When Miami’s Peter O’Brien caught the last out of David Wright’s career on Sept. 29, Mets fans were not amused.
It turns out neither was Wright, who had some fun with it.
As detailed on the “Marlins Hot Stove” podcast Tuesday, the outfielder received a phony signed ball after the game, as a Marlins clubhouse staffer, pretending to be Wright, chided him for catching it by forging his signature and writing, “Haha, you should’ve let it fall.” The next day, Wright got in on the action himself.
“It would be pretty cool if I actually get [Wright] to sign that ball that [the clubhouse employee] wrote on,” O’Brien, a former Yankees prospect, said, via Fish Stripes. “It’s kind of a little thought and I come to the field the next day. It’s about like the sixth inning and I’m thinking, ‘Should I do this?’ Talk to Jay Bruce and he says, ‘Ah, dude, he’s a great guy.’ So I run in, get the ball, give it to one of the clubbies and he takes it over.
“I get back to my chair after the game and there’s a ball that says, ‘Haha, no really, you should’ve let it drop.’ So I have that now and that’s one of those things I’ll remember forever.”
O’Brien mentioned that the catch almost wasn’t made, but not intentionally.
“I don’t know if you saw the video — I did a little hop-jump,” he said. “I’m thinking, ‘I’m right next to the fence,’ and I look down, and I still have 5 more feet. It was almost dropped, but not on purpose.”
Wright finished his final game 0-1 with a walk, but Mets fans won’t be forgetting his slew of other accomplishments anytime soon.


