Known as a prankster during his playing days, former New York Mets superstar third baseman David Wright has jokingly kept the tiniest inkling in the back of his mind ablaze that when he shows up to Citi Field to get inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame and have his No. 5 retired, it will all be a joke.
“I don’t think it’s hit me. I don’t think it’s ever going to hit me,” Wright said on Wednesday. “I truly feel like it’s a bit undeserved, given the skill and accomplishments of some of the numbers I’ll be amongst up there. I joke that I think there should be a special section for my number because it’s not deserving being amongst the really great players in the organization… I don’t take it lightly. I’m humbled.”
Whether it is insecurities or immense modesty, Wright really does not have to worry about that. After all, the now-42-year-old is regarded by many as the greatest non-pitching homegrown product that has ever represented the Mets.
A Norfolk, VA native, Wright rooted for the Mets growing up thanks to their Triple-A affiliate practically being in his backyard, idolizing the players that used his hometown as a stepping stone to the big leagues. And as luck would have it, it was the same route that Wright took after being drafted by the Mets in 2001 — just an early stop in a career that reached dizzying heights in Queens.
He was one of the game’s greatest third basemen in the mid-to-late 2000s and into the early 2010s. A seven-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner, Wright holds the Mets’ franchise records in WAR (49.2), hits (1,777), runs scored (949), total bases (2,945), doubles (390), RBI (970), and walks (762).
“It’s incredibly crazy that I’m drafted by my favorite team… I’m developed by some of my favorite players, my dad’s favorite players growing up,” Wright said. “It’s crazy the coincidence, and then to spend my entire career with the Mets, I think that’s what makes this relationship so special. Not just between me and the team but the city and the fan base. It was a genuine connection. We organically rooted for each other… Every night, it felt like I had 40,000 friends and family who were genuinely rooting for me to succeed in the stands.”
Wright was voted the fourth-ever captain in franchise history in 2013, which he described as “the biggest honor” of a career that featured not only the litany of individual awards and accolades but also two NLCS appearances and a National League pennant in 2015.
“To be viewed in that light — that’s something you can’t proclaim yourself the captain,” Wright said. “It has to be bestowed on you by other people… I wanted to be viewed in that light by other people. Hopefully, that was the case.”
At the time, Wright was on track to attain baseball’s ultimate honor as a Hall of Famer. But just two years into captaincy, he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis. It ultimately derailed his career, limiting him to just 75 regular-season games from 2015 to 2016. Through ceaseless pain, he rehabbed his way back to say one final goodbye at Citi Field late in the 2017 season, getting three plate appearances before an early hook prompted a raucous goodbye from the sell-out crowd.
His ceremony on July 19 provides an opportunity to pen another paragraph of his love letter to New York and the Mets — though he hopes that he will have dryer eyes.
“I’m hoping that the tears are all done after my last game,” Wright said. “I felt a little embarrassed, and I felt like I was crying all the time. I’m going to try to toughen it up a little bit this time around… It’s a surreal moment, and I haven’t thought about what it’s going to be like yet, but it’s truly going to be amazing, and I can’t wait.”
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