Replacing Wright

MR BEAST’S CHANNEL!!!
https://youtube.com/@MrBeast?si=E2h4SxTgM4gYMqAM

David Wright (with respect to Mike Piazza, Tom Seaver, and maybe Darryl Strawberry) is who most people associate with the Mets franchise. Coming into 2015, he was looking at a storybook career not only playing for the team he grew up a fan of, but becoming the undisputed face of. Unfortunately, a rare condition caused from a back injury suffered in 2011 muddied the conclusion. In episode 3 of the “Replacing…” series, we take a look at how the Mets handled their unexpexted vacancy at third and examine whether it really became a major problem for them following Wright’s playing career coming to an untimely end.

Music:
The Str*kes – R*ptillia
The Str*kes – Ode To T*e M*ts
Nick Tesla – Pocket Pass
https://nickelustesla.bandcamp.com/album/nick
hopeless – winter
https://hopeless1.bandcamp.com/album/kneeling-on-my-front-lawn-in-japan-looking-up-at-the-sky-as-its-snowing
Nick Tesla – Nick
Rage Racer Soundtrack – Silver Stream
Smika – Quartz
https://smika.bandcamp.com/album/opal
Hood Robin – Scrap Medal
https://hoodrobin.bandcamp.com/album/sirloin-commodities
Jan Ace – Superflourous
https://janace.bandcamp.com/album/lo-rai-1-2-deluxe
Axium Waves – Azure Night
https://axiumwaves.bandcamp.com/album/azure
B*astie Boys – Sabatoge
Curb Your Enthusiam Theme OOf Remix

Sega Marine Fishing Soundtrack – The Offing
Musikal – Suns
https://musikal1.bandcamp.com/album/metanoia
bbrainz – forgive
https://bbrainz.bandcamp.com/album/pizza-contigo
Keith Mansfield – Sporting Highlights

F1 World Grand Prix Sega Dreamcast Soundtrack
bbrainz – virtual
Dual of the Fates Cover – Incivtus Quartet

Axium Waves – Absence
Poisonherbs – Bobby Axelrod
https://imperialbodega.bandcamp.com/album/knockoff-series-ae86
Thoughts – Midnight
Ode To The Mets (8 Bit Cover) – RYO

Jan Ace – Princess Utsukushi
Axium Waves – Gatsu (Remix)
Musikal – Fresh Air
Smika – Veil
Gran Turismo Soundtrack – Liberty
MF Doom Instrumentals – OMA

Jan Ace – Let The Battle Commence
Nino Francois – Ragga Cumbia
https://ninofrancois.bandcamp.com/album/ragga-kumbia-ep
Traph Hazard – Oldis
https://traphhazard.bandcamp.com/
Wide Waters – Input Data
Sydney 2000 Soundtrack – Track 08
Mr. Alleneous – Joi
https://boxofpizza.bandcamp.com/
Lee Blackman – Represent
https://leeblackman.bandcamp.com/album/now-then-ii
Axium Waves – Axis
Oblique Occassions – Persona
https://obliqueoccasions.bandcamp.com/album/remnants
La Tormenta – Malamanya
Hood Robin – Password Menu
fourball – White Noise
https://welcome-to.bandcamp.com/album/sour-watermelon-slices-2
fourball – Everything
Ode To The Mets (80s Version) – DR4GON

Sources:
https://pastebin.com/1VAyA9LY

All statistics taken from Baseball Reference, Fangraphs, or Baseball Savant

Follow me on Twitter!
Tweets by nomorefielders

Timestamps
Intro 0:00
David Wright was really good 6:23
The Injury 8:55
Eric Campbell (2015) 10:08
What is Spinal Stenosis? 12:02
We’re gonna need a bigger boat 13:40
2015 Playoffs 14:44
Wilmer Flores and the other guy (2016) 17:38
2017 🙁 21:10
The Toddfather (2018) 23:22
David Wright’s Final Game 28:46
The Toddfather PT. II (2019) 32:09
Replacing Delgado 32:47
Uncle Steve buys the Mets (2020) 35:52
Jonathan Villar and J.D. Davis (2021) 36:48
Eduardo Escobar (2022) 41:52
Brett Baty (2022) 47:59
The Carlos Correa debacle 51:08
2023 :(((((((((((((((( 53:16
Outro 58:12

Moments ago the Mets take the field and David Wright does it for the first time in the big leagues and the the Met fans New Yorkers have heard enough about him over the last month they greeted him with a terrific Ovation as well when his name was [Applause] introduced oh right hits that one a long way left center field and he comes to R hits his first major league home run little broken bat and oh oh David R what a play are you Kidding a deep left field go the he’s out of here now Runners on at first and third and the young star of New York if anybody right now is challenging Derek Jeter for baseball Supremacy in the City here he is David WS during the regular season onew delivery that one to right

Field that one’s in the corner reach of JY Luka will score Del the third being way P they got the N time and third Go [Applause] There any favorite moments you have maybe they just mean more to you than a fan would even remember but something that you cherished one at bat One play one experience on the field that we might not think of at first glance the walk-off home run against Heath Bell was

Big for me because it was a big game for us where we were were going back and forth and we were having some Bullpen issues at the time and I think we coughed up a lead late and um it was kind of one of those where it was like

Oh here we go again and um you know I remember it was a a first pitch slider um somebody was on first base you know to to go up there with a game plan and you know sometimes the game plan works sometimes it doesn’t but you know after

The first pitch slider to look for another one because he threw it at me the night before and to be able to deliver right there try to change the minds said that it’s not a here we go again it’s you know let’s get something rolling and try to finish this year out

