Wright ties Strawberry for Mets' RBI record

ATLANTA -- David Wright recalls taking a bat and glove, heading out to his backyard in Virginia, exaggerating the leg kick on his swing and "just trying to be Darryl Strawberry for a day." As a Mets fan throughout his youth, Wright attempted to model his mechanics after his favorite team's all-time RBI leader.

Though his swing turned out differently, the results have been similar. In driving in three runs Wednesday against the Braves, Wright tied Strawberry for the most RBIs in team history with 733.

"It was an ugly day," Wright said of the 14-6 loss to the Braves. "We didn't do much right. But obviously if you're classified with a guy like Straw, a guy that I grew up idolizing and trying to mimic his swing, it's an honor to be in that group."

Batting against Jair Jurrjens in the fifth inning, Wright delivered an infield single past the second-base bag, plating Kirk Nieuwenhuis. It was his 733rd career RBI, coming in his 4,193rd at-bat with the Mets. For comparison's sake, Strawberry needed 3,903 at-bats to record his 733rd RBI with the team.

Wright, who began the game with 730 RBIs, also doubled home two runs in the third inning. He already holds the franchise record for most career doubles (282), and is on track to pass Strawberry for most walks (580) and strikeouts (960) in club history. Before the season is finished, he could also catch Ed Kranepool in hits (1,418) and Jose Reyes in runs scored (704).

Wright ranks in the top 10 in franchise history in nearly every major offensive category, including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. He has a $16 million team option on his contract for next season, after which he can become a free agent for the first time in his career. Whether he re-signs will play a significant role in how many records he is able to hold or extend.

"I've never gotten caught up too much in the numbers," Wright said. "I think that's something to enjoy when it's all said and done, look back and kind of beat your chest a little bit when it's all said and done. But it's so tough to do that right now, because we're a couple weeks into the season and we haven't played too well the last couple days. So it's tough to sit back and really enjoy something like that."