Former Mets star David Wright adjusting to family life

Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

Jan. 19--VIRGINIA BEACH -- Retirement hasn't yet sunk in for David Wright, but he sees it coming.

The Hampton Roads native and New York Mets legend is less than four months into his permanent offseason, and the prospect of no longer being a baseball player remains a bit of a mystery.

"I think it'll hit me in February, and I'll really start missing it because that's when you get the juices flowing," Wright said Friday at his ninth annual Vegas Night fundraiser to benefit Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. "Spring training starts. You get to see the guys again. You're in the clubhouse and you kind of get ready for that season."

For now, though, Wright has shifted his focus to his wife, model Molly Beers, and their two young daughters, 2 1/2-year-old Olivia and 8-month-old Madison.

The family will soon move to Manhattan Beach, Calif., where Beers grew up, and split time between there, Norfolk and New York, where Wright will work with the Mets front office as a special assistant to the GM.

Olivia just started school in California, and her dad, who was forced to end his 14-year big league career in September after a slew of medical issues, has played chauffeur.

"So he's going to be busy," Beers said. "Luckily, he's going to work with the Mets and be a part of the organization still."

The genial Wright, 36, hit .296 with 242 home runs and 970 RBIs over a career that began in 2004 and spanned 1,585 major league games.

A seven-time NL All-Star third baseman once dubbed the "Face of MLB," Wright was one of the game's most popular players for more than a decade. But back, leg and neck injuries derailed several attempts to recapture that prominence.

As he entered a vast ballroom where sharply dressed donors played on full-size casino tables and a DJ spun upbeat music, Wright graciously signed autographs and greeted hundreds of well-wishing fans individually.

The event raised $1.2 million in its first eight years, including more than $170,000 in 2018 alone. Wright, the Mets' longtime captain, is a frequent visitor to children fighting illnesses at CHKD, the beneficiaries of the fundraiser.

Among Friday's gathering, as he is every year, was Michael Cuddyer, a former star at Chesapeake's Great Bridge High whose 15-year big league career with the Minnesota Twins, the Colorado Rockies and Wright's Mets ended after the 2015 season.

Cuddyer, Wright's longtime close friend, said his advice on retirement was simple.

"You just keep living," Cuddyer, 39, said. "That's basically what it is, you know? The guy's got his kids. He's got his family. He's got what he's going to be doing with the Mets. Other than that, he's just living the family life."

Wright, a first-round draft pick out of Hickory High in Chesapeake in 2001, was owed a reported $27 million by the Mets over the next two seasons.

According to Forbes, he would not have received that money had he retired voluntarily. Because the Mets released Wright this month and assigned him to his new role, the club reached a settlement with its insurance company "that alleviates the short-term burden on the Mets while ensuring Wright gets most of the money he was guaranteed."

Cuddyer, who has worked for the Twins as a special assistant for baseball operations since 2016, said that although his own decision to retire became increasingly easy as his priorities shifted toward his family, he wanted no say in the conclusion to his friend's career.

"I don't want to be responsible for that," Cuddyer said, laughing.

Though Wright discussed retirement at great length with his wife, the decision to keep a hand in baseball was not difficult.

"Oh, very easy," Wright said. "Obviously, my family is my No. 1 priority, and I want to be there to see my two girls kind of grow and be there for the stages that a lot of guys miss when they play the game.

"So to be around is important to me. But I also wanted to be a part of the game. And not just be a part of the game; be a part of the Mets family and the organization. That was important to me."

As for filling the rest of his time, Beers has some ideas. The power couple's daughters will get a large share of it, but Wright no longer has to consume himself with becoming a better and healthier baseball player.

"They are daddy's girls, so that aspect is going to be great," Beers said. "We just have to find him a new hobby. Maybe golf, maybe some wine. Who knows?"

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