Strong I thought was for me um something when I look back on saying that that was a big atat for for me and and my career moving [Applause] forward deep to left field Headley back near the W ni [Applause] and right L it into the right field D and Team USA on [Applause] [Applause] The to the it’s kind of caught me off guard I thought we’re were going to announce an extension today to my teammates coaches and staff it’s truly been an honor of a lifetime to take the field with you and serve as your captain some of my closest friendships

Have formed in that Clubhouse and uh we certainly um you know be be friend friends for life words can express my gratitude and appreciation for always having my back you’ve accepted me as one of your own and that right there is a tremendous honor in closing I always

Wanted to be on the field again to have my daughter see me play so needless to say SE Saturday September 29th is extremely important to [Applause] me [Applause] What could well be the last plate appearance of his major league [Applause] Career not going to do that come out of control Right [Applause] [Applause] territory shake with Mike wi mief and the captain is heading off for one final [Applause] time [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] morning I [Applause] Wait a minute this isn’t right this was in fact David Wright’s final game but his final game didn’t happen the same year when the Met realized that they needed to replace him no no that actually happened well when did it happen see the nature surrounding the end of David Wright’s playing career is

Unlike any of what we’ve seen before with Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones both teams knew well before their final game when it was going to happen and were granted the right to find their positional replacement immediately following the Mets don’t get that luxury before we get into the moment that

Caused wri sudden and somehow lingered and highly fought over retirement let’s quickly go over how good of a player David Wright was yeah yeah I know we had the Montage and reptilia by The Strokes as a banger but I feel the unfortunate transience of wri’s career heavily

Diminishes how good he was in his prime first off I would argue he was the most beloved player on a New York team following Derek Jeter himself he had the optimal balance of Drive Charisma and accountability that made him Born To Be A New York Met he was heavily involved

In the community and spearheaded the David Wright Foundation to raise awareness for multiple SOS it’s often easy to overlook charitable efforts stood up by Major League players who are making millions but I want to note that David Wright started his foundation when he was a rookie making the league minimum salary after his

Friend’s wife was diagnosed with it in 2005 in other words he wasn’t just a millionaire doing this for a tax write off he embodied the everyday good guy who just happened to be an amazing player one who everyone should look up to as an example of what we should all

Strive to be like while we will never know the full impact his off the field leadership had we do know the tangible results he had on the field and boy were they really good R is the type of player that would be created if a committee of both traditional heads and analytics

Nerds were forced to make a ball player together offensively he was the perfect combination of speed power and patience he was constructed from the blueprint that was produced when scientists came together to build something called an A-Rod improving on their formula when making right to reduce some of the idiosyncrasies got get

The one they would continue to improve on when they later created the Mike Trout his defense graded out as okay you know what you know how shoddy and up for interpretation Fielding data was and now even continues to be let’s move on Ray was essentially on a war path to destroy

And rebuild every Mets record in his affable image but he was also on a path to become one of the greatest third baseman of all time however that all changed on an April night in 2011 third Bas so least trying to get there right racing him and he tags him out nobody

Knew it at the time but this was the moment that changed the trajectory of David wri’s career forever Mets fans were treated to a few more signature David Wright Seasons even though it appeared the once Iron Man like Wright was starting to miss a few more games

With each passing year he went into his age 32 season noticing an extra bit of pain running down his lower back he went on the iio with what looked to be an innocent hamstring St Train Early in the season and even though he was adamant about playing through it once the Mets

Made their decision he had secretly hoped that the time off would allow his lower back to heal it never did what’s the prognosis doc oh David he’ll be just fine just a mild hamstring strain yeah you know how he is always playing his heart out yeah just let him rest for a

Few days do some of these stretches and he’ll be back on the field within 2 weeks Sandy Sandy Who do we have in the death chart that we can use to fill in at third during wri’s absence the unintended issue with having a positional Mainstay who barely misses any time is that when the player does go down the really are no good options for replacing him as building depth at the

Respective position is never really prioritized since wri’s initial contract extension in 2006 they only drafted nine players listed as being able to play Third Base within the first 10 rounds of the amateur draft and none within the first three rounds after 2009 they pretty much put all bets on him by the

Time he was signed to the largest contract in franchise history in 2012 one of those few third basemen the Met snatched up was Eric Campbell whose nickname was soup which after doing 42 hours of research I still can’t find out exactly why this was his given nickname

Even though he’s going to get lost in this mess of a story I believe it’s worth taking a page to discuss Mr Campbell I mean what other time am I or any other sports writer SL baseball YouTuber going to get to talk about Eric Campbell in Another Universe he is our

Chris Taylor Eric Campbell himself embodied a player who while being a few Reaction Time upgrades away from Major League material would do anything to stay valuable on the field in his case he was the utility player he played all in field positions besides catcher in 2014 alone and was really best served as

General emergency infield depth rather than being qualified for a full-time role at any one position which was not what the meds expected from him when Wright was initially placed on the injured list so bad news on Wright give it to me straight doc we have diagnosed him with a rare condition called spinal

Stenosis which is a narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back English talk this pretty much means that he is going to live with back pain for the rest of his life uh but what does that mean for when he can return to the field

For the Mets I honestly have no idea sir I want to pause here to take a second and talk about the devastation of the body that results from spinal stenosis everybody watching over the age of 25 has probably experienced back pain at some point or another it’s hard to

Ignore when it’s there spinal stenosis pretty much guarantees a lifetime of lingering back pain at best and potentially crippling pain at worst thankfully it is a rare condition and more present in contact Sports such as football it ended the careers of players such as David Wilson Michael Irvin and

