The moment Mets fans have been waiting for since 2018 will finally arrive July 19 when the club retires David Wright’s number and inducts him into the team hall of fame in a dual ceremony at Citi Field. The team released more details of the historic event Monday afternoon, confirming what the Daily News and others reported last month.
Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen released a statement congratulating the team’s most recent captain.
“David Wright personified class on and off the field. David is the definition of a Met,” the owners said. “He grew up going to Mets Triple-A games in his hometown of Norfolk, Va., and was drafted by the organization in 2001. His spectacular career included seven All-Star appearances, two Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards before he played an emotional final game in 2018.
“For a generation of Mets fans, he was their Tom Seaver, so it is a fitting tribute that only David and Tom have gone into the Mets Hall of Fame and had their number retired on the same day.”
No. 5 will become the 11th number taken out of circulation. Wright joins former Mets greats Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza, Jerry Koosman, Keith Hernandez, Willie Mays, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, as well as late managers Gil Hodges and Casey Stengel, and Jackie Robinson, whose No. 42 is retired from all of Major League Baseball.
“Excited, humbled, honored are just some of the words to describe the thought of this summer’s Mets Hall of Fame induction and seeing No. 5 up at Citi Field next to some of the best players to ever play the game,” Wright said in a statement thanking the Cohens and the fans.
The former third baseman became one of the most prolific homegrown hitters in club history after being drafted by the Mets No. 38 overall in 2001 out of Hickory High School in Virginia. He still leads the franchise in hits (1,777), RBI (970), runs (949), doubles (390), extra-base hits (658) and walks (762), he’s second in games played (1,585) and home runs (242), third in batting average (.296) and fourth in stolen bases (196) and on-base percentage (.376).
The fourth player ever to be named a captain for the Mets, Wright was an influential figure in the clubhouse throughout his 14-year career. His career was cut short due to spinal stenosis, a degenerative back condition that limited him to only 77 games over his final three seasons (2015-2018).
Wright was forced into retirement at the age of 35, saying goodbye to the only team he had ever known in an emotional ceremony at Citi Field on September 29, 2018. While Wright admitted that he wasn’t ready to stop playing, his body said otherwise.
Questions about his legacy followed with many wondering what he could have accomplished had he not suffered from back and neck injuries. But he had little left to prove after helping the Mets win a pennant in 2015 and putting together a body of work worthy of Hall of Fame votes.
Since retiring, Wright has remained with the organization as an ambassador, traveling to New York and Florida from his home in Los Angeles several times a year to fulfill various duties. Wright helps mentor prospects, aids in sponsorship events and even hosts the Battle of the Badges, the Mets’ annual charity game between members of the NYPD and NYFD.
“I can’t quite put into words the appreciation I have for the city of New York and Mets fans,” Wright said. “For 15 years I felt like I had 40,000 friends and family members in the stands each night. It was an honor of a lifetime taking the field as your captain and I truly feel like this honor is just as much yours as it is mine.”
Following the ceremony, the Mets will host the Cincinnati Reds at 4:10 p.m.
