Which Mets legend will be next to have uniform number retired?
(From left) Gary Carter, David Wright and John Franco are among the Mets greats who could have their numbers retired by the club sooner than later. Credit: AP
David Wright, living the good life in retirement, could be the next Mets legend to have his uniform number retired after Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry were honored by the club earlier this season.
Or it could be John Franco. Or perhaps the late Gary Carter. The Mets will announce their choice in the offseason.
Wright, who was at Citi Field on Tuesday to promote the Sept. 12 Battle of the Badges charity baseball game between the NYPD and FDNY, said he only thinks about having his No. 5 heading up to the rafters when someone asks him about it.
Pete Alonso told Newsday in June that Wright’s number should be the next one to be retired. Many Mets fans agree and are hoping the Mets will announce David Wright uniform number retirement day after the season.
“First of all, I appreciate Pete saying that,” Wright told Newsday outside the home dugout at Citi Field. “It's such an incredible honor that just being asked the question, I feel humbled by it. If it were to happen, great. If not, it's something when you look up there, it's some of my heroes, some guys I played with, some guys I idolized growing up. So just to be even mentioned in that category is quite the honor.”
Wright, 41, is the Mets' all-time leader in at-bats (5,998), hits (1,777), runs (949), doubles (390), walks (762) and RBIs (970), and is second to Strawberry in home runs (252 to 242).
Wright’s career was cut short by a serious back condition. Earlier this year, in his first year of eligibility for the baseball Hall of Fame, he received 6.2% of the vote, which kept him on the ballot for at least one more year.
A spot in Cooperstown is unlikely for Wright at this juncture. But becoming the 10th Mets player or manager to have his number retired by the club could be in Wright’s immediate future. And no one would appreciate it more than the kid from Norfolk, Virginia, who grew up a Mets fan and played his entire 14-year career for the franchise.
“I get a different perspective than a lot of people because I grew up a Mets fan,” Wright said. “I got drafted by the Mets, came up through the system, spent my entire career here, still have tremendous relationships. I think I kind of understand the history and understand how monumental it would be. I remember as a kid trying to hit like Darryl Strawberry. I remember I caught one year like in Little League and trying to emulate Gary Carter.
“It means the world to me, and those memories are what's plastered all over my office back at home — me catching the first pitch from Tom Seaver [before the 2013 All-Star Game]. Me and Mike [Piazza]. These are the things that I cherish the most. Having grown up a Mets fan and now kind of being a part of that family.”
Franco, the Mets’ all-time saves leader with 276, was also at Citi Field on Tuesday for an alumni event.
Franco wore No. 31 for the Mets, but he gave it up when the club acquired Piazza in 1998 and switched to 45. Franco pointed to Piazza’s No. 31 above the leftfield upper deck with the other retired numbers.
“My number’s already up there,” he said. “When they ask me, ‘When are they going to retire your number?', I say, ‘It’s already up there.' ”
But, Franco added, “That’s not for me to decide. That would be an honor for me, that’s for sure. I’m sure one day David’s going to be up there. But it’s not for me to decide.”
But is it something the Brooklyn native has thought about?
“Once they [the Mets] started doing it, I mean, I think about it,” Franco said. “Definitely. But for me to say it should be me, I’m sure they have a panel. It would be nice. It would be an honor.”
Along with Gooden, Strawberry and Piazza, the Mets have retired the numbers for Keith Hernandez (17), Gil Hodges (14), Jerry Koosman (36), Willie Mays (24), Seaver (41) and Casey Stengel (37). Jackie Robinson’s 42 has been retired throughout baseball since 1997.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
