New York Mets: Mets and Marlins gather again to say goodbye

This evening, the New York Mets will face the Miami Marlins in New York to say goodbye to one of the icons of the franchise in what will likely be an incredibly emotional game. Thing is, we’ve done refrain with these two teams quite recently.

The New York Mets will say goodbye to captain and third baseman David Wright in a ceremony on Saturday after he made his first appearance in a game on Friday night, pinch-hitting for his first MLB plate appearance since 2016. That was the year of another goodbye involving the Mets and Marlins that had a drastically more somber tone.

On September 26, 2016, the Miami Marlins hosted the New York Mets in their first game played since the loss of their dynamic young ace pitcher Jose Fernandez. Fernandez was killed in a boating accident on September 25th and the Marlins and Atlanta Braves canceled their scheduled game on that day.

Returning to the field was horrific enough for the Marlins players, but the emotion of the moment became overwhelming immediately. After an uneventful top of the first inning for the New York Mets, the Marlins sent Dee Gordon to the plate.

Gordon, like his fellow Marlins teammates, was adorned in a “Fernandez 16” Marlins jersey in tribute to their lost ace. Gordon wore Fernandez’s helmet and the left-handed hitter took New York Mets starter Bartolo Colon‘s first pitch out of the right-handed batter’s box in tribute to his former teammate. He then exchanged helmets and switched sites of the plate. That’s when the eyes of every baseball fan suddenly found dust in the room:

Gordon was bawling before he reached second base, and unlike most home run celebrations where players are jumping and high-fiving, this one was gentle and involved each player getting a chance to hug Gordon. The New York Mets and home plate umpire John Hirschbeck allowed the celebration for the fans of the Marlins and their players to go on for an extended time, recognizing the significance of the moment.

More from Miami Marlins

• The Miami Marlins actually do have a Jazz Chisholm problem
• Square one at catcher? Miami Marlins sign former backstop Jorge Alfaro
• Miami Marlins remake their infield at MLB trade deadline for playoff push
• Miami Marlins make late night splash with David Robertson trade
• MLB trade deadline: Nationals and Mets for sale, plus wish lists for Phillies, Braves, Marlins

Tonight will not be a night of tragedy beyond the sad tragedy of what David Wright could have possibly been. He is ranked 23rd in JAWS score among all third basemen in the history of the game, just off the pace of a typical Hall of Fame third baseman, and he’ll fall short of that standard, but through his age 30 season in 2013, he had put up a .301/.382/.506 career line with an average of 22 home runs and 18 stolen bases per season.

Sadly, Wright’s health collapsed, and with it, seemingly, the fortune of the New York Mets, though the team fought back into the World Series in 2015, with Wright able to contribute a home run during that Series. Before pinch hitting on Friday night, he had not had a plate appearance in the major leagues since 2016, however.

Tonight, the New York Mets will say goodbye to a franchise icon, one of the faces of their organization’s history. The Miami Marlins will no doubt be gracious in their part. The teams have the experience of saying goodbye recently.