Saturday was a night that David Wright — and Mets fans — will never forget.
There have been plenty of ups and downs in the career of New York Mets third baseman David Wright, but it was all ups on Saturday when he made his final Major League appearance.
Wright has battled neck, back and shoulder injuries that have required surgery and kept him out of action since 2016. But on Friday night, he made his first appearance in over two years as a pinch-hitter for the Mets. Then on Saturday, he started the game against the Miami Marlins and played four innings before being removed and officially calling it a career.
Emotions were running wild at Citi Field. Wright took his position at third base ahead of the fifth inning, before Mets manager Mickey Calloway came out to remove him. Wright then made a very long, emotional exit as the New York crowd let him hear it for well over three minutes.
As Wright left the field, he shook hands with the umpires and hugged his teammates, all amidst a roaring ovation.
While Wright certainly won’t ever forget that moment, the most adorable moment of the night happened before the game started when his two-year-old daughter threw out the first pitch to him as her catcher.
“Mets fans, the city, have gone over the top with this,” Wright said, via ESPN.com. “I didn’t know what to expect tonight. I thought I got all of my tears out, but I got in that clubhouse [after leaving the game] and they started flowing again. What a night.
“If I could say thank you a million times to these fans, this city, this organization … it’s first class.”
Wright spent his entire 14-year career with the Mets, and made the All-Star team seven times in that span. He will be remembered fondly by Mets fans for a long time.