NEW YORK — In these final days of David Wright's celebrated career, words of wisdom from his father still resonate with the 35-year-old and father of two.

Rhon Wright wanted his son to be someone adults and children alike could look up to. A player who never shamed his team. A role model.

It's those characteristics by which Wright hopes you'll remember him.

"My dad always told me, 'I don’t care, I didn’t set out raise a good baseball player, I set out to raise a good person and citizen.' That is way more important to me than what people say," Wright said earlier this week. "The one thing I try to live up every day is that expectation that my parents put out that you be a good person.”

As Wright's career will end Sunday, those closest to him believe he has lived up to his father's words. For all the tales of triumphs, such as the time he conquered the great Mariano Rivera or when he homered in his first home at-bat in the World Series, there are just as many heartwarming behind-the-scenes stories, some that have never reached the public view.

He proved to be a great teammate, leader, humanitarian and friend.

"The Mets are lucky. I don’t think they took him for granted, but they better not have because there are not many David Wrights around," Mets legend and SNY announcer Ron Darling said. "It will be very rare to find another one in the long term.”

Representing the Mets

As the Mets readied to promote their can't-miss prospect during the summer of 2004, general manager Jim Duquette had his concerns.

A veteran team hovered around .500 instead of challenging the Atlanta Braves for NL East royalty, creating what Duquette labeled a "bad atmosphere." He worried the toxicity could influence a bright-eyed youngster. The general manager did not want Wright to believe this is how a championship-caliber team handles itself.

"I remember saying to him, 'This is not the way we're going to play, don't pay attention,'" Duquette recalled. "I chuckled after the fact. Of all the people, he's one of the guys you never have to worry about doing things the right way.

"He set the standard."

Wright proved immune to the bad environment, and soon became a face of the organization, handling his newfound fame with dignity and grace.

Many credit his parents, Rhon and Elisa, for instilling wholesome values into their son, who has always been respectful and humble since his 2004 debut.

Rhon, a police officer, and Elisa, a teacher's assistant, raised Wright in a no-nonsense household. The lessons they taught him have played a role in why many insist that Wright treats everyone the same, from the team interns to ownership.

Not one person from the group of more than 30 people interviewed for this story came close to saying a negative word about David Wright.

"I remember thinking I got to do everything I can to bring a winner to New York," former Mets general manager and current special assistant Omar Minaya said. "He needs to be on a winning team to highlight his greatness."

Team executives slept easy at night knowing they wouldn't wake up and find Wright in the gossip pages. He set an example for those around him to follow.

Wright's willingness to be that team leader led to him being named the franchise's fourth captain on March 21, 2013.

“You couldn’t ask for a better guy as somebody who represents the franchise. If you went down the list, he checks every box," said longtime Mets executive and current assistant general manager John Ricco. "He's always been a guy from a front-office perspective we could go to if we had any issues or anything we wanted to discuss. He was a great resource in the clubhouse from a leadership position to help us."

A manager's dream

Terry Collins enjoyed a nice dinner at a Florida restaurant after being hired as the Mets' minor league field coordinator in 2009 when an unexpected guest joined him.

"He walks up to me and says, 'I'm David Wright, and I want to welcome you to the Mets," Collins said. "I'm thinking to myself, 'Wow, that's pretty impressive for a star player to come over.' You later see how he went about things. He was the total package."

Collins later managed Wright for seven seasons, and the infielder made the job easier for Collins and the other four skippers he played for.

Wright ironed out clubhouse wrinkles by extinguishing internal issues or welcoming a rookie to the team, a responsibility he took pride in. Many rookies excitedly mentioned upon debuting how Wright reached out to them through a call or text.

Collins noted how Wright particularly enjoyed taking care of the youngsters.

When an issue arose that needed to be handled, Wright stepped up to the plate. If a player didn't hustle, Wright pulled them to the side and let them know they erred. He did not do it for show. When he addressed a player, it was born in sincerity.

"He was one of my original OG's, old school gangstas," former Mets manager Jerry Manuel said with a laugh. "That's one quality I'll say he was equal with the guy across town (Derek Jeter) – he was really a great teammate."

Art Howe, Wright's first Mets manager, recalled how Wright spent countless hours working on his defense, turning himself into a future two-time Gold Glove winner. Wright debuted with plenty of hype, but spent each day working as if he were the 25th man on the roster.

