When David Wright sees his No. 5 raised to the rafters by the Mets on July 19 at Citi Field, the occasion will be unlike in franchise history.
The seven-time All-Star third baseman is one of the most beloved figures in the history of the club. While Wright will become the 10th player to see his number retired, he will be the first who spent his entire career in a Mets uniform.
Mets fans shared in each of Wright’s triumphs, from his 2004 major league debut to becoming the franchise’s all-time hit leader, finishing his career with 1,777 knocks, becoming captain in 2013 and reaching the World Series in 2015. They also rode along through his tribulations, including tough finishes in 2006 and 2007, and his debilitating neck and back injuries late in his career.
Wright said starting and ending his career with the Mets was the thing he was most proud of in his baseball career. Now, he’ll receive the team’s ultimate honor in 2025. He will also join Tom Seaver as the only player to enter the Mets Hall of Fame on the same day as his number is retired.
“Losing in a Mets uniform for me was devastating, but winning in a Mets uniform for me was sweeter than anything else that I could possibly imagine because of the trials and tribulations and having gone through everything,” Wright said on Wednesday. “And being a Met for life just meant more to me than kind of a mercenary-type player.”
A spot in Mets history
Wright grew up right outside Norfolk, Virginia, attending games for the then-Mets Triple-A affiliate Norfolk Tides, helping stoke his love for the team.
As a kid, Wright tried to emulate Darryl Strawberry’s high leg kick from the right-handed batter’s box. After competing alongside other future major leaguers in Virginia in Michael Cuddyer, Ryan Zimmerman, BJ and Justin Upton, Wright was drafted by the Mets in the first round of the 2001 MLB Draft. On an early visit to Shea Stadium, Wright coaxed his brothers to attempt to seek out autographs from Mike Piazza and Al Leiter.
Wright will now be rubbing shoulders with some of his Mets heroes. He will join Seaver, Strawberry, Piazza, Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, Jerry Koosman, Willie Mays and Dwight Gooden as the others to see their numbers retired by the Mets.
“A cool, surreal moment now to be able to look up there and not just Mike, a number of players, you look at Keith and Doc and Daryl, the list goes on and on of guys that I genuinely look up to and guys that I tried to emulate on the baseball field,” Wright said. “Now my number is going to be next to theirs.”
One of the first text messages Wright received when the Mets made the official announcement came from Hernandez. The eternally-humble Wright will come to the realization of his place in Mets history in July.
“I joke that I think there should be a special section maybe for my number, because it’s probably not deserving being amongst the really, really good players in the organization,” Wright said. “I’m incredibly grateful for the honor. I don’t take it lightly. I’m humbled and for the organization, the fan base, the city, ownership, Steve and Alex Cohen, to view me in this light.”
David Wright’s top moments of his career
For Wright, his “welcome to the big leagues” moment came when he first went up against fireballing Hall of Fame left-hander Randy Johnson. Wright felt he belonged when he tagged another future Hall of Famer, the Yankees’ Mariano River, for a walk-off single to the warning track at Shea Stadium in 2006.
“It was kind of a moment for me that solidified that, ‘Hey, this isn’t a fluke. I can do this.’” Wright said. “I think that that helped with the confidence, for sure, when you can have success against one of, if not the best, to ever do it.”
In addition to seven All-Stars, Wright took home a pair of Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers over his 14-year career. His 49.2 bWAR is the best of any position player in Mets history. He tops the Mets’ franchise record books in runs (949), RBI (970) and total bases (2,945).
Wright delivered the first Mets hit and home run at Citi Field when the ballpark opened in 2009.
While injuries cut into the third baseman’s potential Hall of Fame trajectory, those trials endeared him even more so to Mets fans. In his return from spinal stenosis in August 2015, he tagged an upper-deck home run against the Phillies. Later that season, Wright hit the Mets’ first World Series home run at Citi Field — a two-run shot — in the team’s lone victory over the Royals in the series.
“I remember sitting at my locker and just staring at that patch and smiling and being like, ‘How cool is this, that we did it, that we made it to the World Series?” Wright said. “And we obviously fell short, but a really, really cool experience and to be a small part of that, I take a lot of pride in that.”
After numerous surgeries and missing the entire 2017 season, Wright played a tear-filled final game in 2018, catching the first pitch from his then-2-year-old daughter, two final plate appearances, a momentous fifth-inning curtain call and an emotional goodbye to the fans post game.
A lot of times New Yorkers don’t accept outsiders, but they accepted me with open arms, and I’ll obviously be grateful for that for the rest of my life,” Wright said.
Who could be next?
Since the Cohens purchased the Mets ahead of the 2021 season, they have made a point to pay homage to the franchise’s history, bringing back Old Timers’ Day in 2022 and retiring four numbers.
After Wright becomes the fifth player to see his number retired under their leadership, who might be next?
The most convincing pitch could be made for Gary Carter’s No. 8. The late catcher was one of the faces of the Mets’ turnaround after joining the club in a trade from the Expos before 1985.
Carter, whose No. 8 is retired by the Nationals, was an All-Star in four of his five seasons with the Mets and helped the team claim their second World Series crown in 1986 with a walk-off single in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Astros and two home runs in their World Series Game 6 win over the Red Sox.
During his time with the Mets, he posted a .731 OPS with 89 home runs, 349 RBI and 272 runs, eclipsing the 100-RBI plateau in 1985 and 1986 and managing a pitching staff led by Gooden. He was a co-captain with Hernandez for two seasons.
A case could be made for Carlos Beltran, who delivered some of the best individual offensive seasons in Mets history, with three seasons of 112 RBI or more. He belted 149 home runs in his seven seasons with the team, while batting a combined .280 which included five of his nine All-Star nods.
Beyond that, the Mets next legend could be one of their current standouts, including Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo. The same could surely be said for Pete Alonso, if he decides to return to the club this free agency.
