Friday, February 14, 2014

David Wright feels 'jealousy' and an 'urgency' looking at Jeter's success

Believe it or not, there is one thing almost every major leaguer has in common with David Wright. Excluding million dollar paychecks, superb athletic ability and a supermodel wife, they can take comfort knowing the Mets third baseman is 'jealous' of Derek Jeter's success.

Even if some won't admit it, the 31-year-old Wright outright confessed that Jeter's five World Championship rings, postseason play and consistency have led to an 'urgency' in achieving some of the same accomplishments that Jeter has during his Hall of Fame career.

When asked Thursday if he is getting impatient, Wright said:

“Of course. Impatient is an understatement. You look at what he has accomplished. The type of player that [Jeter] is, the type of person that he is is something that I’ve looked up to at a very young age and I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve gotten to grow up seeing one of the best to ever do it, seeing it firsthand.
 “I am envious, jealous of what he has accomplished in his career — the winning,’’ Wright said with passion. “Not even so much what he has accomplished numbers-wise, but I think what he has been able to accomplish with that team as a leader, the winning. It’s something that every young player, every player in general kind of strides to be.’’



It sounded like the Mets five straight losing seasons have Wright contemplating his own legacy. By age 31, Jeter already had six World Series under his belt — and four championship rings on his fingers.

Like Jeter, Wright is beloved by New York fans but, unlike the Captain, has just one postseason appearance and no World Series experience.

“I feel like I blink and I’m 10 years into a major league career,’’ Wright said. “I’d like to win before I get to the point where I feel I can’t do it at a high level anymore. You feel that urgency [to win] when you feel like just yesterday you were 21 years old and now, all of a sudden you’re 31. I still feel like I got a lot in the tank, but at the same time, I know how fast this 10 years went by and I hope these next seven don’t go by as nearly as fast.’’



Over the course of his magnificent career, Jeter has played in 158 postseason games with 650 at-bats, 20 home runs, 61 RBIs and a .308 average. He has appeared in 38 World Series games and is a lifetime .321 hitter. Jeter has played in 33 postseason series. Wright has played in two.

Asked if he felt the Mets could have done a Yankee-size overhaul to make the team better this offseason, Wright said, “I’m probably kind of like the fans, where you want to go out there and sign every player but at the end of the day, it’s easy to give away somebody else’s money and say, ‘I want to sign every good free agent there is.’ ’’

See. It's nice to be David Wright, but better to be Derek Jeter.

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