"He never wanted special treatment," Howe said. "He was just so friendly. He didn't flaunt his notoriety or his stardom. He wanted to be one of the the guys."

When Willie Randolph inherited Wright in 2005, the third baseman was on the verge of stardom. Randolph debated how long he should wait to move Wright up in the order.

He ultimately played the long game. Wright never said a peep.

"He was a young player open to winning and reception," Randolph said. "He was the perfect student. He made my job very easy my first few years."

In 2015, Wright performed one of his most selfless acts to aid his skipper.

After being sidelined for several months with spinal stenosis, he joined an ascending team in Philadelphia. He greeted the players at the team hotel in the wee hours of the morning, wearing his full uniform and armed with a massive supply of Insomnia Cookies.

Later that day, Wright informed Collins there was no pressure to play him every day. He didn't want to get in the way. It put Collins at ease.

"He said, 'I'm only here to help, you guys are playing great,'" Collins said. "That's unbelievable coming from a star. The team came first."

O Captain, My Captain

Of all the players Carlos Beltran played with during his illustrious 20-year career, not one matched Wright when it came to hitting to the opposite gap.

In his prime years, Wright wore out the grass in right-center at Shea Stadium and Citi Field. Many baseball folks have wondered how many homers Wright lost due to the latter's cavernous right-center dimensions when it opened in 2009.

Wright and Beltran helped the Mets reach the National League Championship Series in 2006, and Beltran valued his time playing alongside the third baseman.

"He focused and tried to do the right thing on and off the field, and he's a great family man," Beltran said. "You don't have anything negative to say about him.

"He's a great human being, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to play with him."

Those who played with Wright echo Beltran's sentiment.

Jose Reyes will forever be linked to Wright as his longest-tenured teammates, and said his friend made him and countless others better.

Wright has always been known for a strong work ethic, which set the bar for his teammates. As a minor leaguer, Wright's road splits were much higher than his home splits, a distinction team officials eventually realized stemmed from Wright tiring himself out by arriving to the park early and hitting for hours.

As a major leaguer, he continued to arrive early each day, running out each ground ball, and not giving away at-bats. He never asked for days off.

He also provided a masters course in accountability.

Whether he went 0 for 4 or delivered the game-winning hit, Wright made himself available to the media. He did not leave questions for others to answer, and often deflected heat that could be headed toward a certain player.

"He’s the outline of a leader," Mets outfielder Michael Conforto said. "He’s kind of the guy you want to model yourself after if you try to be a leader.”

There were times when Wright was more out in the open in his handling of issues, such as in 2015 when he and reliever Bobby Parnell were tough on then-rookie Noah Syndergaard when the pitcher decided to eat lunch during an intrasquad scrimmage game in spring training. They tossed Syndergaard's plate, a moment that taught Syndergaard about paying his dues.

“Seeing the way the guy handles himself in the clubhouse, off the field, true professional, great guy to be around and great guy for someone like for me to learn from," Mets ace Jacob deGrom said. "I look up to him and definitely going to miss him."

Thursday, on the eve of his final series, Wright gave all his teammates a bottle of tequila with the inscription, "Thanks for the memories."

"When you use the word classy and captain, you can associate it with David Wright," said close friend, former teammate and current MLB Network analyst Cliff Floyd. "You just know the passion he went about his business with each day."

The ultimate prankster

With his hands in cuffs and MLB security by his side, Dave Racaniello walked across center field of the Tokyo Dome and wondered what fate awaited him.

Invited as Wright's guest at the 2006 All-Star series, Racaniello offered to help Team USA if they needed anyone to catch bullpen sessions.

Since Racaniello did not have a work visa, officials told him just to wear casual clothes, an instruction he forgot when he slipped into a jersey on the first day.

That's when the security team approached him and brought him into a room where customs agents informed him he would be sent home due to his lack of a visa.

Wright offered to pay to help Racaniello avoid trouble.

"I'm going, David, don't get yourself in trouble," Racaniello said.

The walk of shame across the field then commenced, but it did not last long.

Wright had orchestrated the whole thing.

"That was classic," Racaniello said.

While Wright is all-business on the field, the third baseman is known as a notorious prankster and has pulled off some great hijinxs through the years.

One year during spring training, he pulled off an elaborate prank against long-time friend Paul Taglieri, now the executive director of minor league facilities.

Taglieri and Wright became close friends during Wright's prospect days, and years later, Taglieri came back to his office one day to find one of the tires from his car.

