On eve of David Wright's number being retired by Mets: A tip of cap from Yankees

In the run-up to the Mets retiring David Wright’s No. 5 and inducting him into their Hall of Fame on Saturday, you are going to hear and read a lot about what a great guy Wright is.

Here’s the thing, according to members of the Yankees family:

It’s all true.

Ask people associated with the Yankees who were around during some part of Wright’s career and you will get a smile, a memory, a story. Not all of the anecdotes are about the former Mets captain’s prowess on the field.

Let’s start with manager Aaron Boone.

“I’ll give you a really good little piece,” Boone told Newsday last week. “Really classy, cool thing that David Wright did.

“My last game of my career, when I was with the Astros — I had heart surgery in ’09, I came back and played in September, pretty much knew it was it — I started the last game of the season at Citi Field, and unbeknownst to me, after the game, we went into the clubhouse, kind of knew it was over. [Astros player] Geoff Blum had communicated with David and David got third base for me. They gave me third base after the game. David, I know, made it happen.”

Did Boone and Wright know each other before that?

“Not real well,” Boone said. “Conversations, when I played against him. He’s awesome. Great guy. And I bump into him every now and then and I wouldn’t say we’re, like, hanging out. But I’ve always felt like he’s a really good dude.”

Wright’s career spanned from 2004-2016 with a two-game farewell at the end of the 2018 season. A serious back condition robbed Wright of many potential seasons at the end.

Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who debuted with Arizona in 2011, was along with Wright a member of the NL team at the 2013 All-Star Game, which was held at Citi Field.

Not only was Wright a player, he also acted as something of a host for the event.

“Probably the memory I have is with the All-Star Game there in Citi Field,” Goldschmidt said. “It was my first All-Star Game. Really just seeing how he handled all that — he was the face of that All-Star Game. He was like, the host. Just to see how he handled that in such a professional way, I remember noticing that that year: ‘Wow, that's a really high-quality person.’

“Obviously, we know his stats, but the way he represented the Mets, himself, the game of baseball, I really appreciated. And he played that same way where he always respected the game, he always played hard. The type of player that we all emulate.”

In case you were wondering, in 53 Subway Series games against the Yankees, Wright hit .305 with nine home runs and an .878 OPS. His walk-off single off Mariano Rivera on May 19, 2006 (a blast that one-hopped the centerfield wall at Shea Stadium) is often cited as one of the top moments in Subway Series history.

Another of Wright’s career highlights took place in 2013 at the World Baseball Classic. He hit .438 with a grand slam and 10 RBIs for Team USA to earn the nickname “Captain America.”

Giancarlo Stanton, whose first MLB season was in 2010, was on that WBC team, too.

“Awesome,” Stanton said. “The focus, the composure. No moment’s too big. I was able to watch him in big league [spring training] camps before the big leagues and then in the big leagues. Awesome player. Always a great at-bat, always great to watch.”

Yankees captain Aaron Judge made his big-league debut with 27 games at the end of the 2016 season, so he never faced Wright during a regular-season game.

But captain to captain, Judge certainly knows about the impact Wright had on the Mets and New York baseball in general.

“Wow,” Judge said when asked his thoughts on Wright. “He was one of the best third basemen. I loved watching him play just because he’s a guy who could hit the ball all over the park.

“But, also, just the leadership. The team was always drawn to him and kind of everything went through him. All the runs they went on, it started with No. 5. He’s a special player. Haven’t had a chance to talk to him too much, but definitely wish him the best. It’s very deserving, getting his number retired.”