Mets officially announce David Wright's number retirement
New York Mets third baseman David Wright at Citi Field on Sept. 29, 2018. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Mets made official Monday what had been considered a fait accompli pretty much from the time injuries forced David Wright to retire after the 2018 season: No Met will ever wear No. 5 again.
The club made the announcement Monday afternoon and said Wright will enter the Mets Hall of Fame, with both of those honors to be bestowed on July 19 before that afternoon’s game against the Reds at Citi Field.
“Excited, humbled, honored are just some of the words to describe the thought of this summer’s Mets Hall of Fame induction and seeing No. 5 up at Citi Field next to some of the best players to ever play the game,” Wright said in a statement released by the team. “A big thank you to Steve and Alex Cohen and the entire Mets organization for this surreal honor. 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, taken by the Mets in the first round of the 2001 draft, will join Tom Seaver (No. 41), Mike Piazza (No. 31), Jerry Koosman (No. 36), Keith Hernandez (No. 17), Willie Mays (No. 24), Dwight Gooden (No. 16) and Darryl Strawberry (No. 18) as players who have had their jersey numbers retired by the Mets. The Mets have retired three other numbers: manager Gil Hodges (No. 14), manager Casey Stengel (No. 37) and Jackie Robinson (No. 42).
Wright, a seven-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, and Seaver are the only players to have their numbers retired and enter the Mets Hall of Fame on the same day.
“David Wright personified class on and off the field,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a news release. “David is the definition of a Met . . . For a generation of Mets fans, he was their Tom Seaver, so it is a fitting tribute that only David and Tom have gone into the Mets Hall of Fame and had their number retired on the same day. He continues to contribute to the organization today, serving as an ambassador. Congratulations on this tremendous honor, David.””
