David Wright’s No. 5 Officially Retired by Mets

July 19, will forever go down as “David Wright Day” at Citi Field.

The city of New York forever retired No. 5 for the Captain, David Wright. It was one of the most highly anticipated and happiest occasions in the entire 64 years the Mets have been a team, as described by the master of ceremonies, Mets Hall-of-Famer and current voice of the New York Mets, Howie Rose.

When David Allen Wright was drafted by the Mets in the third round (Pick No. 38 overall) of the 2001 MLB draft, he was only an 18-year-old from Chesapeake, Virginia. Three years later on July 7, 2001, Wright made his MLB debut and quickly became a New York favorite and changed the trajectory of Mets baseball forever.

Wright ended his 14-season career with a .296 average, .376 on-base percentage, .491 slugging, and a .867 OPS. He hit 390 career doubles, 26 triples, 242 home runs, drove in 970 RBIs, and had 949 runs scored.

He was the 2004 MLB Rookie of the Year, named NL player of the week five times, MLB player of the year in 2005, NL Player of the month twice, and participated in the home run derby twice.

Wright made one of the biggest impacts on the Mets organization and has continued to do-so since 2018 when he played his final game. That makes this retirement ceremony one that doesn’t just celebrate Wright’s on-field achievements, but also celebrates the person, the friend, the teammate, and the mentor that Wright is.

Along with Wright’s family and friends, several Mets alumni and former teammates of Wright, as well as special guests, were in attendance for this momentous occasion. Those in attendance included, but was not limited to Steve and Alex Cohen, Jay Horwitz, Tony Carullo, his wife Molly, children Olivia, Madison, and Brooks, his parents Rhon and Elisa, Cliff Floyd, Josh Satin, Jose Reyes, Dave Racaniello, Daniel Murphy, Michael Cuddyer, Joe McEwing, agent Keith Miiller, Terry Collins, and Willie Randolph.

Along with retiring Wright’s jersey number, the Mets honored former visiting clubhouse manager, Tony Carullo, awarding his with the Mets’ Hall-of-Fame lifetime achievement award. It was presented to him by Jay Horowitz.

After introducing Saturday’s recognized guests, Rose went on to describe who Wright was.

He was a 7-time All-Star, 2-time Gold Glove, and 2-time Silver Slugger winner. But more than that, as Rose described, he was a player who impacted the lives of those around him, including always making himself available to talk to fans and going above and beyond to help those in need.

Wright was a huge part of helping the Mets make it to the 2015 MLB World Series with a home run after recovering from injury in the National League Championship Series win that helped send the Mets to the World Series.

As Wright entered the field, he went over to third base, where he spent so much of his time and took a bow, similar to how Seaver took his bow upon his jersey being retired and entered into the Mets Hall-of-Fame.

Wright was then presented with his jersey and a customized mosaic made with photos of teammates, managers, coaches & others who impacted Wright’s career.

And then it was the moment everyone had anticipated as the Mets unveiled his No. 5 at the top of a rainy Citi Field. Wright, with watery eyes, watched as his number was officially displayed and then took to the mic, saying, “You guys are trying to make me cry, don’t do it.”

Wright began his retirement speech recounting the final time he took the mic at Citi Field to retire, September 9, 2018, when the Mets won in extra innings. Though he only drew a walk and popped out in the game, he called the night memorable for one reason:

“That night, I fully realized the extent of the relationship I had developed with the city of New York, and in particular, this Mets fanbase,” said Wright who recounted having his wife and daughters at the game past midnight since the Mets made his final game last extra long. He discussed that night as a night where he realized he had formed “an unbreakable bond with the best fanbase in baseball.”

Though Wright never won a World Series, he described how the Mets fanbase always supported him through the good and the bad and how thankful he was for the support Mets fans showed him through the good and the bad.

Wright closed his speech with the following.

“My three wonderful kids, Olivia, Madison, and Brooks, often use the term, ‘for real life,’ when on occasion they’re telling the truth. I’m gonna borrow their term, this for sure doesn’t feel like ‘for real life.’ Thank you for allowing me to live out my dream in front of you each night. I love you so much and lets go Mets!”

Wright then took a golf cart ride around Citi Field as the 2025 Mets took the field for warm-ups.

Jose Reyes spoke with Steve Gelbs after the ceremony, calling Wright someone who his like a brother to me.

“To be here and this team do that for him, that’s unbelievable,” Reyes stated. “He deserves everything that this organization does for him.”

Cliff Floyd also spoke with the media.

“He never wavers,” said Floyd. “He’s always the same guy. He’s organic and real.”

Michael Cuddyer also commented on his relationship with Wright, someone he called being a hard worker and someone who grinded as hard as he could to attain a goal. Cuddyer played with him in 2015 and explained how Wright humbly commanded the room and was a presence who people wanted to follow. He was always goal-minded and worked as long as he could.

The one moment Cuddyer recounts the most is when they played in Philadelphia and presented the team with cookies in a full uniform.

“He’s a team-first guy. Cares about his friends, his teammates, and cares about the organization deeply,” said Cuddyer.

After having his jersey retired, Wright and his three all threw out first pitches to end the pregame ceremonies. Olivia Wright then shouted, “Play Ball” as the excitement of the day continued and the Mets took the field.

WRIGHT’S PRE-GAME COMMENTS

Wright spoke to the media ahead of his jersey retirement ceremony about what the day meant to him, what the atmosphere had already been like, and how much the city has supported him. He called the morning leading up to the retirement ceremony overwhelmingly supportive.

“The support, whether it’s my family in the first couple rows, friends that have flown from all over the country to come in, the support from the city, seeing No. 5 on the backs of so many people from New York has been humbling.”

“An amazing experience that’s only going to get better. Thanks to the organization, Steve & Alex, they’ve really made this nothing but first class. They’ve gone over the top to accommodate more people than they should’ve and have welcomed my family and I with open arms, and the rest of the alumni,” he stated.

Wright’s last game was in 2018. He called both days emotional days that have their differences, but he described taking off the uniform as one thing vs the day his number is retired as a day that depicts the relationship he and his family have with the organization. He said it does feel like just yesterday that he took the jersey off, but he calls a day like today as a day of coming home.

“It’s a really neat feeling,” Wright said. “It almost to me feels like coming home from a long trip. You get to see familiar phases from ownership to the team and the different smiles you’re accustomed to seeing on a daily basis. It’s really neat and brings back a lot of memories.”

The thing Wright was looking forward to the most when it came to the retirement ceremonies was sharing it with everybody who’s had an impact in getting me to this point. That includes more people than I could name. And that was clear with the long list of renowned guests who were in attendance for his retirement ceremony on Saturday.

Wright said sharing this moment with his children of nine, seven, and four years old is to be able to play the video back years down the road together and remember the moment.

Wright was asked what one piece of advice he would give young athletes growing up, and that is to reach the ceiling, the ceiling of accomplishing your goals.

When he retired from baseball, Wright said it took his heart a while to catch up to his body as he had created a bond with the city and the organization. But he explained how as an a professional athlete, you know when the body can’t go anymore, and though he didn’t have the storybook ending he was looking for, he knew the time was right and that it was his time to call it a career. He explained all the game gave to him.

“The game has given me more than I could ever imagine,” Wright said. “It’s crazy to think I’m up here talking about this right now. This game has given me more than I could’ve ever imagined, and part of me would like to think it’s the work and the effort I put into it.”

Wright certainly gave so much to the organization, and New York will forever be thankful for him and the impact he had and continues to have on New York and the Mets fanbase, and all of baseball as a whole as well.

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