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.

David was born in Norfolk, Virginia, the oldest of four sons of Rhon, a police officer in the Norfolk Police Department, and Elisa Wright (Italian Heritage). Wright grew up a Mets fan due to his proximity to the Class AAA Norfolk Tides, whose stadium was ten minutes from his home. He 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 in high school.

David was drafted by the Mets in the 2001 MLB draft and made his MLB debut on July 21, 2004 at Shea Stadium. He was nicknamed "Captain America" after his performance in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

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. He 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.

In 2004, David was voted as the "This Year in Baseball Awards Rookie of the Year".

He made an over-the-shoulder barehanded catch during the seventh inning of a game at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres on August 9, 2005. With one out in the inning, Brian Giles hit a blooper 20 feet beyond the edge of the outfield grass. Wright, retreating quickly with his back to home plate, extended his bare right hand and caught the ball cleanly while crashing to the field. This play was voted the "This Year in Baseball Play of the Year."

Wright was voted on to his first MLB All-Star Game as the starting third baseman for the NL during the 2006 season. He participated in the 2006 Home Run Derby, reaching the final round but finishing second to Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies. He hit 22 home runs in the contest, including 16 in the first round, the third highest total in any one round in the history of the Home Run Derby. The following night, he hit a home run in his first All-Star Game at-bat off American League starting pitcher Kenny Rogers.

He also participated in the 2006 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series along with teammates José Reyes, Julio Franco, and John Maine.

As of April 21, 2007, Wright had a hitting streak of 26 regular season games; the previous team record was 24, held by Mike Piazza and Hubie Brooks.

On September 16, 2007, Wright became the 29th player in baseball history to join the 30–30 club, after hitting a 7th inning solo home run against the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium. He is only the third player to reach this milestone before his 25th birthday, and only the third Met to reach this milestone in club history, the other two being Howard Johnson and Darryl Strawberry.

On December 22, 2008, Wright was announced as a member of Team USA in the 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held in March 2009. Wright also hit the first Mets home run in Citi Field history on Monday, April 13, 2009, Citi Field's Opening Day.

He was again selected to play third base in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. In the 2013 WBC, Wright hit a grand slam in the United States's game against Italy. It was the second time a United States player hit a grand slam in WBC play. In the second round opener against Puerto Rico, Wright had 5 RBIs. Wright ended the tournament with the most total RBIs of any player and earned the nickname "Captain America".

Wright was a seven-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove Award winner, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and a member of the 30–30 club. He holds Mets franchise records for most career runs batted in (RBIs), doubles, total bases, runs scored, walks, sacrifice flies, times on base, extra base hits, strikeouts, double plays, and hits. He was named captain of the Mets in 2013, becoming the fourth captain in the team's history. Wright is the third player after Ed Kranepool and Ron Hodges to have played his entire MLB career with the Mets.

His book, "The Captain: A Memoir", was published in 2020.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen, and Wikipedia)