David Wright will be honored Saturday at Citi Field by having his No. 5 retired by the Mets.
But twice Friday, people who knew Wright well said if things had worked out just a bit differently, it wouldn’t be just the Mets celebrating Wright.
“David is one of the greatest players,” Billy Wagner said during a Zoom call in advance of his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame next weekend.
“If he’s not hurt, he’s probably gonna have a chance to be in the Hall of Fame,” said the former Mets closer, who spent parts of four seasons in Queens with Wright. “A great leader, a great person, a great teammate. I’m so excited because he deserves this. I think he is the face and captain of the Mets. We’ve had a lot of people go through the Mets like [Tom] Seaver [and others], and he’s just right there with the greats.”
A few hours later, one of Wright’s old managers, Terry Collins, shared a similar sentiment while praising the third baseman.
“He meant a lot to the organization,” Collins said prior to the Mets facing the Reds at Citi Field, where Collins and plenty of others will be on hand to cheer Wright.
“He’s absolutely humbled by what’s gonna happen [Saturday],” the manager said. “And I talked to him and told him, ‘If you don’t get hurt, we’re gonna be talking about what’s gonna happen [later] in July [at the Hall of Fame].’ But he was just happy to do what he could do as long as he could do it.”
For Wright, that meant playing 14 years for the Mets before the back and neck woes that plagued the latter part of his career eventually led to his retirement in 2018.
His impact began when Wright was drafted by the Mets with their first pick in 2001, continued through his MLB debut in 2004 and the team’s most recent World Series appearance in 2015.
Wright missed more than four months of the 2015 season, diagnosed with spinal stenosis, before he returned to the lineup in late August, with the Mets holding a healthy lead in the NL East.
Collins recalled Wright telling him he didn’t expect to hit in the middle of the lineup when he came back or disturb the way they were performing.
“He always put the team first,” Collins said. “That’s why we named him captain.”
But instead of listening to Wright’s lineup advice in his return in Philadelphia on Aug. 24, 2015, Collins penciled Wright in the cleanup spot, and he responded in style to lead off the top of the second inning.
“What does he do?” Collins said. “He hits a homer his first time up. … He came back and did that and then hit that World Series home run [against Kansas City].”
And his presence still is felt now, with Francisco Lindor noting how special it was to be given the same locker Wright had at Citi Field.
Lindor also politely declined to discuss in detail the possibility of being named the Mets’ first captain since Wright in deference to Saturday’s festivities.
“It’s always great to be mentioned with him, but this weekend is about David Wright,” Lindor said. “He deserves all the love. Whatever happens with [the captaincy], happens. But nothing can take away from David Wright.”
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