Mets get set for a weekend tilt with Atlanta, and it's time to retire David Wright's number
Mets get set for a weekend tilt with Atlanta, and it's time to retire David Wright's number
David Wright officially retired due to back and neck injuries after the 2018 season
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were off on Thursday and will welcome Atlanta to Citi Field for a weekend series beginning tonight
The Battle of the Badges charity game between the NYPD and FDNY scheduled for Thursday night was postponed until 8/17 due to rain
The Mets still have a 2% chance to make the playoffs (Tweet)
Brett Baty homered in his return to Triple-A Syracuse as part of their 10-1 rout of Scranton-Wilkes Barre
RHP Coleman Crow - a pitching prospect the Mets acquired in the Eduardo Escobar trade with the Angels - will undergo Tommy John Surgery and will miss the entire 2024 season (MLB.com)
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (52-62) vs. Braves (72-41)
Starting pitchers: RHP Tylor Megill (6-5, 5.45 ERA) vs. RHP Charlie Morton (10-6, 3.86 ERA)
Where: Citi Field – Flushing, NY
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY, MLB Network
It’s time for the Mets to retire David Wright’s number✍️
There are some things in life that long before they actually occur live in that gray area of being unofficially official. Predetermined inevitabilities that everyone involved knows will ultimately come to fruition.
For example, there will never be another New York Met to wear #5.
Third baseman David Wright became the Mets golden boy pretty much from the moment he debuted in July of 2004, and he wasted no time developing into one of the most prolific offensive players in team history.
Wright blasted 20 or more homers in six different seasons, drove in more than 100 runs for the Mets five times, contributed more than 40 doubles five times, represented the Amazins in seven all-star games, and while he never won it, finished in the top 10 of the NL MVP voting four different years.
He finished with a fantastic lifetime slash line of .296/.376/.491, owns nearly every discernable club record, and was a model of consistency for this organization for well over a decade.
Unfortunately, thanks to a frustrating case of spinal stenosis, the back half of Wright’s career became a tragic case of what could have been.
Following the end of the 2014 season Wright was only able to participate in 77 regular season Major League games over a span of four years before ultimately retiring for good, but when healthy and in his prime he was undoubtedly the marquee attraction in Queens for a long time.
And the Norfolk, VA native’s value to this organization reached far beyond his performance between the lines.
He was a fiercely passionate leader who served as the Mets captain for several seasons, and consistently made himself available to the media after every game, embracing his role as the face of the franchise. He attempted to help recruit free-agents to Queens, was an exemplary role model, and routinely went above and beyond in the community.
Following his retirement he became a special advisor to the organization’s front office in 2019, and six months ago served as a guest instructor during spring training, specifically working with young third basemen Brett Baty and Mark Vientos.
Under Steve Cohen the Mets have done essentially everything night and day better than they did under the Wilpon regime, and honoring the organization’s history is no different.
It understandably will not happen this year, but at some point in the summer of 2024 I’d really love the number 5 to officially be retired. The team of course doesn’t issue it to anyone now anyway, and the Mets have known that day was coming for a half dozen years now too. And retiring such a fan favorite’s number will be a move that will resonate heavily with the team’s fan base.
Let’s get this on the calendar, Uncle Stevie.
Around the League 🚩
LHP Matthew Liberatore—who the Rays traded to St. Louis in the deal that brought them OF Randy Arozarena in 2020—went into the Trop and fired eight shutout innings to defeat his former team
Ex Met Noah Syndergaard went 5.2 strong innings and earned the win in Cleveland’s 4-3 win over Toronto
Another former Met, Colin Holderman, earned the save in Pittburgh’s 7-5 win over the Braves
The Nationals were not no-hit by the Phillies—in fact they collected 10 knocks—but it still wasn’t enough as they fell 6-2