Most notably Payton Manning but it has also affected the careers of several Major Leaguers such as Lenny dystra and Don maddingley to date there hasn’t been a fully successful comeback from spinal stenosis but if there was ever going to be one guy who came back Against All

Odds it would have to be David Wright right he had every bit of hope within him that he would be taking the field for the Mets on a regular basis while he had to accept the reality that playing more than 140 games in a season was out

Of the question he could set an example for anyone d diagnosed with the condition moving forward I mean he’s the unquestioned leader of the Mets Captain America this is Sports Center alumni he believed he could accomplish anything he set his mind to so a little back pain

Would not stop him from returning to play for his New York Mets unfortunately this put GM Sandy Alderson between a rock and a hard place Sandy Sandy I need you to figure out how to give us acceptable play a third without it being a long-term solution also we can’t spend

More than league minimum there even though we are recouping 75% of David’s salary do you understand what I’m saying David Wright is going to be out longer than anticipated on top of that the Mets are actually good this year on the back of one of the most fearsome

Starting trios in MLB history post integration so it might be time to get someone other than a player who’s the equivalent of plugging your fingers into a gas leak enter Daniel Murphy Daniel Murphy with the exception of his two frezo years in Washington is who I describe as Mr League average he played

A solid is second base emphasis on the ish never ran an Ops plus below 100 nor above 120 in a full season the one problem if you thought Murphy playing second was rough don’t even get me started seeing him at third even though he proved to be a better solution than

Eric Campbell the Mets didn’t want to risk further topita their infield defense so they traded for former replacing Cameo and future video topic on your eBay whom they intended as that Year’s David wri insurance but when the Mets clinched the NL East on September 26th it was their Captain the only

Player around from the last time they did it back in 2006 Manning third it wouldn’t be a Mets World Series run without some major Tom Foolery we’re talking a broken leg that changed the course of how double plays are turned forever a center fielder forgetting how to play center field and the impending

Dread that your franchise third baseman may have turned into a glorified on base machine with no power but in his first World Series at bat in New York knowing that everyone in the amazing family was watching he gave the Queens a jolt of hope that no matter how this series

Turns out or where his career goes after this will stay with them for the rest of their lives the destroy I can’t see nothing when I’m in this I my face make no mist my the hand the Mets would eventually win this game just how they expected to on paper

Unfortunately the rest of the series would not go according to planers takes off thr in plenty of time Chopper on the infield can’t broken back that is caught going out the and the game is over broke it [Applause] back sees it col delivers it it’s the score is d That’s a shot into the Gap and left Center everybody takes him one scores here comes esar on two again inside corner 2015 World Champions fans with a Keen Eye would notice a difference in David Wright’s

Play pre and post his diagnosis there was a lack of of aggressiveness in his defense he was forced to adjust his batting stance by lowering his elbows and hunching over to reduce the amount of pressure against his lower back which reduced how much power his legs could generate and eliminated the

Explosiveness of his swing this was all deliberate of course without these changes there was no possibility of right playing but all of these adjustments started to catch up to him when the leak found his weaknesses and even then they were not enough to keep his body from breaking down even further

So yeah he’s he’s got a hernadi disc that’s not too bad in his neck Jeff bring me Jeff yeah get ready to break out the insurance policy buddy by 2016 it started to become clear to the Mets front office that they needed to look for a more permanent solution at third

Base enter Wilmer Flores who a year before was mere seconds away from being sent to the Milwaukee Brewers alongside Zach wheeler for Carlos Gomez a trade that not only would have ended poorly for the Mets in in spectacular fashion but one that has a lasting Legacy for

Producing this clip of Wilmer on the field in tears upon learning of the trade but a last minute snag kept him in Queens as the Mets narrowly avoided replacing r with a rotating cast of Eric Campbell and tyronia Kelly Wilmer provided stability even if he wasn’t the most exciting of players although the

Roster was notably weaker than the one that nearly won the World Series the previous season they were still fighting for a wild card spot and having anything less than replacement level at third could potentially tank any chance they have at making a late season push the Mets have two options at this point

Either stick with bulmer Flores who is holding his own offensively but whose ultimate value is diminished by gluing him to only one position a position he also doesn’t feel particularly well or do they go with the mystery box do something so outrageous that it might just work the Mets of course chose the

Mystery box and made maybe one of the most baffling moves of the 2010s and somehow it worked today’s jel battery Diamond goldone pave watches there is word that radiation from the Soviet accident could within a week or so make its way over the north polar region hey Mets fans remember Jose Rees

The one who almost broke the Mets stolen base record in his second full season with the team before completely blowing past it The Following Season the same Jose Rees who the Mets refused to extend or trade in the Lost season while he still had a ton of value and got outbid

By the freaking Marlins well guess what he’s back after it became a brief detour to Miami a longer stay north of the border and an even briefer stay in lovely Colorado he’s back on the Mets baby and taking over for his old pal David Wright while it may be true that

He lost all base running value and actually has zero Major League experience playing third let’s just remember all the good times we had with him let’s party like it’s 06 oh the uh the domestic violence stuff uh right the the reason that the Rockies in their post tulowitzky desperation decide to

Cut him uh that’s okay because it’s in the past now in the past doesn’t matter I mean it does and you know that’s why we signed him not because we could take advantage of the incident by signing him for a huge discount no we would never do

That uh uh uh uh look Jose just hit a game timeing home run against the Phillies we are so back it’s not even funny in all actuality though Jose Reyes if you ignore that one pretty unignorable incident as well as the fact that in the past he’s publicly lambasted

The Mets franchise was the best fit the Mets could ask for on paper the Rockies paid down his entire post suspension salary and he was already beloved by the fan base it’s like if Community replaced Donald Glover’s Troy with Chevy Chase doing his best and hopefully not reach

