The ironic part about all this — about the number retirement, about the Mets Hall of Fame induction, about The Captain, the No. 5 becoming immortalized in the left-field corner at Citi Field, the entire celebration that unfolded — is that David Wright doesn’t want to be the center of attention.
It’s uncomfortable, he said. He wants to share it with others. He has “never been one to want the spotlight,” his mother, Elisa, told The Post after Wright spent 35 minutes reminiscing about his 14 seasons with the Mets and about the ceremony that’d give him a permanent place in their history.
But July 19 was all about Wright. About the homegrown third baseman, who spent his entire career in Queens before back and neck injuries forced him to retire in 2018, becoming the eighth player in franchise history to have his number retired. If his final game drew the label of “David Wright Day,” then this was the sequel, the encore — random sunshower and all — that preceded the Mets’ game against the Reds.
Wright was joined on the field by his wife, his three children, his parents and plenty of former teammates and members of the Mets organization who shaped his career from a first-round pick to one of the most memorable players in franchise history.
Wright traded his custom burnt orange jacket for a blue Mets Hall of Fame one, matching with his son, Brooks. As he strolled onto the field for the ceremony, he stopped at third base — a special one covered in gold — and took in the thunderous roar greeting him.
He watched as his No. 5 joined No. 41 (Tom Seaver), No. 31 (Mike Piazza), No. 36 (Jerry Koosman), No. 17 (Keith Hernandez), No. 24 (Willie Mays), No. 16 (Dwight Gooden) and No. 18 (Darryl Strawberry) atop the ballpark. He took a lap around the field in a cart afterward, too, and acknowledged fans along the way.
“I never accomplished my goal of bringing a World Series back to Queens,” Wright told the crowd during the ceremony, “but I promise you, I gave it everything I had and wanted it just as badly as you did. And I think this fanbase recognized that and was willing to genuinely have my back and support — support me unconditionally through the good and the bad, and for that, I will always be thankful.”
This was the intersection of the Mets’ history with someone still linked to the current roster as a former teammate of Brandon Nimmo’s and a regular presence at spring training. This was a return home to celebrate a career that felt like it ended yesterday, Wright said — creating the feeling “you get when you come home from like a long trip.”
Still, less than two hours before the ceremony, Elisa Wright wasn’t certain. Her son had just talked about wanting to “keep it together better” than he did in 2018, when his final game — his sendoff at Citi Field — turned emotional, but with what was going to unfold Saturday, “how could he not be,” she said. The emotion, in Wright’s voice and through others wiping their eyes, ended up being palpable during the ceremony.
It capped a week that featured the premier of a documentary about his career and plenty of nostalgic moments, from both Wright and those who witnessed his career. There was the highlight of the homer against the Phillies against a months-long absence in 2015. The run to the World Series later that year. The magical run of 2006 and the chance that got a way in 2007, which Wright said still stings to this day. He joked with former teammates Jose Reyes during his press conference and remembered the Port St. Lucie conversation when a coach predicted they’d form the left side of the infield for the next decade. Those moments all strung together as Wright finished first in Mets history for hits (1,777), RBIs (970) and plenty of other categories.
Injuries derailed the final stage of his career. The back remains an “unknown” wrinkle of his life, with a procedure from a year-and-a-half ago helping some lingering issues.
But seven years after that contributed directly to the end of his career, Wright is at peace. That, then, turned Saturday into a celebration of his legacy.
“It took a while for my brain and my heart to kinda match up with that,” Wright said in his press conference, “but I think that very few athletes get the ending that they want, that storybook ending. And I certainly wouldn’t call mine a storybook ending, but it’s better than 99 percent of what athletes get — and I’ll forever be grateful for getting that opportunity.”