Former Mets captain David Wright will be honored this summer in a dual ceremony, taking his rightful place in franchise history.
The former Mets third baseman who played all 14 years of his Major League Career in Queens will be inducted into the team hall of fame and have his number retired July 19, ahead of a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field. No. 5 will be enshrined forever, marking the third time in the last two years the Mets have taken numbers of franchise greats out of circulation. Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden had their numbers retired last season as a nod to their link on the 1986 World Series team.
Wright’s No. 5 will be the 10th number taken out of circulation, one of the highest honors in sports. However, no other Mets player has worn No. 5 since Wright left the game following the 2018 season. Third baseman Mark Vientos now wears No. 27, but wore the same number as Wright did while growing up in Florida as a nod to his favorite player. He also used the same walk-up song, “I Got 5 on it” by Luniz.
Back and neck injuries ended his career prematurely and limited him to only 77 games from 2015-2016. Wright fought through the degenerative conditions throughout his career, but still managed to become one of the most prolific players of his era.
A Cooperstown candidate, Wright still leads the Mets all-time lists in the most career doubles, walks, RBIs and runs scored. He’s second behind Strawberry in home runs, and also won two gold glove awards, two silver slugger awards and was named to the All-Star team seven times. He received MVP votes six times and finished as high as fourth in 2007.
After his curtain call in 2018, Wright had career totals of 242 home runs, 390 doubles, 26 triples, 970 RBI, 196 stolen bases and 761 walks. He finished his career with a slash line of .296/.376/.491.
Nicknamed “Captain America” for his performance in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, Wright was also the fourth captain in Mets history and no other player has held the title since.
The Mets have recently broken with a long standing trend of only retiring the numbers of players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and while Wright is currently on the ballot for the second year, he’s not a lock. But he legitimized the Mets in a way few others had during a time of organizational turmoil and performed admirably through pain and losses on the field, always serving as a model representative of the organization.
It’s a Wright-ful celebration for an important player.