This Troy impression what could go wrong besides everything I hate double bounce [Applause] Me after a one and- out wild card appearance for the first time since 2004 the Mets came into the year knowing for a fact that they would be without right at third the plan was to continue to play Jose Reyes there who remember they were paying league minimum salary to and

H that he could at least provide something better then what a replacement player would he did not you could use many words to describe the Mets 2017 disappointing messy um sullied the team came out of the gate cold and never improved from there Jose Rees was too busy plugging

Holes at shortstop to get any consistent playing time at third and eight men ended up logging innings for the Mets there in 2017 almost as many as they had from 2005 to 2012 during wri’s prime one of those players was someone who had never played a single career ining at

The hot corner or in the infield that would be catcher Travis darno Who as a result of the same injury happening to both available third baseman on the roster learned upon coming to City Field on August 16th that he would be playing the position for the first time in his

Career immediately upon hearing this Travis messaged David Wright himself he asked for a few pointers and if he could use his glove hoping to spark Some Like Mike levels of equipment related Miracles Wright responded with six words use it well dive for everything even when he couldn’t physically be on the

Field he was a presence that graced the Mets Clubhouse and now at least a little piece of him could see some action for the first time in over a year but Terry Collins had a trick up his sleeve he would switch darno and starting second baseman as dribble Cera depending on who

Was up to reduce the chances of a ball being hit towards darno it worked perfectly I mean the Mets still lost as former replacing star de Gregorius decided it wasn’t time for Paul SE wall to pitch but more more importantly afterwards we were blessed with one of

The greatest box scores of all time I am going to show it to you but be warned it’s very intense viewer discretion is advised darno was able to make one play that game it was an innocent pop fly he caught during his 73rd stop at second

Base the ball was hit off the bat of Todd Frasier who at 3,000 words into this video will become the official first stop for replacing right so here’s the current update on David’s condition let me guess his condition will not ever improve his surgeries were to reduce pain but would

Not get him any closer to taking the field and we need to shut him down for participating in baseball activities exactly Jeff we need to make sure David never plays another game in the Mets uniform again there are points in one’s lifetime where you realized serious changes needed that point for the Mets

Was most likely seeing their catcher with no previous infield experience start a game at third no matter where R is in his recovery something like that just can’t happen again so let’s take a look at the Mets current Third Base depth chart at the end of

2017 okay now let’s take a look at the current free agent Market at third okay so we got Trevor plof who would be working for John Boy media and two years a handful of minor league depth players Mike mustakis whom the Mets expressed a public lack of interest

In and uh Zack Kart who was coming off a career year but one that was inflated by a possible Juiced ball while playing in a bandbox so he’s going to get overpaid by a very stupid team and we look at that the Angels just signed him to a

Three-year deal worth 38 million that leaves the Mets with no other option and honestly not a bad one all things considered Todd Frasier had the affability of David Wright by every account he was considered to be one of the nicest guys on and off the field as

Well as a natural-born leader he was also sneakily one of the most preeminent power hitters of the last four seasons even if some of those numbers were inflated by playing in the friendly confines of the Great American small Park while with the Reds but Todd provided two attributes that the needed

At the Hot Corner consistency and availability in addition Todd Frasier had already been secretly associated with Mets fans long before putting on their uniform you remember this guy yeah of course you do this is Gary dun and according to his Twitter the gift of him having an especially unsatisfied thumbs

Down has over 363 million views what you may not know is that he was a met season ticket holder due to Hurricane Irma the Rays were forced to play the Yankees at City Field while the Mets were away Gary ever the opportunist decided to take advantage of the last minute cheap

Tickets to sit behind the Yankees Dugout which you may also not remember is that his thumbs down gesture was spurred by Todd Frasier when he hit a three-run home run to give the Yankees a 5 to1 lead afterwards Todd made the thumbs down symbol a de facto rallying call for

The upstart Yankees as they would make their deepest playoff run in the last 13 years as of this writing Todd signing ushered in a sort of Mets themed pageantry with Gary which was a good All Things Considered he grew up in nearby Toms River New Jersey was playing at an

Affordable rate for a third baseman and he had the gumption that was needed to man a premier position in New York his signing was a symbol of not exactly a new era but a refreshed attitude One Bad season shouldn’t deflate what still is a strong team on paper they had most of

The ingredients that cooked up one of the most dominant postseason rotations a few years ago the Mets just knew they had to plug some gaps and couldn’t rely on signing cheap stars of yester year to fill in key [Applause] positions the two attributes the Mets thought they were getting in Todd Frasier availability he played the least amount of games since becoming a full-time regular and consistency he posted a career worst Ops plus period even though his along with the Mets 2018 was disappointing Todd still was a

Proven leader I like to pump up the guys I might dance a little bit I might sing a little bit his on the field performance may have left more questions than answers but he was an outspoken teammate never shying away from reporters even during the toughest of

Stretches when he himself had nothing to make of their struggles my part really ugly so uh go back to the drawing board and uh we got a new series coming up and uh hopefully we get kick started again got no answers he was also crafty too Todd never shied away from from putting

His body on the line didn’t matter the year or the situation but when he did he wanted results you don’t just fly full boore into the stands only to come up empty-handed on a September night in Los Angeles with the Mets well out of playoff contention a foul ball was hit

Towards the third Baseline even though he was shifted towards the middle of the field with a lefty up Todd knew he had a beat on the ball he went after it and seemed to make the catch tumbling into the stands not unlike an Infamous play

He made 3 years earlier he got up showed the UMP the ball confirming the catch was made inning over except it wasn’t the game ball but a rubber ball that he happened to find in the mess of paraphernalia after crashing into the stands and the umps believed it

