Sunday, September 21, 2008

Historic Rewind: David Wright

A lot of attention was given to the season that David Wright had in 2007, and rightly so. The Mets' September collapse cost Wright the MVP award and tarnished one of the truly great seasons in baseball history.

Only four players in the history of Major League Baseball have had the combination of numbers that Wright accumulated in 2007: 40+ 2Bs, 30+ HRs, 30+ SBs, .300+ BA, .400+ OBP. The first to accomplish the feat was Ellis Burks in 1996 playing in the thin air of Colorado. Burks put together 45 doubles, 40 homers, 32 steals, a .344 average, and .408 OBP. The very next season a fellow Rocky took advantage of the rare air, with Larry Walker racking up 46 doubles, 49 homers, 33 steals, a .366 batting average, and a .452 on-base percentage. In 2004, Bobby Abreu cashed in on the limited dimensions of Citizens Bank Park totaling 47 doubles, 30 homers, 40 steals, a .301 average, and a .428 OBP.
Wright became the first player to accomplish the feat while playing his home games in a pitcher's park. Wright put together 42 doubles, 30 home runs, 34 steals, a .325 average, and a .416 OBP.
Wright stands as the only player of these four to continue to play and put up similar numbers. It remains to be seen if Wright can become the only player to ever accomplish the feat twice in his career, when the Mets move to Citi Park in 2009.

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