While the Mets Set to face the Philadelphia Phillies in a two-game weekend series inside London Stadium as part of MLB’s London Series, the players on the field aren’t the only ones who have traveled across the lake to be part of the festivities.
Former Mets captain David Wright is also in the city as a team ambassador – part of a contingent that includes Mookie Wilson, Mike Praça It is Daniel Murphy – and he spoke with SNY’s Michelle Margaux on Friday to talk about the importance of the event and how the team has played this season.
“Amazing,” Wright said of his time so far in London. “Big fan of the city. My first time [here]. And then you couple that with the chance to watch the Mets beat the Phillies, this was a fantastic trip and it’s only going to get better this weekend.
New York will play the first of two games against Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon at 1:10 p.m. local time (6:10 p.m. in London), sending LHP Sean Manaea to face another southpaw Ranger Suarez. Both teams will end the trip on Sunday starting at 10:10 am local (3:10 pm in London). LHP José Quintana will face RHP Taijuan Walker.
If Friday’s practice is any indication, both games are expected to draw large crowds and have a “playoff atmosphere” as the two NL East rivals face off at the Square Mile.
“The fans here and the fans who have traveled are so excited to watch these baseball games and be a part of this series that the energy is electric and it almost rubs off on the players,” Wright said. “It’s true, it feels like a playoff atmosphere with all the orange and blue walking around town and, just for practice, look at the fans here today. It’s an incredible experience and I’m sure the players are excited to be here too.”
This will be the first time the Mets and Phillies will be part of MLB’s London Series, as there have only been two other baseball series played inside London Stadium in its history.
The first came in 2019 between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, and after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the deal between MLB and Greater London was renewed and the Chicago Cubs and St. Games drew crowds of over 54,000 people.
Wright spoke about the importance of initiatives like this from MLB and why the growth of baseball outside the US is so crucial and essential to the sport’s livelihood.
“You get the chance to develop the game and you see the expressions on the kids’ faces. I know some of the Mets ambassadors here went to different schools and hung out with different kids and maybe getting one or two of them to pick up a baseball bat and play, I think, would do wonders just because it’s a beautiful game,” he said. . “If you could get more kids around the world to play this beautiful game and understand how great it is, I think it would be a huge win for Major League Baseball and baseball in general.”
As for his former team’s on-field play this year, Wright gave his opinion on what he sees as an observer.
“I think inconsistency,” he said of what has been New York’s biggest problem this season. “I think, for sure, you look at the names that are on this team and you know that they can recite eight out of 10, 10 out of 12, that they are capable of doing that. Now just go there and put it all together.
“It seems like there are stretches where we pitch and don’t hit and there are stretches where we hit and don’t pitch. You want to limit both, but if you can find a middle ground and have some of those games where you don’t necessarily pitch well but you can catch the pitcher hitting, I think that’s what makes the difference and I think that’s what they’re going to do. from now on. So hopefully we can get two wins here in London and then move on.”
It’s no secret that the Mets have suffered some heartbreaking losses this season, as they already have 10 losses in games they’ve led after seven innings — more than any other team in the major leagues by a wide margin.
However, New York has been playing better lately, winning five of the last seven and coming off a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals to get to eight games under .500.
Part of this success has been the continuous improvement of Marcos Vientos who, for now, has usurped the position of third baseman Brett Baty since he was promoted. In 20 games, the slugger is slashing .333/.392/.621 with five home runs, 12 RBI, four doubles and a 1.013 OPS in a decent sample size of 66 at-bats.
The former Mets third baseman discussed what he’s seen from the 24-year-old recently.
“It’s experience and the same goes for any young player,” Wright said. “You’re going to encounter some obstacles along the way, it’s how you deal with those obstacles, how you deal with that adversity.
“A lot of these younger players have never failed at baseball in their lives, so failing the first time maybe at the major league level isn’t ideal, but you’re going to see what they’re made of and you’re going to see how they bounce back. So I’m excited that Mark has been able to show what he’s capable of doing and now it’s just a matter of what we talked about before, just gaining that consistency.”
