The David Wright I know

BY JAY HORWITZ

This is my favorite David Wright story of all time. It has nothing to do with home runs or a game-winning RBI. It’s a story that tells you what kind of decent human being he is. David was a super star, devoid of ego. I consider myself most fortunate to have worked with him during his entire 14-year career.

It was about 4 a.m. on the morning of Aug. 24, 2015. We had defeated the Rockies in Colorado the night before and were checking into our hotel in Philadelphia. At the top of the steps, in full uniform, with spikes on, David handing out hot chocolate chip cookies to the guys. I admit, I had two or three. David was coming off a long stay on the injured list, and we were playing well at the time. He just wanted to make sure his teammates didn’t forget him.

The next night I was sitting in Terry Collins’ office before the game with the Phillies. It was just Terry, David and me. David was telling Terry, “Don’t play me, you are doing OK without  me.” Terry laughed and said, “you are in there batting fourth.” Well, wouldn’t you know that in his first at-bat in the second inning he slugged a long homer to left against Adam Morgan to spark a 16-7 win.

On July 19, Wright will become the second player in Mets history to have his number retired (5) and be inducted into our Hall of Fame on the same day. The other was “The Franchise,” Tom Seaver. Tom adored David because he had a respect for  the history of the game, and David adored Tom for what he accomplished. One of the thrills of David’s career was catching the first pitch from Tom to begin the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi  Field. When Sarah Seaver Zaske, Tom’s oldest daughter, passed from cancer last spring, he made sure to drop Sarah’s husband, Art, a note. Art and his three sons will be there next Saturday to honor David.

I always tell people that David Wright is 100 times better a person than he was a player, and he was a damn good player. He was a seven-time All-Star, a 30-30 man, the winner of two Gold Gloves, two Silver Slugger awards and our fourth captain. He always did the right thing whether it was for his family, the fans or his teammates.

I will never forget him signing autographs by our team bus in Philly after a long extra-inning loss. He never turned away a youngster, no matter the circumstances. When Superstorm Sandy hit the area, he reached out to the people of Staten Island to help.

Anytime a fireman or policeman was injured in the line of duty, David would call my office asking what he could do. It was always done without cameras or press. In 2007, when there was a deadly shooting on the campus of Virginia Tech, David offered aid and comfort to the students.

He started his own foundation when he was 22 years old. Who does that? The first thing we did in New York was to dedicate the David Wright room for kids with cancer at the Ronald McDonald House in Manhattan. David never forgets his roots. He helped raise close to $2 million for a local hospital in his hometown of Norfolk, Va.

Speaking of not forgetting, I want to tell you about David’s friendship and special bond with my late assistant Shannon Forde who passed away from breast cancer in March 2016. When David first joined us in 2004, Shannon became his big sister. She made suggestions about where to eat, where to live and how to adapt to playing in the Big Apple. When Shannon was diagnosed with her cancer in 2012, no one showed her more care than David. He was always there to support and encourage her.

We had a huge memorial service for her at Citi Field when she died, and David was one of the speakers. There were over 1,000 people there. He gave a wonderful, warm speech about what Shannon meant to him. When Shannon’s father Mike died a few years ago, David called her mom Debbe to express his condolences. We dedicated a field in Shannon’s hometown of Little Ferry, N.J. David was there again to be with her family. David always did the little things out of the public eye. When we drafted a youngster or made a trade, he was the first one to call with the official Mets welcome.

Beginning in 2015, injuries began to mount. I was with him one time in Florida when he was rehabbing from the latest injury in the middle of the summer, and it was just unbelievable how much time it took him to get ready to play. For a night game, he had to be in the weight room around noon to prepare. Everything hurt — his neck, his shoulder and his back. I was thrilled for him when he hit a three-run homer to help clinch a playoff spot when we beat Cincinnati, 10-2, on Sept. 26. It was a great reward for all of his hard work.

One of his happiest moments came when he had a solo homer to help us beat Kansas City in Game 3 of the 2015 World Series. It would be his only World Series appearance.

David has two jerseys hanging in his California home, his World Series jersey and one from the World Baseball Classic when he earned the title ‘Captain America.’ He played in two WBCs in 2009 and 2013. In 2013, he hit .438 with a grand slam and 10 RBI. I know representing his country in two Classics meant so much to him.

Even when he wasn’t playing much at the end, he was a big help to me in my job as public relations director. Long before the clubhouse opened, we would sit in front of his locker. There would be David, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and myself. We would just talk baseball. David’s message to these young pitchers was simple: be accountable no matter what you did in the game.

A herniated disc which led to neck surgery limited him to 37 games in 2016. He did not play at all in 2017 because of a right shoulder impingement which required surgery on his rotator cuff. David tried his best to make it back on the field in 2018, but it wasn’t to be. His goal was to become a solid part-time player, but his body wouldn’t respond. Instead, he shifted goals to get back on the field one more time so his family and friends could see him again.

David made it back in late September. He grounded out as a pinch hitter against the Marlins on Sept. 28, and made his last start at third base the next day. That was a night we will all remember. His young daughter Olivia threw out the first pitch to David. He walked his first time up. In his second bat, he lifted a fly ball into foul territory that Miami first baseman Peter O’Brien circled under. The crowd was yelling ‘Please drop it, drop it.” Well, Peter caught it and that was that.

His speech to the sold-out crowd after the game, which lasted 13 innings, drew ruckus applause. The best part of the night was that O’Brien sent a note to the Mets clubhouse asking for David’s autograph. Well, being the mensch that he is, David sent back a ball to him which read, “I wish you had dropped it, sincerely David Wright.”

Even though he has been retired now for seven years, David is still very much a part of our organization. He serves as an ambassador, goes to spring training, takes part in sponsorship events and is still very active in the community. One of his pride and joys is working with the Battle of Badges baseball game at Citi between the NYPD and FDNY.

He and his wife Molly make their home in Manhattan Beach with their three children; Olivia, now 9, Madison (7) and Brooks (4). He is a full-time dad and a full-time coach of his kids’  soccer, basketball and baseball teams. Before one baseball game, the rival coach asked David if he had any experience in the game. He thought for a minute and shot back, “Just a little.” That was David Wright to a tee.

I know next Saturday will be an emotional day for me. My mind will shift to what might have been if not for the injuries. He certainly was on a Hall of Fame path. His final stats read: .296 batting average with 242 homers and 970 RBI. But then I will snap out of it and realize he has already had a Hall of Fame life. David is well beyond the what-ifs and is extremely happy with the career he had — and what a career it was.

Congrats on everything, my friend.

Jay Horwitz was the Mets’ PR guy during David Wright’s 14-year Mets career. “David was a 100 times a better person than he was a player, and he was a pretty darn good player.”