David Wright began his discussion about the New York Mets retiring his jersey number by taking a moment to acknowledge the wildfires in Los Angeles. For Wright, whose wife is from Southern California, the situation hits close to home. He expressed his empathy for the victims of the wildfires, those who have lost homes.
This was typical Wright, the Mets’ all-time leader in so many statistics and someone who also set a standard when it came to representing the club off the field.
Wright eventually spent an hour Wednesday revisiting the anecdotes and accolades that made his 14-year career, all with the Mets, worthy of special recognition. New York will retire Wright’s No. 5 in a pre-game ceremony before the 4:10 p.m. game against the Cincinnati Reds on July 19.
“I don’t think it’s hit me,” Wright told reporters on a video call. “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.”
A bit undeserved? Perhaps only Wright would even suggest such a thought. Wright is the franchise leader in hits (1,777), RBIs (970), runs (949), doubles (390), extra-base hits (658), walks (762) and Baseball-Reference’s WAR for position players (49.2). He is…
