David Wright’s career hit a low point in 2009.
Sure, he hit .307, but he had a career low in Home Runs (10) and Runs Batted In (72) since his first full year in 2005.
Not to mention, the Mets won under 80 games for the first time since 2004, when David Wright broke into the big leagues.
Coming off of that awful, putrid, and just plain unlucky 2009 season, the Mets started a promotional campaign claiming “We Believe in Comebacks.”
Considering the terrible taste the Mets left in their fans’ mouths the past three seasons, not many people believed the Mets would be making any type of comeback this season.
However, the Mets currently sit ten games above .500, and they hold the National League Wild Card lead. They’re also being led offensively by Wright, who’s hitting .301 with 14 homers (four more than all of last year) and 61 RBIs, which leads the National League.
Wright may have been happy getting a Comeback Player of the Year award this season the way last year went. But so far, he’s looking like a front-runner in the NL Most Valuable Player race.
At the moment, Wright is on pace to hit 30 homers and drive in 131 runs, all while maintaining a batting average above .300.
Not only would Wright be the first Met to ever win the MVP award, but he would break the current string of Giants, Phillies, and Cardinals players winning the award. A player from one of those teams has taken home the trophy every year since 2000.
The two main threats to Wright’s MVP candidacy are Ryan Howard of the Phillies and Albert Pujols of the Cardinals.
Right now, Howard is batting .296, with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs. He has a slight edge in home runs, and a slight disadvantage in batting average and runs batted in. However, Howard has historically been a lower average hitter (he hasn’t hit above .280 since 2006), so that average should dip down as the season progresses.
Albert Pujols also is posting similar numbers, hitting .305 with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs. Unlike Howard, Pujols’ career average is 27 points above his current one, so you can only expect Pujols’ numbers to increase as time goes on.
The deciding factor for Wright and his MVP status may rest in the hands of the team. If the Mets can win the Wild Card or even the division on the back of a big year from David Wright, he’s going to get a lot of votes.
Pujols and Howard may turn out to have tremendous years again, but it won’t matter if the Mets can win and get into October baseball.
Going into the season, experts said Wright would need to have a monster year for the Mets to have any chance to contend. Well, Wright is having a monster year, and the Mets certainly have as good a chance as anyone in the National League.
Under that rationale, Wright deserves to be rewarded.
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