Instantly I’m curious how many other times something like this has occurred but as Todd Frasier put it when you’re in Hollywood sometimes you got to act out a little bit if 2018 gave Mets fans anything it was the proper sendoff that David Wright deserved a true King’s

Farewell for the man who brought so much to the burrow of Queens as long as the will ponds could stop being cheap bastards for a second and allow it to happen uh do I um do I talk about the controversy surrounding his final game so we are here having to talk about

The controversy surrounding David Wright’s final game and it pretty much sucks that we have to be talking in those terms but when we’re talking about the will ponds pretty much anything can become a controversy basically when David Wright signed his extension in 2012 the Mets took out an insurance

Policy on his contract basically what that means is that if he misses a significant portion of games if he spends at least I think it was like 80 games on the aisle the Mets were able to recoup 75% of his contract salary the insurance company pays it out and they

Get to keep that money now you may be saying oh that’s awesome that means more money that the Mets can put into the roster it doesn’t mean that David writes contract as an albatross no uh the will ponds just pocketed all that money fast forward to 2018 it was concluded that

David Wright was physically unable to be a major league player he at least wanted to suit up for the Mets one more time and he had every right to desire that Not only was he the greatest Mets third baseman of all time he is one of the

Greatest Mets of all time he represented everything people loved about the team Not only was he amazing on the field he was amazing off the field he gave back to the community he grew up a Mets fan and you already know it by this point if you haven’t figured out either from

Watching this video or just knowing about the Mets he was the team and yes while his last game was purely symbolic he had every right to want to suit up for his Mets one last time and be given the proper sendoff that he deserved but the will ponds being the will ponds

Realized that insurance would not be able to pay for him to play they were paying for him to not play and yes there are a lot of moving Parts here and I don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty of it but essentially the will pawns had

To pay right $3 million for him to play his final two games I know that sounds like a lot for a little but one they’re multi-millionaires get over it two this is David Wright we’re talking about here this isn’t Jason Bay this isn’t Aaron howman this isn’t Oliver Perez this

Isn’t even Benny agbayani this is David Wright and everything he’s done for your team all of that he put in he probably took less money than he should have gone in the free agent Market by staying with your franchise because he wanted to be a met $3 million and $3 million was the

Difference between you not wanting to give him the proper send off that he deserved so they almost told him he couldn’t suit up for the Mets one last time so they could save $3 million but luckily public perception one out David Wright got his proper send off and it

Was a beautiful moment it was a beautiful day for not only Wright but the fans who had to suffer through the last couple of years it was special for David Wright whose daughter finally got to see him play in the big leagues for the first time I’m glad that he was able

To get that and the fact that the will ponds and their penny pinching ways didn’t wi out so yeah screw the will ponds David W is awesome I’m so glad that he got his proper farewell let’s move on it took the second year of the contract but Todd Frasier held up both

Ends of the bargain in 2019 he still missed some time at the start of the Season due to an oblique strain but once he was activated it was business as usual for Todd which for him meant putting up some of the most uncompelling numbers but numbers that any fan can

Look at and say hey that’s a that’s a solid ball player right there Frasier’s steady production helped the Mets regain some much needed relevance as they were finally good again unfortunately for them the rest of the NL East caught up winning 86 games would have put them in

Contention during the final week of the season in say 2017 but it shot them in the arm by the time they began play against the Atlanta Braves to close out another forgettable year however even in another lost campaign unlikely Heroes emerge in this case it was Dominic Smith

A player who saw his future as the Mets first baseman evaporate with the rise of Pete Alonzo while he himself was plagued by injuries he took his first at bat in two months as Alonzo’s in-game replacement if only to Grant Pete his Standing Ovation leaving Smith in the

Shadow and more likely than not the final at bat for what had been a disappointing season for not only him but his Mets and do cracks one deep Right Center back toward the wall it’s out of here do Smith back from the injured list his

First INB in two months and he hits a walkoff home run in The Season’s final [Applause] Game oh great is this the never sa D Mets finish the season on incredible not okay so I know what you’re thinking this is replacing Wright not replacing Carlos Delgado so why are we taking a detour across the diamond well because I believe this game is a summation of the

Met situation at third the only reason Smith was able to get up to the plate in the first place was because defensive Third Base sub Luis guor let off with a single the only reason the Mets were still in this game was due to left fielder and part-time third baseman JD

Davis’s home run in the first both of these are players I unfortunately haven’t been able to talk about in detail but they’ve been carrying the load and ensuring the Met’s Hot Corner situation isn’t a complete dumpster fire if there is a word to describe the Mets third baseman following wri’s untimely

Departure it would be unheralded despite having a gaping hole with no feasible solution in place caused by a freakishly rare injury to a beloved and highly tenured player the Mets got fairly middle of the- pack production from third base during this time contrast this to the the Yankees shortstops and

Braves third baseman who remember more or less knew when they would be without their franchise Cornerstone who saw Rock Bottom production at times during their search for their rightful air so many times when I’ve encountered an article referencing the Met situation at third writers deemed the situation a complete

Mess which couldn’t be farther from the truth sure they haven’t gotten All-Star level production found a long-term solution or have had a signature moment but let’s not pretend that third base has been a black coal for them since right sudden yet prolonged Departure 2020 was a year that definitely appears on the Gregorian calendar okay if you want me to spill more than a sentence on a season that did technically end with a championship I guess you could say it marked a transition from the days of piecing together a third baseman through

Extended Stays from utility players short-term deals and Bargain Bin hunting oh wait no it didn’t the most notable development from 2020 was the Mets experiencing an ownership change after the season’s conclusion when notable inside Trader oh wait one second somebody’s at my door who the hell are

