Mets third baseman David Wright was on a Hall of Fame trajectory before spinal stenosis derailed his career during his age-32 season in 2015.
Mets third baseman David Wright was on a Hall of Fame trajectory before spinal stenosis derailed his career during his age-32 season in 2015.
MLB Hall of Fame voters are seemingly starting to understand Wright's greatness.
After getting 6.2 percent of the vote in 2024 during his first year on the ballot (5.0 percent is necessary to remain on the ballot), Wright got a small increase up to 8.1 percent in 2025.
This year, Wright got another decent bump up.
Wright was at 19.6 percent of the vote on Tuesday afternoon (via Ryan Thibodaux's ballot tracker),and wound up on 14.8 percent of the ballots (63 votes) when the results were revealed.
From his rookie season in 2004 through 2013, Wright slashed .301/.382/.506 with 222 home runs, 345 doubles, 876 RBI, 853 runs scored, and 183 stolen bases.
During that span, he was a seven-time All-Star, won two Gold Gloves, and finished top 10 in MVP voting four times.
After being diagnosed with spinal stenosis in 2015 -- a chronic ailment that stemmed from a back injury Wright suffered on a slide in 2011 -- Wright played just 77 games until his retirement after the 2018 season.
But for all intents and purposes, Wright's career ended in 2016. The two games he played in 2018 were so he could go out on his own terms in front of the Citi Field fans.
Wright's jump on the ballot is similar to the one being enjoyed by Dustin Pedroia, who received just 11.9 percent in 2025 before getting 20.7 percent of the vote this year.
Like Wright, Pedroia's career was shortened due to injury -- he suffered a bad knee injury in 2017 during his age-33 season and played just nine more games before retiring.
Pedroia amassed 51.8 WAR during his career, while Wright's WAR was 49.1.
A legitimate Hall of Fame case can be made for Wright, especially when compared to some of the players who have gained election in recent decades -- including Harold Baines (38.8 WAR, 121 OPS+) and Jim Rice (47.7 WAR, 128 OPS+). Wright's career OPS+ was 133.
Wright has seven more years to gain election, unless he falls below five percent of the voting percentage on any given year.
Category: General Sports