As Taglieri searched the complex, he found another tire on the berm beyond the outfield, and his car was waiting for him on cinder blocks.

"He's the ultimate prankster," Taglieri said. "Never could beat him at a prank."

Wright recently copped to being the one who put eye black on PR executive Jay Horwitz's binoculars, and he once packed his car with packing peanuts.

Cutting players' clothing was a Wright specialty, and he also could cut them down with some snarky and witty comments. Wright recently asked one former teammate, now working in the media, why he's on television when his looks are better suited for radio.

During football season, teammates were sure to hear about their fantasy football failures and Wright's triumphs, such as his recent heist that netted him New England Patriots running back Sony Michel.

"He's the best at (ribbing)," Conforto said.

No. 5, off the field

Racaniello endured the toughest time of his life last July when Chris Sabia, a friend since the age of 12, died from cancer.

Wright remained by Racaniello's side during that difficult time, even showing up at a Wiffle Ball tournament in Sabia's honor earlier this month in Stamford, Conn.

"He was right there to support me and get me through that," said Racaniello, the best man at Wright's wedding. "He was a support staff I leaned on heavily."

Wright's closest friends describe him as one of the most loyal people they know, and say he's always there for them when need a shoulder to lean on.

Horwitz teared up as he recalled the touching words Wright said at the funeral of Shannon Forde, the former Mets public relations executive and Little Ferry resident who passed away after a battle with cancer in 2016, and how Wright attended a field dedication in honor of Forde, who was like the daughter Horwitz said he never had.

DeGrom noted how Wright checked in on his family when his son, Jaxon, went through a health scare in 2016, and Taglieri said Wright has reached out to his children when there's been an achievement to celebrate, or if they needed a pick me up.

"When you're able to make everyone around you better just by coming in contact with them, that defines you as a person," said Wright's close friend, Joe McEwing. "He’s an amazing human being. This game will never define what David Wright was."

Charitable man

Wright has a problem saying no.

Early in his career, team officials wondered if his tendency to say 'yes' to all that was asked of him would be too much of a burden. His teammates even approached him to let him know he had to learn to turn down certain requests.

To Wright, he was just honoring the promise he made as a youngster when he screamed for autographs at Class AAA Norfolk baseball games.

"I remember just telling myself, not that if I thought I’d make it, but if I did make it, I’d do my best to try to take the extra couple of minutes and take some pictures or sign some autographs," Wright said. "Because I was that same kid.”

Wright's career is filled with countless examples of him making someone's day, and he has a reputation as one of the most charitable stars in the majors.

He signs when others may just walk back into the dugout. He'll take the time to post for a selfie, like he did with a group of fans following Thursday's game. Recently in Philadelphia, he met with the folks from Natural High, who gave him a plaque.

When Collins told Wright of a friend who was not doing well, Wright had a signed jersey for him the next day.

In 2012, after Duquette donated his kidney to his daughter, Lindsey, the former general manager had a message from Wright waiting for him. Wright also made sure to bring Lindsey out from the stands and onto the field for batting practice when he saw her.

"Who does that?" Duquette said. "You could talk to anyone who has known David for a long time, and they'll have stories like that."

Folks are so willing to divulge stories about Wright's efforts since he has a tendency to do his charity work behind closed doors.

He knows there are times when a camera will help raise awareness for a cause, but he prefers the personal time he can spend with someone in need.

Visiting firehouses in New York near Sept. 11 is one cause he's devoted to.

"He never looked for anything for himself. Some guys that do publicity, there is always a camera that followed them," Horwitz said. "He was never like that.”

“Guys like him don’t come around much anymore. They really don’t.”

Earlier this year, Wright took time to meet with a young boy who was dying of cancer. Wright had met the fan a few times through the years, and the youngster left a mark on Wright before he passed away far too early.

While he could not attend the funeral, Wright met with the boy's parents at the funeral parlor.

"He made me a better person," Wright said. "I'm glad I got to spend time with him."

Those Virginia boys

The Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia emerged on the baseball scene in the mid- to early 2000s with top picks sprouting up across the league.

Michael Cuddyer led the way with Wright behind him. The Upton brothers, Ryan Zimmerman and Mark Reynolds followed in the years to come.

"There are certain guys from this area you like to brag about and certain guys we don't. David was one of the guys we bragged about," said Cuddyer, a 2015 Met. "How he handled New York City, and the losing, with class and grace, is what I'm proud of."