You guys oh no no no notable ethical Wall Street Guru Steve Cohen bought the team for $2.4 billion his purchase marked a new era of Mets baseball far gone are the days of the wi ponds trying to put the kabash on David wri’s retirement ceremony because they didn’t

Want to lose out on $3 million and now the Mets can finally spend like the big market franchise they’ve always been so how much was it they spent on primary third baseman in 2021 this isn’t to say they handled the position poorly going into the season JD

Davis was sneakily one of the best hitters in 2019 according to the most annoying person that you know and Jonathan VR is who I describe as a just make it work guy what do I mean by this well a just make it work guy or JM IW

For short as a player who is able to provide value despite not registering as well above average for any major stat cast metric he’s able to provide value because he just makes it work some of my other favorite just make it work players are Cory Dickerson Trey Mancini and

Jared Walsh is the first instinct of most front offices to look at these players and want to get as far away from them as they can yes are the Mets one of those front offices hell no now just look at these metrics tell me over 142 games how many Fang graphs wins above

Replacement do you think the season is worth do you think it’s going to be a negative value about replacement level or good enough to be a regular I’ll give you a second while this ad plays oh wait I can’t place an ad here thanks YouTube have your answer so in response to his

Signing VR rewarded the Mets with the epitome of a just make it work season somehow clawing his way to roughly starter level production even though his under the hood stats look as if they came from a rule five draft pick I know this number is propped up by the sheer

Fact that VR played third as well as getting a shortstop boost when he filled in for the injured Francisco Lindor but he was still able to carry a League average bat while collecting some steals well he was a League average bat he was also supplanted by the aformentioned JD

Davis who was kind of like David right if you squinted your eyes really hard I don’t know if you’re noticing a theme here but the Mets Were Somehow able to scr up pocket change to solve their Quagmire at third and they out did themselves in 2021 but these are just

Numbers on a screen so to give me insight into what a VR at third situation looked like firsthand I decided to call my very own suffering Mets fan hey is this is this Mike from Stark raving sports that would be me oh that is awesome so I heard through the Great

Vine that you are a huge Jonathan VR fan in fact you’ve said before you are the biggest Jonathan VR fan and rumor has it you actually thought about starting the Jonathan VR fan club with a starting membership of $250 month why do you like him so much he’s actually $269.99 a

Month oh sorry get that straightened out yeah I guess I gotta fire my researcher now you do H poor job there uh I would say the thing I most remember about Jonathan VR is that he was like the funniest base runner I’ve ever seen and

Which like I remember I was at the first game the way I remember this game is they were first game they wore the red R Marlin City connect jerseys because I was online and I paid $170 for one to get a name on it uh and in that game

Jonathan VR got picked Off Third Base which like I’ve never seen a pitcher pick a guy off Third Base at any level of baseball I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a kid in like t-ball get pick this is the part where you say they don’t have pitchers in t- ball so how

Could they pick them off but uh then there’s there’s a game later in year playing the Yankees on a Friday night at City Field and someone hits a single to left field vr’s on second base I want to say he’s ROM third going home Joey Gall

Throws him out by a solid 50 feet but like VR is safe because Gary Sanchez has a OT head I think I remember that actually it’s because if the throw beat you by that much the fact that you’re going is insane he was safe he was a confident

Man and I understand why you like him so much because we do we do stand our confident Kings absolutely K awesome well thank you so much uh for for imparting your Jonathan VR wisdom if you want me to plug the fan club I will it is you said $269.99 a

Month that is correct you can also plug the YouTube channel that’s more important oh uh yeah what is that uh my YouTube channel is Mr Beast we really good videos all the time yeah so just remember you know Mike gives back to the community uh the $270 plus tax

Basically it’s funding all the Mr Beast videos so thank you so much hopefully the Mets are uh you know a competent team going to 2024 and I will talk to you later sounds good awesome take it easy man later the problem with this strategy is that eventually the other

Shoe will drop you can’t rely on Bargain Bin shopping from the veterans department every offseason soon you’ll either need to catch the big fish in free agency or you need to raise one from the Hatchery yourself does anyone else find it not odd but fitting how the

First draft pick that the Mets used immediately following David Wright’s final game was a high school third baseman in 2019 it’s great when a team strategy is so transparent the race to draft and develop a replacement was underway but before we get to him we have to discuss the final bargain B

Fined used to patch over the right sized hole at third but calling this player a bargain B find is unfair that’s because he’s Eduardo Escobar and he should be one of your favorite Players After a mediocre but somewhat expected 2021 the Mets brought in Billy Epler as their general manager to lead the way into them becoming a competitive team the first move he made was to sign for Escobar Escobar on paper is pretty much Jonathan VR in that he is a versatile

Utility infielder just with a slightly different looking tool set he’s not technically a just make it work guy as his power stroke pretty much built in the swing Revolution Factory means he produced consistently insane Sweet Spot percentages but his small frame handicapped the amount of power he could

Get from each swing of the bat just like Todd Frasier he was also a natural bur leader so what he lacked in David Wright’s physical makeup he more than made up for with his role as a beloved member of every Clubhouse he was a part of coming from a twins team that shocked

The world with a 36g game improvement from 2016 to 2017 his signing symbolized a Mets team that was attempting to accomplish something similar and did they ever the Mets got off to their best start since 1988 despite the fact that they were getting the worst production from third base since this entire Saga

Began but Eduardo Escobar isn’t one to get flustered just like David Wright he holds himself accountable for both the good times and bad he knows the give and take that comes with not only a one 62 Game season but during the course of one’s career he understands what it

