Dustin Pedroia gives David Wright a special gift from Green Monster
Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia looks on from the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, in Boston. Credit: AP/Winslow Townson
BOSTON — David Wright tends not to collect much memorabilia, he said, but when he does, it usually comes from players he admires. A gift from Dustin Pedroia, the longest-tenured Red Sox player, qualifies.
During a pregame conversation on the field Saturday at Fenway Park, Pedroia gave Wright a No. 5 placard used in the manually operated scoreboard in the iconic Green Monster.
“It was really, really, really cool,” said Wright, who will be activated from the disabled list for the final six games, marking the end of his major-league career. “He’s a really good person and it’s cool to call him a friend.”
Wright and Pedroia, United States teammates during the 2009 World Baseball Classic, have followed similar tracks. Mid-2000s rookies, they became All-Stars and a face of their franchises, winning Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers before injuries slowed them in recent years. Both are represented by ACES Baseball Agency.
“It was actually nice,” Wright said of their conversation. “It’s usually a lot more trash talk, but this was probably the first time he hasn’t been mean to me.”
Wright shared one story about Pedroia — listed at 5-9 and famous for trash-talking — and a foul ball in Queens.
“We were playing Boston at our place. I was going to catch a foul ball and I reached into the dugout, and I think he was hurt. I didn’t get [the ball],” Wright said. “I saw him, and he was already standing up. I asked him to stand up. He said he’s 8 feet tall when he stands on his MVP trophy and World Series rings.”
New York Mets' David Wright looks on from the dugout during a video tribute to him in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Closing time
Is the Mets’ 2019 closer on the roster right now?
“He might be. We’ll have to see how the winter goes,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “I feel comfortable if one of these guys we have on the roster would be closing. But I would definitely feel at this point it would be nice to add some bullpen depth.”
Robert Gsellman, who has received most of the closing chances since the Mets traded Jeurys Familia, has 11 saves.
The name Callaway most consistently mentions when asked about his gaggle of inexperienced relievers is Drew Smith, who has a 1.93 ERA in 21 games.
“I think [the trust] is showed by the way we’ve been using him,” Callaway said. “We’ve been trusting him to go out there and get some big outs in big situations.”
Mesoraco not ready
Devin Mesoraco (neck) is improving but not ready to play. “Hopefully he’s going to get into another game before the end of the season,” Mickey Callaway said . . . Brandon Nimmo reached base three times Saturday for a Mets-high 27th game this season.
