SEATTLE — David Wright got the full anniversary treatment.
Upon arriving in town Sunday night, the Mets third baseman received a surprise dinner from teammates to celebrate his 10 years in the major leagues. Wright made his debut on July 21, 2004, against the Expos at Shea Stadium and finished 0-for-4.
“I tried to help [with the check], but I think most of these guys split it,” Wright said before the Mets lost 5-2 to the Mariners. “It was nice. Usually it’s the other way around, with me paying.”
Before the 2013 season, Wright signed an eight-year contract worth $138 million that will put him in position to finish his career with the Mets.
And he envisions his All-Star form returning. This season marked the first time since 2005 that Wright was healthy and not selected to the All-Star Game.
“When it’s all said and done, I want to be able to say I got the most out of my potential,” Wright said before he went 2-for-5 with an RBI. “With the God-given ability that I have, I want to get the most out of it. I don’t want to look back however many years from now and say, ‘I wonder if I would have worked a little harder, I wonder if I would have done this or done that, how things would have worked out.’ ”
Manager Terry Collins was looking forward to the series at Safeco, because with the designated hitter in effect he would have the opportunity to get at-bats for his bench players, most notably Bobby Abreu, who is expected to play Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We’ve been looking for at-bats for some guys and these three games will allow us that,” Collins said. “One of the things, when we first got Bobby Abreu here, we talked about the fact we were getting ready to play the Yankees and the importance of games in the American League park where it allows us to have his bat in the lineup. We’ve been looking forward to these three games for a while.”
The Mets are making only their second appearance in Seattle in franchise history. The Mariners swept three games against the Mets at Safeco Field in 2005. The last meeting between the two teams had come in 2008 at Shea Stadium.
Chris Young left the game in the eighth inning with a cramp in his left calf and will be evaluated on Tuesday. Young indicated he felt tightness running to first base earlier in the game.