KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Gary LaRocque thought back to a spring afternoon in 2001 at Hickory High School in Chesapeake, Virginia. A touted 18-year-old came onto the field after his last class to take some batting practice.
"Every ball he hit over the fence, he went over there and picked them all up, too," said LaRocque, then the New York Mets' director of amateur scouting.
That kid?
David Wright.
Reminded of the story Monday on the eve of his World Series debut, he laughed.
"Who else is going to pick 'em up?" he said.