St. John’s baseball hosted its second annual Bullpen Winter Banquet last Thursday at New York Athletic Club, and it did so in style with a guest appearance from New York Mets third baseman David Wright.

“It was great,” Wright said. “With Roger [Clemens] doing it last year you’re on a pretty impressive list. I have some very close friends and relationships with St. John’s alumni so I jumped [at the chance].”

Wright wasn’t the only one excited for the event, which was held to benefit the baseball team.

“It was amazing,” said St. John’s pitcher Matt Tosoni. “The way he talked to us you could just see he’s like one of us. His answers [to our questions] were so realistic.”

Wright, who was recruited by St. John’s head coach Ed Blankmeyer in high school, spoke with the team before the event and signed numerous auction items.

“[I could] see how much they were into everything that I had to say, which was pretty incredible,” Wright said. “You could tell they wanted to take their game to the next level.

“They were very welcoming, had some great questions and they wanted to hear some stories, just little things like that.”
Blankmeyer sang nothing but praises for Wright, whom he noted was solid both on and off the field.

“I watched him play several times during his high school years,” Blankmeyer said of the guest-of-honor. “He’s an outstanding young man and an outstanding player who’s going to be around for a long time.”

As a result of his young age, both Wright and the St. John’s players felt that they were able to connect better with one another.

“From the get-go we were interrelated,” Wright said. “Having such a small age gap is pretty cool because you can relate. They feel more comfortable around me and can ask what’s on their minds.”

Aside from playing just down the Grand Central, Wright is no stranger to St. John’s. His first memory is likely one that is still in the heads of Johnnies fans everywhere.

“My first St. John’s memory was St. John’s beating Duke at Cameron Indoor,” Wright said.