any hiding the disappointment that I'm sure those guys and me as a fan are feeling. When you put that uniform on every day and you have those types of expectations and you have that type of payroll, when you're playing for that city, those expectations are high.

And when you don't reach them, I think every guy in that clubhouse will tell you how disappointing of a year it's been. With that being said, it excites me to give these younger guys a chance to see what we have moving forward. It's a thrill for me to hopefully have a core of homegrown guys that either we get through these trades or that we develop within the organization. That when you're looking at next year or the year after, the year after that, they all come together and kind of form that core. That you can have that winning mentality and sustain that kind of winning mentality over a number of years.

And I will tell you there's a difference. When you're a homegrown guy or they trade a Cy Young Award winner for you or a Hall of Famer for you, when you get to the big leagues with the Mets, you're going to have a terrific sense of pride putting that uniform on on a daily basis and want to go out there and win to prove that, hey, I was worth Max Scherzer. I was worth Justin Verlander. So it excites me because it gives these young guys an opportunity to show what they got and almost an extended tryout to see what areas or question marks going into the offseason and that need to be filled externally. And some of these young guys are going to win a job for next year and say, hey, I'm going to be part of the solution moving forward. So as a guy that was developed and drafted and played his entire career with the Mets, it excites me to see hopefully that we get that sustained success in the future through our minor leagues and through some of these trades we just made. So then a guy like that stuck in the middle but is a big part of this team, Pete Alonso, who is now a veteran, is in a free agent until 2025, a few of my friends down the hall at WFAN are saying maybe since the team is getting a little bit younger, they should trade Pete. What do you say to people that are skeptical about the Mets giving Pete a long term deal eventually?

Well, I mean, I think that, you know, he's shown that he can be one of the premier power hitters in baseball. You know, with that being said, sometimes these decisions are very difficult. You know, that's why these front office guys get paid, you know, and women get paid a lot of money to make these difficult decisions.

I think that a lot of it has to do with, you know, the asks or, you know, what both sides are offering, you know, trying to meet in the middle somewhere. I think, you know, everybody would like to see, you know, one of the best power hitters in the game, you know, remain a Met. But, you know, sometimes difficult decisions have to be made and, you know, that's why these guys get paid the big bucks and, you know, I'm on the edge of my seat seeing what's going to happen as well. So, you know, I will say this and I'm speaking, you know, from my experience is that I didn't want to go anywhere. You know, I told the Mets both times we negotiated the two deals that I signed that, hey, I want to be here, you know, let's do something that's fair for you guys, let's do something that's fair for me and let's move on.

Because I don't want to be talking about my contract, I don't want to be, you know, going out there and it being a distraction, you know, just know that I want to be here. And, you know, that was my mindset and, you know, hopefully Pete's the same way, but time will tell and we shall see. Wrapping up with David Wright, everyone's going to be talking about Shohei Ohtani this offseason. Heck, that's all we do during the regular season with how unbelievable he is, not only on the mound but then even better at the plate. If, let's say, Ohtani gave David Wright a call or Uncle Stevie said, hey, can you give Ohtani a call and try to convince him to come to the Mets, what would you say to Ohtani about your experience playing in New York and why you should consider it?

That there's nothing else like it. It is the biggest sports stage that I've ever played on that, you know, if you can do it in New York, you know, you will be celebrated like none other. And I think that that is, there's a reason why, you know, whether it's basketball or football or baseball, when these opposing players come to New York, they want to put on a show because the whole world's watching. You've got so many eyeballs on you, you know, so if you want to experience what, you know, when we went to the World Series in 15 and had a couple of late playoff runs, you know, we were like the Beatles walking around New York. So, you know, if you want to experience that and, you know, really do it on the stage, New York is the place for you. So that would be my pitch. And, you know, to be able to come to New York and be successful, no place like it.

Hey, before we let you run, David Wright, I always enjoy getting an opportunity to catch up with you. How do you want people to remember your career? You know what?

