David Wright Excited to Have Number Retired
David Wright and the Mets held a press conference for the first time since the team officially announced that it would retire his number 5 and put him in the Mets Hall of Fame during a July 19 ceremony at Citi Field.
Credit: USA TODAY
Wright began the press conference like he spent his entire 14-year career, with class, sending out thoughts and prayers to those in California (where he and his family now live) who have been dealing with the deadly wildfires during the past 24 hours.
Wright, the most recent captain of the Mets, revealed that one of the first people who reached out to congratulate him on the honor was the original Mets captain.
“One of the first text messages I got when the Mets made the official announcement was from Keith Hernandez, and (a) really long, really genuine text that meant so much,” Wright said. “I don’t think it’s ever going to hit me. I truly feel like it’s a bit undeserved given the skill and accomplishments of some of the numbers that I’ll be amongst up there.”
Wright spoke about how grateful he was to receive his upcoming number retirement, but that his captainship still holds a unique spot for him. That title was given to him not just by the higher-ups in the organization, but by his fellow teammates.
“The captaincy is the biggest honor that I’ll ever receive on a baseball field,” Wright said, “I remember the day during Spring Training when ownership and the front office and the coaches called me into the office and said, ‘Hey, this is what we’re thinking.’ I immediately thought that this isn’t the way that this should work. They should be somebody that the players trust.”
The attention also turned to the 2025 team, and Wright gave his thoughts on the newest high-priced New York Met, Juan Soto.
“Yeah, I think it’s huge,” Wright said, “It seems like the will to win within the organization is incredible. It’s a win-at-all-cost, do-whatever-you-can-to win-type mentality…The goal is not just set now to win one championship, it’s ‘Hey, let’s go on a run and win multiple championships.'”
Wright was asked about Pete Alonso’s ongoing free agency and spoke of the value of spending one’s entire career with a single team.
“I’ve never ever faulted a player for maximizing his earning potential and going to try to make a great living for him and his family,” Wright said, “At the same time, I remember what hit home big time for me, was we were in Atlanta towards the end of Chipper’s (Jones) tenure, and seeing Chipper’s emotion and his words, having spent his entire career in Atlanta…and obviously playing across town from Derek (Jeter), seeing how much that meant to him.”
Wright is perhaps more synonymous with being a Met than any other player in franchise history. The player, who play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen labeled as the “conscience” of the franchise, talked about his relationship with the team, its fans, and their rivals.
“Losing in a Mets uniform for me was devastating, but winning in a Mets uniform for me was sweeter than anything else that I could possibly imagine,” Wright said, “Being a Met for life just meant more to me than a mercenary-type player.”
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