Updated Post: Jan. 6 at 2:25 pm
The Mets confirmed Monday they will retire David Wright‘s iconic No. 5 on Saturday, July 19, in a pregame ceremony prior to the 4:10 pm contest against the Reds. Wright will also be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame.
Steve and Alex Cohen noted, “David Wright personified class on and off the field. He is the definition of a Met… For a generation of Mets fans, he was their Tom Seaver, so it’s a fitting tribute that only David and Tom have gone into the Mets Hall of Fame and have their numbers retired on the same day.”
Reflecting on the honor, Wright commented, “I can’t quite put into words the appreciation I have for the city of New York and Mets fans. 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.”
Wright becomes the eighth player in franchise history to have his number retired into the rafters. He follows Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Willie Mays, Keith Hernandez, Jerry Koosman, Mike Piazza and Tom Seaver. The team retired managers Gil Hodges and Casey Stengel‘s numbers and Jackie Robinson‘s.
While his career was cut short in 2018 due to injury, he is the franchise leader in hits (1,777), RBI (970), runs (949), doubles (390), extra-base hits (658), 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).
A seven-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove Award recipient, and two-time Silver Slugger winner, Wright’s storied career will live on forever in Mets history with this honor.
Original Post: Dec. 13 at 11:22 am
One of the most important Mets of all-time is set to have his number retired during the 2025 season.
Credit: USA TODAY
According to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, David Wright will have his No. 5 placed among other Mets legends and enter the team’s Hall of Fame on July 19, 2025. The ceremony will occur before a 4:10 p.m. game against the Cincinnati Reds.
The news was teased much earlier than today, though. In a Dec. 2 social media post, an account named Lazy Mary (@Verd25) said that “sources” had told them that Wright’s number would be retired on July 19. As we know now, the account nailed the exact day for the ceremony almost two weeks before it was officially announced.
To many fans, Wright is arguably the greatest Met of the modern era. He racked up 390 doubles, 242 home runs, a .867 OPS and 51.3 fWAR across his career in Queens. In the prime of his career, he was widely seen as one of the sport’s best and most recognizable players. This also included his performance in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, earning him the distinguished nickname of “Captain America.”
It is upsetting that Wright never got to experience the full greatness that he could have been afforded, mainly due to the injuries that ravaged the back-half of his career. However, with his upcoming ceremony, Wright will once again get to feel and see the impact he made on the organization and an entire generation of fans.