Means to struggle but more importantly he knows what it feels like to bounce back that one good action whether it’s a swing catch or anything in between can directly change a player’s Outlook it was a Sunday night baseball game when Eduardo’s struggles were on full display I mean the Phillies were

Flourishing in them when they intentionally walked pet Alonzo twice to get to him look intentionally walking someone once to to pitch to the guy behind him is already insulting but doing it twice is like sleeping with someone’s wife then leaving the back door open afterwards you’re not even

Trying to pretend that you respect them despite his awful performance with the bat Escobar had a Mini Hero moment after making a daring catch to help Edwin Diaz stifle the Phillies heart of the order in the top half of the 10th inning Eduardo already had the catch so why not have

Both that’s right that’s going to get down that’s going to whip Ed esar with the catch and now the key hit about a week later he hit for the cycle and ended the season with a very escob Barian statline as the Mets finished with their best record since

The 1986 team that won that year’s World Series as a result they made the postseason for the first time since wri’s final game Escobar got the scoring started for the Mets in game one of the Wild Card series with a home run unfortunately when he hit it the game

Had already gotten a bit out of hand the Mets would be bounced by the Padres 2 days later before we move on I want to invite a very special guest to give his thoughts on Eduardo Escobar I know how much bartool employee and occasional whistleblower Frank the Tank loves the

Mets so I paid for a cameo of him and asked if he could say a few words for my fake daughter’s favorite player on her birthday hey Sophia happy birthday yes happy birthday you know um U Escobar I called him easy out esar because he wasn’t easy out the only good

Thing about him was he was a good leader in the clubhouse but no he was washed up finished done when he came to the Mets I mean he couldn’t hit above 200 I mean he just wasn’t that good and his Fielding wasn’t that good I mean he

Was just one of the uh just the he was kind of in the way at the end uh but I think he probably overall was a good guy but he just his uh career was basically over when he came to the Mets but try to have a nice birthday and happy birthday to

You happy birthday to you happy birthday Sophia your dad sends best wishes side note Edward Escobar who remember is one of only like 2,000 players to reach 10 years of service time has only 990 words to his Wikipedia page compare that to Eric Campbell you remember him remember

I was going to say I was going to bring him up later so yeah Eric Campbell has 2,95 words on his more than twice as many as escobars hell can someone at least add the fact that he has aerophobia or the fear of cats I couldn’t find any way to naturally

Squeeze that information into this video Even though I can’t help to find that fact about him both Dreadful and hilarious Escobar signing marked a deliberate effort to find short-term value while buying more time for their wave of young third basem to develop and hopefully offer long-term stability this

Was a process as noted earlier that was repeatedly delayed due to the back and forth of David Wright’s forever stunted return but as soon as he was granted his proper send off the Mets front office got to work so with their first pick of the 2019 draft they chose a prep third

Baseman from Austin Texas his name Brett batty great baseball Name by the way but was he going to be the key to replacing Right injuries started to mount for the Mets during their unprecedented run in 2022 which forced them to be aggressive in using their continuously thinning infield depth when Eduardo Escobar joined Lis gor on the iil with a strained oblique the Mets decided to give a chance to the 22-year-old who had

Been crushing it in triaa Brandon nmo who by this point has taken over as The Unofficial captain of the team following right told batty that they didn’t expect him to be anything more than what he was already capable of being don’t feel like you have to be this team savior just

Play the game have fun enjoy this and if you happen to get some hits while you’re here great when David Wright made his debut in 2004 he was playing for a team that lacked identity one that was searching for their savior even former meds baseman incumbent Howard Johnson

Who had been mentoring wri told him to go up there and break all my records many players would succumb to the pressures of being tasked with leading a team from the seller in the middle of the unforgiving New York Market but David Wright wasn’t just any other

Player now as a front office special adviser David Wright has the opportunity to coach his presumed successor the same way Howard Johnson once coached him instead of putting the weight of the world on batty Wright encouraged him to enjoy every moment moment because it goes fast batty made his debut on August

17th against the Braves in cop County we’ll never know whose words were running through his head as he approached the plate for the first time as a major Leaguer just like we’ll never fully understand the impact any of those words had in that moment all we know is

The tangible result and boy was it good 100 just having a phenomenal year gets a breaking ball and hits it out to right auna goes back to the warning track looks off and out of here how about that Fred batty hits a two-run homer in his first major league at

B second pitchy sees and batty hits it out of the yard a moment to remember for br batty and his family well batty would struggle both offensively and defensively before a thumb injury forced him to lay off his remaining cup of coffee the fact that he was able to come

Up and provide anything on such short notice in the midst of a grueling road trip showed that he had the ability to conduct himself in a way the Mets haven’t seen from a young third baseman since David Wright with proper development and timing he could be their long-term

Answer so then why the hell did the Mets try to sign caros karea the New York Met have signed Carlos kareah and here we are what this is crazy Carlos Kare is a New York just went from San Fran giant to New York Met Crazy yeah we have to talk about the Carlos Korea to the Met Saga basically free agent shortstop and two-time All-Star Carlos Korea had agreed to terms with the San Francisco Giants in early December 2022 his introductory press conference was scheduled for December 20th but the Giants canceled it

The day of turns out they weren’t too happy with the results of Carlos Korea’s physical most notably an issue that popped up with his right ankle and subsequently voided the contract a day later the Mets decided to give him a contract for 35 million and a year less

Than what the Giants offered but wait you may be saying to yourself perceptive viewer the Mets already have a shortstop locked up in Francisco Lindor wherever will Carlos kareah play very good question how about third base on paper it made sense sure he has never played

