In the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game against the Phillies, David Wright stood near second base for five pitches, fidgeting and clenching his batting gloves with a strained look on his face. He was debating with himself whether he should leave the game.
Moments earlier, as he stole second base, he felt his right hamstring grab. Maybe a half-dozen years ago, and without the mileage he had gradually put on his body, his theft of second would have been a routine play, free of risk to his legs. But that was then. In the 2013 season, when he had already turned 30, he had felt soreness in the same hamstring, kept playing for a while and was eventually sidelined for more than six weeks.