David Wright is undoubtedly one of the greatest Mets of all time, and his No. 5, though not retired by the team just yet, will one day hang high above the seats at Citi Field.
But how exactly did Wright end up with his No. 5? The story may surprise you.
Speaking with Howie Rose for an exclusive interview to promote his newly released book The Captain, which he wrote with Anthony DiComo, Wright told the story of how – and more interestingly why – the No. 5 jersey was given to him upon being called up in 2004.
As it turns out, there are two Hall of Famers who are a big part of the tale.
“I was number 72 in spring training that year. Obviously, I didn’t make the team,” Wright explained to Rose. “And I got called up, and for whatever reason I just – the biggest thing in my mind was I wanted to walk in and just see my locker set up. You’ve seen the pictures of the locker with the snow whites hanging in the locker, or the pinstripes or whatever we were wearing, and everything just looked so neat. So I flew in that morning, flying over Shea Stadium into LaGuardia the morning of my debut, so excited to get to the stadium and see my locker.
“I get there and I walk through the doors – and I get there real early – and to see the snow whites with the number five hanging in my locker, it was like this “I made it” moment where I just sat there and stared at it for probably five or 10 minutes. Guys probably thought there was something wrong with me. But I was sitting there staring at it in my locker, and I certainly wasn’t going to ask for any number. It was a surprise to me.
"A few years later, I’m sitting down with (longtime equipment manager Charlie Samuels) and we’re just talking, and I said ‘Hey, quick question. Why’d you pick number five for me? That’s quite an honor for a young player, single digit.’ He said, ‘I’ve got two reasons: George Brett and Brooks Robinson.’ And I said ‘Wow,’ and it caught me off guard. He said, ‘That’s the type of player that I was hoping that we were getting,’ and I apologize for letting him down, but it was really cool to hear him give me that explanation and the number five for that reason.”
And incredibly, Wright didn’t know that reasoning for his jersey number for a few seasons, before he finally thought to ask why the No. 5 was hanging in his locker that day.
“I had no idea,” said Wright. “I had my fingers crossed for number 4. I wore number 4 as an amateur a lot, on travel ball and stuff. They would have no reason to know that, but Matt Galante Sr. was our third base coach and he wore number 4, and he had a hundred years of baseball, so I certainly wasn’t going to go ask him for number 4, so a few years later I finally got up the courage to ask Charlie why, and that was the reason.”
It’s difficult to imagine Wright playing with any other number on his back, but now we know how Wright and his No. 5 became a perfect match.
You can watch Wright's full interview with Rose by clicking here.