That's a good question. I would say just playing the game the right way, playing the game hard. You know, I tried to have that blue collar mentality every time I took the field. You know, I knew in my heart that I wasn't the most talented player on the baseball field. I wasn't the biggest. I wasn't the fastest. I wasn't the strongest.

But I can promise you one thing, that I wanted it the most. And when I took that field, I knew that I was more prepared than anybody else on that field. And that's why I thought on a nightly basis that I could go be the best player that night because I was the most prepared. So, not sure if that's all being remembered or not, but that was my mindset. When I worked in the offseason, throughout the season, you know, I wanted that blue collar mentality that, hey, you know, I am the most prepared and I am the hardest working guy on this field tonight. And before we let you run, David Wright, one more time, just tell me about the big charity baseball game that you have coming up between the NYPD and the FDNY, the Battle of the Badges.

Yeah, I appreciate that plug a lot because obviously it's something that's near and dear to me. But Thursday, it's coming up Thursday, 7 p.m. A big part of the proceeds are going to a number of different, tremendous charities, you know, throughout New York. So, you know, come wear your NYPD hat, come wear your FDNY hat, root on the police officers, root on the firefighters, the real heroes, not only in New York, but every community keeps us safe on a daily basis.

Come support the brave men and women that put the uniform on. It should be a good time. The series is tied 12-12, big pivotal game. And from what I understand, it's some really good baseball.

It's a lot of college players, some guys that play minor leagues. So this isn't, you know, some beer league, slow pitch softball game. This is going to be pretty intense. So I'm excited to see it myself. If it's anything like the hockey game that they put on each and every year, man. Yeah, I hope that doesn't happen. I hope, you know, because I'm the commissioner. I don't need any of that. Let's keep it PG.

No, Jose Ramirez, Tim Anderson incidents is what you're saying. Yeah, let's not do that. Because these guys would be able to kick my butt too.

I don't want to have to break up any fights. David Wright, good health to you and your family. We appreciate it. Thanks so much. Thanks for having me, buddy.

There you go. David Wright joining us on CBS Sports Radio. David Wright is just like the consummate professional and one of the nicest people I've ever met.

I'll tell a quick story here because I know we got to take a break. I was in sixth or seventh grade and one of my best friends growing up, unfortunately, had cancer. And he was in and out of chemo treatments. And there was a big met charity event where all the players were there. I forget the actual location.

I want to say it was Radio City Musical. But we were at this event and my friend only wanted to meet David Wright. But he had a treatment earlier this morning and the event was in the afternoon and he was late to getting to the event. So when he got there, Tom Glavin, Steve Traxell and Chris Woodward were talking to my buddy Danny. And he said, oh, I want to meet is David Wright. So I forget who got on the phone. But it was either Traxell Glavin or Woodward. And they called David and David was on his way to a Knicks game with Cliff Floyd.

They turned around, blew off the game, came back to the event and spent like two to three hours with us. And it was just such a nice thing that David Wright, Cliff Floyd, Steve Traxell, Tom Glavin and Chris Woodward did. And back in twenty nineteen, all these years later, I'm at the PGA Championship and David Wright was commissioner.

He was just, you know, one of the faces they were putting at the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black on Long Island. And I've run into David Wright and I said, David, like, I hate to do this, but I have to show you this photo. And I showed him the photo of my buddy, me, all the players together. And he remember the entire thing.

And we kind of reconnected. And any time I reach out to him, he's benevolent enough to give us a few minutes here on CBS Sports Radio. Just truly everything you hear and see about David Wright is truly what you get. Like a lot of times there's some athletes that could be phony or could be disingenuous.

David Wright, one of the more genuine people on this planet. All right. Well, come on back with the Casamigos shot of the day.

We know James Harden wants out of Philadelphia, but there could be could there be another sixer player who is on his way to maybe inching closer and closer to requesting a trade? Take a break. We'll come on back. We'll discuss that. Here is Eric Harskowitz with the latest CBS Sports Radio update.