David Wright Not Feeling at Home

David Wright is back on a tear and ranks 2nd in the National League in both Batting Average and On-Base Percentage.

His streaky hitting, however, is somewhat problematic, and the consistency isn't what it's been in season's past.

One reason for this, perhaps the only reason, is Citi Field.

Let's look at the numbers, home and away, for the past four seasons:

2006 Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	582	96	181	40	5	26	116	66	5	113	20	5	.311	.381	.531	.912
By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	165	30	47	13	1	6	28	27	1	29	7	1	.285	.385	.485	.870
vs. Right	417	66	134	27	4	20	88	39	4	84	13	4	.321	.380	.549	.929
Home	284	48	89	19	2	13	61	32	1	45	8	1	.313	.378	.532	.910
Away	298	48	92	21	3	13	55	34	4	68	12	4	.309	.385	.530	.915

2007 Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	604	113	196	42	1	30	107	94	6	115	34	5	.325	.416	.546	.962
By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	166	32	60	16	0	11	35	27	2	21	10	4	.361	.449	.657	1.106
vs. Right	438	81	136	26	1	19	72	67	4	94	24	1	.311	.404	.505	.909
Home	278	56	93	20	1	16	50	49	4	53	17	3	.335	.435	.586	1.021
Away	326	57	103	22	0	14	57	45	2	62	17	2	.316	.400	.512	.912

2008 Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	626	115	189	42	2	33	124	94	4	118	15	5	.302	.390	.534	.924
By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	157	44	60	18	1	9	34	37	2	26	10	2	.382	.497	.682	1.179
vs. Right	469	71	129	24	1	24	90	57	2	92	5	3	.275	.351	.484	.835
Home	301	61	101	22	0	21	68	56	2	52	10	3	.336	.437	.618	1.055
Away	325	54	88	20	2	12	56	38	2	66	5	2	.271	.345	.455	.800

2009 Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	200	36	69	16	3	3	34	37	1	54	14	8	.345	.448	.500	.948
By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	38	7	16	4	1	1	8	8	0	3	4	1	.421	.511	.658	1.169
vs. Right	162	29	53	12	2	2	26	29	1	51	10	7	.327	.432	.463	.895
Home	96	16	26	3	3	2	10	12	1	34	6	3	.271	.358	.427	.785
Away	104	20	43	13	0	1	24	25	0	20	8	5	.413	.523	.567	1.090

• His home batting average: .313, .335, .336, .271
• His home OBP: .378, .435, .437, .358
• His home SLG %: .532, .586, .618, .427
• His home OPS: .910, 1.021, 1.055, .785
• His home strikeouts: 45, 53, 52, 34 (projected for 106 home Ks vice 55 projected road Ks!)

In his last 10 home games, DW was 10 for 36 with 14 Ks.

Contrast that with his last 10 road games: 12 for 33 with 5 Ks.

The strangest part of these stats is that Citi Field appears to fit perfectly into DWs gap hitting ability. He's historically a guy who draws a decent amount of walks and puts the ball in play.

So what is it? Is he not seeing the ball? Too much pressure? Is the sample size too small?

I honestly don't know, but I do know this...

The Mets are about to embark on some critical June home games: 3 vs the Phils, 3 vs Tampa Bay, 4 vs the Cards and 3 against the Yankees. There is one 6 game roadtrip sandwiched in the middle at two road stadiums where DW should hit a few HRs--Yankee Stadium and Camden Yards.

For the Mets to stay near the top, they will absolutely have to beat these teams at home, and they do have a fine 17-9 home record. Just imagine what it would be with David Wright hitting well at Citi. It is probably the difference between first and second place.

David Wright is having a fine season overall, and if he can get his home numbers anywhere close to his road numbers it could be a great one.

The question is will he do it?