He’s already at or near the top of so many Met All-Time offensive categories they could someday name the entire list of hitting categories in his honor, so there’s no telling where David Wright will end up at the end of his newly signed eight-year deal worth some $138 million. Wright is now the all-time team leader in Hits, Runs, Doubles, RBIs, Total Bases, Extra Base Hits, Multi-Hit Games, Walks, Sacrifice Flies, and was second in At-Bats, and Average.
Wright will be wearing that number 5 Met uniform for a long time, and he can now challenge a team record once thought insurmountable – the 17 years in uniform held by longtime Met Ed Kranepool, and his well-earned record for games played (1,831).
Until then, and for now, this month’s inaugural Sportsday Mets trivia challenge is dedicated to Wright and his all-time accomplishments with those who occupy the lists ahead or behind him.
1. Just behind Wright and Kranepool, with exactly 1,300 hits in a Mets uniform is:
A. Cleon Jones
B. B. Bud Harrelson
C. C. Darryl Strawberry
D. D. Jose Reyes
2. Nine Mets have at least 1,000 hits on their Mets ledgers. Rounding out the Top Ten is this popular Met with 997 hits:
A. Mookie Wilson
B. Howard Johnson
C. Edgardo Alfonzo
D. John Olerud
3. Wright leapfrogged several ex-Mets to now top the all-time Walks category, and dethroned this Met for the No. 1 spot, who had earned 580 free strolls to first:
A. Ed Kranepool
B. Bud Harrelson
C. Darryl Strawberry
D. Mike Piazza
4. In the quirky, but important category of Multi-Hit Games, Wright passed this Met, who had 385 MHGs, as the new leader:
A. Ed Kranepool
B. Cleon Jones
C. Keith Hernandez
D. Jose Reyes
5. Wright was, and is still, third in all-time team slugging percentage. The leader in this category remains:
A. Darryl Strawberry
B. Mike Piazza
C. Carlos Beltran
D. Frank Thomas
6. It became widely known in the Mets Universe that Wright became just the third Met to reach the 200 home run level, behind Strawberry (252), and Piazza (220). Just behind them, at 192, is:
A. Dave Kingman
B. Ed Kranepool
C. Howard Johnson
D. Carlos Beltran
7. Wright’s speed on the bases this year earned him the No. 5 slot in all-time stolen bases, way behind all-time leader Reyes, who copped 370 bags. Wright passed this rather fast Met in the process, who had 152 steals:
A. Ron Hunt
B. Lee Mazzilli
C. Lenny Dykstra
D. Bud Harrelson
8. In the also important category of On-Base Percentage, Wright is locked in at fourth, and we’ll ask if you can put the top three in this category in the correct order, who boast OBPs of .425, .391, and .387:
A. John Olerud, Dave Magadan, Keith Hernandez
B. Keith Hernandez, John Olerud, Dave Magadan
C. Dave Magadan, Keith Hernandez, John Olerud
D. John Olerud, Keith Hernandez, Dave Magadan
9. If you’ve been following Wright’s career, you might know that among National League teams, the Mets third baseman owns his highest batting average (.378) against this club:
A. Atlanta Braves
B. Cincinnati Reds
C. Los Angeles Dodgers
D. St. Louis Cardinals
10. True or false: David Wright has a higher batting average in Citi Field than he had at Shea Stadium.
ANSWERS:
1. D
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. B
6. C
7. B
8. A
9. C
10. False, At Shea: .318, Citi Field: .283