David Wright isn’t okay with his teammates on the New York Mets ripping manager Terry Collins anonymously. Not even a little.
“Cowardly” is what David Wright called the players on the New York Mets who decided to anonymously trash manager Terry Collins to Newsday‘s Marc Carig earlier this week.
David Wright has concerns about the #mets clubhouse and they aren’t with Terry Collins.https://t.co/0bPIUCNpY5
— Kristie Ackert (@Ackert_NYDN) September 30, 2017
“It was cowardly, in my opinion,” Wright told Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News before Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. “I have been very fortunate in my career. I haven’t had too many gripes, but when I did, I went and talked to Terry or whoever the manager is. His door has always been open and he’s always listened.”
Carig’s report painted the Mets’ clubhouse as dysfunctional, with Collins the bumbling fool trying to lead a band of misfits who have no interest in being led.
“I am not here to blindly defend Terry. I am not going to discuss the tactical stuff or bullpen usage, that’s not my place,” Wright said. “I can say that to a man in that clubhouse, Terry has dealt with us as adults. He has treated us with respect and treated us as men. I would hope that the players in the clubhouse would have enough respect if not for the man but the position to say something to him. Treat him like a man as he does us.”
Wright wasn’t the only veteran on the team to take issue with the anonymous criticism—ace Jacob deGrom thought the whole thing was “ridiculous,” according to Ackert.
“You have those issues with Terry then you can go in there and talk to him,” deGrom said. “I have talked to him a lot since I have been here. I like him. His door is always open.”
Some may take issue with Wright chiming in, considering that the captain hasn’t played a single game in 2017 due to injuries. While he’s been forced to watch from afar, Wright remains the team’s undisputed leader. Clearly, his physical absence from the clubhouse has created a serious leadership void, one that none of his teammates was able—or willing—to fill.
As Wright said, he’s not blindly defending Collins. But he’s trying to hold his teammates accountable for their actions and for what they say. It’s about time someone did.
