DAVE’S TOP 10 LIST
The greatests moments from a Met great
With David Wright effectively announcing Thursday he will hang up the cleats after returning for one more game on Sept. 29, we remember some his most memorable plays during his storied career.
1. July 21, 2004 — THE DEBUT
After a brief stint in Triple-A, the Mets call-up phenom Wright to fill the void at third base, a position that had plagued them for decades. Wright bats seventh vs. the Montreal Expos, now the Washington Nationals, and goes 0for-4, but the start of a career that would anchor the hot corner for more a decade and half is born. Four games later, he hits his first major-league home run off John Patterson.
2. Aug. 9, 2005 — THE CATCH
Wright makes the greatest and most memorable defensive play of his career. San Diego Padre Brian Giles bloops a soft liner over Wright’s head. Wright darts back for the ball, and seeing it move toward his right shoulder, extends his bare hand and snatches it out of the air before crashing onto the grass in shallow left field.
3. May 19, 2006 — NO MO PROBLEMS
Wright blasts a walk-off hit off Mariano Rivera over Johnny Damon’s head in center field in the bottom of the ninth inning, driving in Paul Lo Duca from second base to win this Subway Series meeting. It remains one of Wright’s favorite highlights from all the Subway Series he’s played.
“I was 23 years old at the time and getting a chance to get a walk-off hit against arguably the greatest closer of all time, that’s pretty exciting,”
Wright said back in 2015. “I remember my parents came in that day, so my parents got a chance to see me get the hit against Mariano — definitely one of my great memories from the Subway Series. Anytime you can have any success against Mo, that’s a big deal.”
4. July 12, 2006 — A STAR IS BORN
In his first All-Star Game atbat, Wright homers on the very first pitch he sees, a game-tying shot at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park off lefty Kenny Rodgers. Wright becomes the second Met to homer in the Midsummer Classic, joining Lee Mazzilli who did it in 1979.
5. Aug. 7, 2008 — THE WALK-OFF
Wright hits his only walk-off home run against Heath Bell and the San Diego Padres, hooking a slider down the leftfield line and into the seats. In a lost season, a rare late-season highlight.
“We needed that,” said Wright after the game. “It’s been a topsy-turvy couple of days, but to come out and take two of three from a team that’s been giving us trouble all year… pretty good.”
6. April 13, 2009 — OPENING WRIGHT
On the night the Mets open Citi Field, Wright, who had been concerned about the new park’s dimensions, hits the first Mets homer in the fifth inning off San Diego pitcher Walter Silva. Of course this isn’t the first homer in the park’s history as the first batter of the game, the Padres’ Jody Gerut launches one into the rightfield stands on the third pitch of the game.
7. July 5, 2012 — TAKE THAT PAP
In a bad season, his walk-off hit against hated rival Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon is a small victory. Wright gets a pie in the face from second baseman Justin Turner.
8. March 10, 2013 — CAPTAIN AMERICA
Wright’s grand slam helps Team USA beat Italy in the WBC, earning the Mets captain a new nickname, Captain America!
“Up to this point if you say, ‘Hey, what’s the most fun you’ve had on a baseball field?’ I’d say the World Series,” Wright tells MLB.com back in 2017. “But I would say in the conversation of cool things that I’ve gotten to do on a baseball field, the World Baseball Classic is toward the top of that list for sure.
“Getting a chance to represent your country, and put that jersey on, and hear the chants of ‘U-S-A, U-S-A’ — that’s one of the highlights of my career.”
9. Aug. 24, 2015 — WRIGHT AT HOME
After missing 115 games because of spinal stenosis, Wright hits a home run in his very first at-bat. His homer sparks a rally and the Mets go on to hit eight homers and beat the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
“I had to be careful, I almost pulled a Wilmer Flores out there,” Wright said, jokingly referring to the night the Mets second baseman cried on the field. “You have to try to keep your emotions in check. You’re proud you get back to this point, you’re happy and you’re satisfied.
“At the same time you understand we’re right in the middle of a pennant race. We’ve got to play good baseball. I think I am up to that challenge.”
10. Oct. 21, 2015 — HELLO WORLD
The Captain helps lead Mets to first pennant since 2000, as Amazin’s complete four-game sweep of Cubs. Wright bats .286 in the series and scores two runs in the Game 4 clincher.
“Look at us now. The ’69 Miracle Mets. The ’86 Mets, the You Gotta Believe Mets (1973). The 2000 Mets.
“Now, to be mentioned in the same breath, we’re going to go down in history as one of the greatest Mets teams ever assembled, and I can’t be more proud of that.
“This is one of the best days ever for me.”