An inning at third in the majors but he would be playing alongside his fellow unincorporated US territories men and that arm of his that could cause nuclear fallout if he so desired would translate perfectly at third even though the Hatchery was hatchery in the Steven Cohen Mets figured they could throw some

Extra heat on their Hot Corner situation by seasoning it with a perennial All-Star only one issue they didn’t feel too great about Carlos Korea’s ankle either and altered the deal pray they don’t alter it any further Carlos kareah and his agent Scott Boris felt slighted

By their lack of faith as they felt it was very disturbing God why do I keep quoting Robot Chicken anyway the deal fell through while Brett batty seemed to be in good spirits about the Mets publicly showing their lack of trust in him as their future third baseman you

Have to imagine the news shook him up privately which leads us to 2023 batty would start the year in Triple A which meant that Eduardo Escobar would be the opening day third baseman now at this point in the story we can look at a stop Gap and not think

Twice about it I mean this has pretty much been the name of the game for the metah third base from Jose Reyes to Jonathan VR but this is a team that just put together the most expensive roster of all time with World Series aspirations and your third baseman is

34-year-old Eduardo Escobar this is really your best option here I know the Korea deal fell through and I’m not even saying it would have been wise to start B at third but but could it really have been much worse let’s give the Mets the benefit of the doubt they are a

Different team under Steve Cohen wiser less likely to make irrational reactionary moves a team that is ready to open up shop and become a sustainable Contender and they just finished fourth in the NL East while getting the worst production at third out of every major league Team this is the other shoe or should I say say cleat dropping batty would eventually get caught up after proving triaa was too easy for him unfortunately major league pitching wasn’t if only there was a phrase for someone who was too good for Triple A but but not up to

Snuff when it came to Major League competition H looking under the hood it’s bad well it’s really bad his expected numbers weren’t much more optimistic than his actual numbers lefties could literally feed him sliders and call it a day and even though the Mets tried to Shield him his numbers

Against them were diabolical his fielding and limited action not good not that it was ever considered one of his better Tools in fact the Mets giving him looks in the Outfield might have less to do with wanting him to be versatile and more to do with long-term concerns

Whether he can actually pick it at third this is the hand the Mets were dealt but I’d be lying to you by saying they weren’t the ones also dealing the cards at the end of the day these are just numbers obviously they’re like really important numbers but as we’ve said it

Takes more than putting up MVP like stats to replace right I didn’t watch the Mets every day in 2023 so I couldn’t speak from experience whether it seemed like he offered the other intangibles but I know somebody who Did hey is this Mark luino also known as draft neck Mark the host of The Met step podc that that would be me yeah oh sick somebody finally gave me the right number there we go is this no more fielders it is unfortunately so I just got done

Talking about Brett Batty’s 2023 I’m not going to force you to uh relive any of that but something that made David Wright Stand Out wasn’t just the fact that he was a great player and of course he was it was the fact that he was a leader Clubhouse leader off the field

Leader I mean he was the captain of the Mets as somebody who watched a lot of Mets games and is very close with the team do you get a sense of that from batty at all as being a potential leader of this team or does he even have to be

With guys like you know Francisco Lindor and Brandon nmo uh signed to their long-term deals yeah I don’t honestly think he even has to be but there’s been a lot of times where batty has not played well there’s been mistakes in the game that you can just clearly point

Back to him and something that I don’t think you see a lot of players in general let alone young guys were going through it in New York do he would just go right to the media he’d talk to them he would take full you know I don’t want

To say credit but he would take responsibility for what was happening like there was a bad play that was made like I need to be better I know I’m better than this I’m going to be better than this so while he doesn’t need to be the leader I think he has leadership

Qualities or at least qualities as a person that made me think that one day he could lead if needed to be sick sick uh just one last question uh I know obviously the unfortunate news with Ronnie Mauricio uh who do you think and you can plead the fifth or just not

Answer if you aren’t confident or just don’t want to you know Reveal Your Hand who do you think is the Mets starting third baseman in 2026 o I am actually leaning oh in 2026 2026 sorry sorry 2025 2025 I forgot what year it was I thought I thought it was

Like 2024 I you know I saw the GTA 6 trailer and in my mind yeah in 2025 who do you think is the Mets starting third baseman o I think it’s going to be Brett batty okay all right full fully confident in the man I like it it anyway

Thanks for uh picking up and uh you know hopefully the Mets have a good year next year and you know can maybe win a game against the Braves at truest yeah I was waiting for you to sneak one in there so it’ be nice if we could get a win or two

There awesome thank you so much man when Brett batty was sent down in the middle of the 2023 season David Wright was asked about his development on Boomer and Gio’s radio show Wright emphasized the need for a young player to experience an extended slump so eventually when they get out of it they

Know they have the power to do so in the future David Wright wasn’t speaking much from experience here at least at a professional level the first time he opsed under 700 at any point in his professional career was 2014 the First full season where he presumably started

To feel the effects of his spinal stenosis he also spoke about the importance of players being an answer for their team this is something Wright does know from experience when he made his debut the Mets showcased a plethora of excellent third baseman from Howard Johnson to Edgardo Alfonso but they had

Hit a bit of a snag as of late they started 2004 with Ty wigington who wasn’t much of a hitter and even less of a third baseman being offset by a 37-year-old Todd zal suffice it to say the Mets had question marks at third David Wright made his major league debut

On July 21st that year and he started out cold something you’d expect from a 21-year-old playing on the big stage but after being sat on July 2 8 for a much needed mind cleanser he would play the next 695 out of 709 games at third for the Mets he became their answer now more than 5 years after wri’s final game the Mets will continue their search for a new answer oh friends long for God the way that’s the botom of the ocean now