The tears in David Wright’s eyes and wide smile on his face as he departed the field for a final time best summed up Saturday night’s emotion at Citi Field.
With sadness and joy all rolled into one, No. 5 hugged each of his teammates as they stood outside the Mets dugout, tipped his cap to the adoring sellout crowd, and headed toward life after baseball.
In a last hurrah, Wright received two plate appearances against the Marlins and played four innings at third base, giving Mets fans and their captain the kind of closure they deserved.
“This is love,” Wright told the crowd after the Mets’ 1-0 victory in 13 innings. “I can’t say anything else — this is love.”
Wright’s message followed a 3 ½ minute video tribute highlighting his career. Most of all, Wright seemed overwhelmed by the 43,928 fans who had come to see him play for a final time.
“It’s so kind and it’s so generous and it’s so, at points for me, undeserving,” Wright said. “When you see the stadium packed like that, there is no words to describe the feeling of walking out there and having your name chanted and seeing the signs.
“All these fans thanking me. I should be thanking them for everything they allowed me to experience these last 14 or 15 years.”
Wright drew a walk against Trevor Richards in the first inning. In the fourth, he popped up to first base. All that remained was the final farewell, which occurred as Wright returned to third base before the start of the fifth.
After Wright and his longtime teammate Jose Reyes playfully hugged for the KissCam that displayed them on the center field screen, manager Mickey Callaway appeared from the dugout and removed Wright from the game.
“I held up good until I saw Mickey come out and then it kind of hit me,” Wright said. “Then I turn around and see our bullpen come onto the field and all the guys from our dugout come on to the field and, for a split second, I looked around the stadium and saw all the signs and heard the chants and everything kind of hits you at once.”
The 35-year-old Wright, who is battling spinal stenosis that will prevent him from continuing his baseball career, received a hero’s sendoff.
It started in batting practice, with Wright receiving cheers as he stepped into the cage and continued each time “The Face of the Franchise” emerged from the dugout.
The pregame festivities included Wright’s 2-year-old daughter, Olivia, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to her dad. Then Wright took the field in his first start for the Mets since May 27, 2016.
Defensively, Wright handled a grounder without incident. In his first plate appearance he worked the count full before drawing a walk. Then came the pop out in foul territory to first baseman Peter O’Brien his final at-bat. O’Brien was mercilessly booed when he came to the plate for the rest of the game.
“I feel bad for the guy,” Wright said. “But I don’t feel bad for the guy.”
Wright’s official comeback was Friday night, when he entered as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning and grounded out to third base on the first pitch he saw from Marlins right-hander Jose Urena. So his official line for the season will be 0-for-2 with a walk.
“At least I have an on-base percentage this year,” Wright said.
Wright’s strength in returning from three surgeries and the debilitating stenosis, along with his character, are the traits Callaway most admires in the player.
“It’s needed on a championship team to have a guy like David Wright,” Callaway said. “He exemplifies everything you want out of a player, he holds his teammates accountable, but first and foremost he holds himself accountable.”
Wright’s surprise guests for his finale included former teammates Michael Cuddyer and Cliff Floyd. Cuddyer, a childhood friend of Wright’s who played on the 2015 Mets, flew in from Norfolk, Va., just for the occasion. Floyd was a veteran player with the Mets when Wright arrived to the major leagues in 2004.
Jacob deGrom paid Wright the ultimate compliment.
“He’s honestly the best teammate I’ve ever had,” deGrom said. “I was talking to my wife on the way home [Friday] and said, ‘I am going to miss this guy.’ ”