I view this as just an incredible, organic relationship between me and my family, the city, the organization, the fan base," Wright said in a news conference before the ceremony.

And so for a generation of Mets fans, Wright will forever be the standard — the player who sparked their appreciation of, their devotion to, their obsession with the Mets. No players may wear No. 5 ever again, but spend a summer weeknight at Citi Field, and you’ll see a hundred of those jerseys, in plain white or pinstripes, in black or blue.

The ironic part about all this — about the number retirement, about the Mets Hall of Fame induction, about The Captain, the No. 5 becoming immortalized in the left-field corner at Citi Field, the entire celebration that unfolded — is that David Wright doesn’t want to be the center of attention.