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PORT ST. LUCIE — As the Mets go through another spring training hoping it is the beginning of a championship season, they have brought back a member of their last World Series-winning team.
Mookie Wilson joined Mike Piazza as a guest instructor in camp this week, working with the outfielders during workouts and sharing his wealth of knowledge.
“I’m just trying to keep from pulling a hammy out here,” Wilson said with a laugh at Clover Park. “But just being on a ballfield, you get excited. You start having flashbacks. … I’m so joyful to be on the field again, sharing whatever information that I have, whatever insight — granted that ain’t a whole lot — but I’m willing to share what I do have.”
Wilson said he is still getting to know plenty of the players — in part because of new additions to the roster and also because the pandemic had kept him from recent camps — but for those comfortable with picking his brain about his time with the Mets, he is more than willing to help.
“I welcome it,” said Wilson, who played for the Mets from 1980-89. “A few guys that I have spoken to, I let them know, it’s a different animal playing in New York. It’s a different animal altogether. A lot of times it’s not all about your performance. Once players understand that, I think they’ll adapt to New York a whole lot easier.”
In addition to Wilson and Piazza, former Mets Al Leiter and David Wright are also scheduled to serve as guest instructors before camp breaks.
“I think it’s important to us,” manager Buck Showalter said. “There are a lot of guys to pick from. You’ll see other guys as we go forward. Some of it was COVID and some of them said no and some of them weren’t comfortable with where they were with the vaccinations. We were lucky to get a great group. Al’s coming and David’s coming. He’ll be with us for that last part of spring, so looking forward to seeing him.
“Mookie’s getting after it. He’s done this before. It doesn’t surprise anybody. He always uplifts the room when he walks in.”
As for his perspective on this year’s edition of the Mets, Wilson was appreciative of the speed they added in Starling Marte, who led the majors with 47 stolen bases last year.
“For lack of a better term, the one flaw that we had the past couple years is we were one-dimensional,” Wilson said. “Speed is a great asset to have. It covers up a lot of mistakes, but it can also give you another element. We don’t have to have four hits to score a run.”
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