Mets' Wright given piece of Fenway scoreboard from Pedroia
David Wright's playing career will draw to a close after the New York Mets' final series of the season, and during his team's set against the Boston Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia took the opportunity to give his retiring friend a farewell gift.
Before Saturday afternoon's game, Pedroia privately presented Wright with a No. 5 panel - the number Wright wore his entire career - from the legendary Fenway Park scoreboard.
Pedroia give David Wright a number 5 from the Monster pic.twitter.com/FjYiwqnA5j
— Heart of MLB (@HeartofMLB) September 15, 2018
"Really cool gesture," Wright told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com after the fact.
"He's certainly one of my favorite players to watch," Wright continued about the currently-sidelined Pedroia. "I don't necessarily collect a lot of stuff. The stuff that I do collect is from players that I respect, and players that I enjoy watching play. He's at the top of that list. … He's a really good person. It's cool to call him a friend."
Wright, 35, held a press conference on Thursday announcing that he would be activated off of the disabled list for the Mets' final homestand and that would likely mark the end of his playing career. The third baseman has two years remaining on his contract so he is not likely to officially retire and forego $27 million he is still owed.
On what seemed like a Hall-of-Fame trajectory, Wright hasn't been a full-time player since 2014 due to injuries, including being diagnosed with spinal stenosis during the 2015 campaign. Wright's career, which will amount to just fewer than 1590 games, included seven All-Star appearances and a pair of Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.
Affectionately nicknamed Captain America for his role in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, Wright was teammates with Pedroia during the 2009 tournament, where the United States of America placed fourth. Pedroia, 35, has been held to three games this season with a recurring knee injury that required offseason surgery.
For Wright, it was not only an honor but a surprise that Pedroia, "a notorious trash talker," opted to be kind, noting that "this is probably the first time he hasn't been mean to me."