Sporting News staff reports
New York Mets third baseman David Wright expects to return to form in 2010 after a disappointing 2009 season during which his home run total dropped from 33 to 10.
Wright told the New York Post that several things contributed to his subpar production last season and that he "felt very uncomfortable" in the batter’s box.
Wright didn’t blame the injury-related absences of first baseman Carlos Delgado, shortstop Jose Reyes and center fielder Carlos Beltran for his offensive woes, but he acknowledged the dimensions of new Citi Field might have contributed. He noted that many of his homers normally go to the opposite field, but that is tough to do in Citi Field.
"You’ve got to really get into one to (homer) opposite field," Wright told the newspaper. "That’s not a knock on Citi Field. You have to adapt to the park that you’re playing in."
Wright dismissed any speculation about his power drop-off being related to steroid use.
"Since I came into the league, we’ve had drug tests," Wright told the New York Post. "Major League Baseball, the Players Association, we’ve got great drug testing going on. And I think that speaks for itself. I’ve never put anything illegal into my body. I take a lot of pride in that. There’s a lot of things that I can point my finger at and say there’s some reasoning behind the drop off in home runs and 100 percent that’s not one of them."
Sporting News staff reports
New York Mets third baseman David Wright expects to return to form in 2010 after a disappointing 2009 season during which his home run total dropped from 33 to 10.
Wright told the New York Post that several things contributed to his subpar production last season and that he "felt very uncomfortable" in the batter’s box.
Wright didn’t blame the injury-related absences of first baseman Carlos Delgado, shortstop Jose Reyes and center fielder Carlos Beltran for his offensive woes, but he acknowledged the dimensions of new Citi Field might have contributed. He noted that many of his homers normally go to the opposite field, but that is tough to do in Citi Field.
"You’ve got to really get into one to (homer) opposite field," Wright told the newspaper. "That’s not a knock on Citi Field. You have to adapt to the park that you’re playing in."
Wright dismissed any speculation about his power drop-off being related to steroid use.
"Since I came into the league, we’ve had drug tests," Wright told the New York Post. "Major League Baseball, the Players Association, we’ve got great drug testing going on. And I think that speaks for itself. I’ve never put anything illegal into my body. I take a lot of pride in that. There’s a lot of things that I can point my finger at and say there’s some reasoning behind the drop off in home runs and 100 percent that’s not one of them."