David Wright on Thursday announced his plans to retire after the season, and he received plenty of love from fans and colleagues in response. One of the nicest tributes he received came from Chipper Jones, a fellow third baseman who was inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer.
Jones said he “admired” the way Wright played and carried himself, respected him as a captain, and wished him a happy retirement.
Loved watching u play. As a fellow 3rd baseman, I admired the way u carried yourself with confidence and class. There’s a reason u wore a “C” on ur jersey. People looked up to u and knew when the chips were down, u would deliver. Here’s to a happy retirement, David Wright!
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) September 15, 2018
That’s a pretty awesome tribute.
Wright came up to the bigs in 2004 and quickly developed into a franchise player for the New York Mets. He made seven All-Star teams in an 8-year span and finished top-10 in MVP voting four times.
Unfortunately, Wright’s career was derailed by spinal stenosis — a chronic condition — and he has barely been able to make it onto the field. He’s only played 75 games since 2015 despite his best efforts to be in playing shape. Wright is expected to be activated from the DL on Sept. 25 and play in the Mets’ final series of the season before retiring during the offseason.
Saying Wright will one day join Jones in the Hall of Fame is probably a stretch, but there is no doubt that he was on that track until his career was sunk by injuries.
