WINNERS: David Wright gets a return visit from young Bobby Singer, who recovered from meningitis after a visit from his Met hero.Photo: Kevin P. Coughlin
Back on August 22 I posted a story here about David Wright being a real role model to a son of a very good friend of mine.
Today, the New York Post talked about it as well: http://www.nypost.com/commentary/the_kid_is_all_wright_commentary_andrea_peyser.htm (if link doesn't work, text is below):
THE KID IS ALL WRIGHT
By ANDREA PEYSER
September 11, 2006 -- I WONDER what else the Mets can cure.
You didn't even see him coming. David Wright, mega-superstar third baseman for the New York Mets, a guy who makes women weak and men insane, sneaked up in the hallway to join us.
"I've been wanting to see you again for a really long time," Wright said in his shy Virginia drawl to a startled Bobby Singer, 8.
You expected David would be accompanied by fanfare, flunkies, an attitude, maybe. He's the most sought-after face in baseball. Bigger than the Beatles, Springsteen and the Wiggles to my daughter.
Instead, here was a very young man - he's 23 - showing off the boyish smile that, along with his magnificent arms, will earn him $55 million over the next six years.
"I got something for you, too - a bat," David told Bobby.
"Cool! Cool!" the boy shrieked. And they embraced.
It was hours before David would slug in the two-run single that would bring the unbelievable Mets to victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. But to call this reunion unlikely would be understating matters.
Two years ago, Bobby, then 6, lay near death.
He was diagnosed with contagious, deadly meningitis. The sign on his door at Schneider's Children's Hospital on Long Island clearly warned all who would dare enter: "Wear mask and gloves."
On a tour of the hospital on Aug. 25, 2004, David - either a hero or a damn fool - ignored the warning. "I've got three younger brothers at home," he explained to me.
Wright was then a rookie. It would be more than a year before his jerseys would become the hottest in New York baseball - outselling even Derek Jeter's. He entered Bobby's room and shook the boy's hand.
"I was very scared. I was in total agony from a very bad test," said Bobby. "Then a man came in and he said, 'Don't worry, Bobby. Just be brave.' "
Now Bobby, of Long Island, is a Wright freak. "We have to peel off his No. 5 jersey to wash it," laughed his dad, Dave. His mother, Pam, is certain David was responsible for her son's recovery.
"One of the big perks of getting to put on this uniform every day is seeing their faces brighten," said David. "It makes it all worthwhile."
Readers of this column probably know I've been unable to watch a Mets game in a decade, after the scummy antics of the early '90s team broke my heart. But this year, our scrappy, beautiful, first-place Mets are winning it back.
I know they're going all the way.
andrea.peyser@nypost.com
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