David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the New York Mets. He was drafted by the Mets in 2001 MLB draft and made his MLB debut on July 21, 2004 at Shea Stadium. Wright was nicknamed "Captain America" after his performance in the 2013 World Baseball Classic where he led the tournament with 10 RBI and a .438 batting average. Wright is a seven-time All-Star, a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and a member of the 30–30 club. One of the most beloved players in franchise history, Wright is the Mets' all time leader in career plate appearances and holds many other franchise records for position players. He was named captain of the Mets in 2013, becoming the fourth captain in the team's history. Wright is the third player to play in at least 10 MLB seasons and play his entire MLB career with the Mets. Throughout the latter half of Wright's career, he was plagued by injuries, most notably spinal stenosis, as well as additional ailments in his neck and shoulder. After missing significant time from 2015 to 2018 and receiving word from doctors that his spinal stenosis would not improve, Wright announced that 2018 would be his final season as an active player. Wright finished his major league career with a .296 career batting average, 242 home runs, and 970 runs batted in. Upon completion of his playing career, Wright was then named a special advisor in the Mets front office. Early life Wright was born in Norfolk, Virginia, the oldest of four sons of Rhon, a police officer in the Norfolk Police Department, and Elisa Wright. Wright grew up a Mets fan due to his proximity to the Class AAA Norfolk Tides, whose stadium was ten minutes from his home. Wright took hitting lessons alongside fellow future Major Leaguer Michael Cuddyer in elementary school and played on teams with Ryan Zimmerman, Mark Reynolds, B.J. Upton and Justin Upton during high school. Wright played baseball at Hickory High School in Chesapeake, Virginia. He committed to play college baseball at Georgia Tech before his senior year of high school. As a high school senior, he had a .538 batting average. Professional career Minor leagues Wright was chosen by the Mets in the 2001 MLB