Mar 11 2009 07:02 AM
Mike Schmidt says David Wright might be fit for Hall of Fame
BY ANTHONY MCCARRON
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Tuesday, March 10th 2009, 8:55 PM
| ] TORONTO - Mike Schmidt calls himself "a nearly 60-year-old man who's a fan of these young stars and their lives," so he's been watching David Wright closely in the week or so the two have been together with Team USA. And Schmidt, perhaps the greatest third baseman of all time, thinks Wright is not only the kind of guy "you'd want in a son," but possibly headed to Cooperstown. "I think," Schmidt said Tuesday, "you've got yourself a future Hall of Famer there on the Mets." Schmidt, who is Team USA's third-base coach, starred for the Phillies in the '70s and '80s, making 12 All-Star teams, winning three MVP awards and collecting 10 Gold Gloves. In 18 seasons, he hit 548 home runs. Who knows if Wright is on a similar career arc, but the Mets' third baseman already has an impressive resume, with 100 RBI in each of his first four full seasons. It took Schmidt seven full seasons to reach 100 RBI four times. "From a baseball standpoint, he seems way beyond his years," Schmidt said. "Hitting-wise, he's your prototypical good modern generation hitter in that he stays inside the ball. In my day, we hit around the ball - pulled the ball more. It's impressive to me he creates the production he does as a righthanded hitter, seeing a lot of righthanded pitchers, the tough relievers, the matchups he gets. "Back in our day, you'd compare him to a (Steve) Garvey or heck, even a Roberto Clemente-type hitter where he uses the whole field, hits around .300, can hit you some home runs, break up a game. He's a good solid RBI guy - what did he have last year, 128 (actually 124). I think my best year was in the low 120s (121 in 1980), so even last year he had more than I ever had." Wright is 3-for-9 in the World Baseball Classic entering tonight's game against Venezuela, which walloped Italy, 10-1, Tuesday night. The game is only for seeding purposes because Team USA has already clinched a berth in Round 2 in Miami. Schmidt also marveled at how Wright handles his celebrity status in a media-saturated age. "People might say I had an existence like that coming up in Philly, but there was nowhere near the media exposure there is today," Schmidt said. "Privacy is a hard thing to come by for these young players and I admire the way they deal with it. People would be surprised how well they handle their fame." |
