Mets legend David Wright joined The Cookie Club with J.D. and Dom presented by Insomnia Cookies on Wednesday, and two of the most enlightening (and at times amusing) takeaways were his untold stories about Jacob deGrom and Jeff McNeil.
"Jake is a different type of intense. The fire that burns within him is amazing," Wright said. "And it's not like outwardly where -- you're not gonna see him break a lot of stuff. Although, I do have a great memento from Jake.
"He got beat up a couple of starts. ... And he came in after like the second or third poor start -- which is shocking, that he'd have that many poor starts -- and he ripped his jersey off, and buttons are flying everywhere. And he just threw it in the middle of the ground. I'm being serious, but from afar I'm trying not to laugh. So then he tries to pull off his Nike shirt, and he's like trying to 'Hulk Hogan' it, and he's going and he's going and he's going, and it won't rip! So finally he just sits in his chair and he looks at me and goes 'I give up.'"
Wright said he still has the jersey and wants deGrom to sign it.
"The fire that Jake has is from within, like he takes it personal," Wright said. "When he's on the mound, it's like a mano a mano thing. Not only does he want to beat you, but he wants to embarrass you. That's a different level."
When it comes to McNeil, his salty language in the minors got him in hot water.
"I was with McNeil in St. Lucie," Wright said. "They asked him to come into the front office of St. Lucie. ... and they're like, 'dude, you gotta cut out the obscenities that you're yelling out after striking out. There's like 12 people in the stands, and they can hear everything that you say. Let's pump the brakes a little bit, guy.'"