Zimmerman said the younger players looked up to Cuddyer and Wright, and that duo provided them with a template for how to handle themselves.

Even as a teenager, Wright said the right things, acted in line and went out of his way to be a good teammate. Years later, he still took care of his Virginia boys.

In Justin Upton's early years in Arizona, he admittedly focused too much on each at-bat. During one game, Wright talked to him after Upton reached third base, and told him to not dwell on the mistakes: "It's a long season. There's always the next at-bat."

"He hasn't ever changed his personality from what we've known him to be in the past to playing on the big stage," Upton said. "He's a genuine guy."

Wright has always remained loyal to his region, helping raise roughly $1.3 million for the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk since 2011.

His annual Casino Night benefits the hospital.

"You wouldn't know that he is this famous celebrity, but that's David," said Lauren Kiger, the hospital's director of corporate relations and events. "We can't thank him enough."

Place in Mets history

The man tasked with serving as the Mets' team historian has seen all the Mets greats from Tom to Doc to Mike to David.

Asking Horwitz to rank the all-time great Mets is like asking a parent to rank their children, but he does give Wright one decisive advantage over the competition.

"It’s hard to rank them but he’s right up at the top. For completeness on and off the field, I don’t want to sleight anyone, but he’s up in the pantheon with that," Horwitz said. "You combine his contributions on and off the field, he’s right at the top."

Whether Wright is the greatest Met or not — some say yes, others say no — the universal consensus is he has earned a spot on the team's Mount Rushmore.

Wright ranks in the top 10 in all 16 offensive categories — excluding pinch hits — displayed in the team's media guide, and he's the greatest player to only play for the Mets, a title that Darling bestowed upon the third baseman.

Sorry, Ed Kranepool, whose career WAR is about one-tenth of Wright's.

The true debate starts when trying to place Wright among the Hall of Famers, and how much his status as a universally-accepted good guy should be factored in.

In terms of pure accomplishments, Wright falls behind Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza, and he lacks a World Series championship like the members of the 1986 team.

However, Wright stayed with the franchise from start to finish, did not have off-the-field issues, and wasn't known for being surly or aloof like others.

Being one of four Mets captains also helps the cause.

"When you're looking at history and how a player fits, it's more than what he did on the field if he stacks up well with a lot of them, which his numbers do," Duquette said. "If you could design the perfect player, (Wright) was the guy.

"If there’s a guy that stacks up greater than David as a Met from start to finish, from the day he was drafted until retirement, I want to know who he is."

Wright could have made a stronger bid for the top spot were it not for the injuries, with the consensus being he was on a Hall of Fame path.

The first 10 years of his career compare to those of Hall of Fame third basemen, and Wright was only 32 when he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis. That condition, plus three major operations, cost him a chance to chase 350 homers and 3,000 hits.

At his peak, Wright was a 30-30 threat and one of MLB's most feared hitters. The seven-time All-Star has a Mets-record 1,777 hits, and batted .296 with an .867 OPS.

"He was the guy in the lineup we didn’t want to beat us," former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He was that good of a player.”

Wright's career is similar to that of another New York legend.

"I think of David – Don (Mattingly) probably did more as far as batting titles and MVPs and all that — it's a Mattingly kind of suspended career," Darling said. "Great career, classy individual, played both sides of the ball, but the interruption of the career with the injuries stopped us from taking a look and saying in five years, 'Woah, he belongs.'”

The final week

A life-long Mets fan nestled in Atlanta Braves country, 35-year-old Frank DeVoe named his son Troy David in honor of the Mets' third baseman.

After Wright announced that Saturday would be his final game, DeVoe talked with his wife about possibly going to the game with Troy. Money is tight in the DeVoe household, and with some help from the in-laws, they made it work.

The family surprised Troy with the news and posted his elated reaction on Instagram, and the video found its way to one of Wright's brothers.

Not long after, the DeVoe family had an invitation to batting practice, courtesy of Wright.

"It's unbelievable and still feels like a dream," DeVoe said. "You always think there is no way an athlete can relate to you. We're paycheck-to-paycheck people. For him to take the time out to make sure he sees this 9-year-old before his last game is unreal."

The DeVoe family is one of thousands that will attend Wright's final start Saturday, and he will be showered with love and support. A sell-out crowd is expected, and there will be tears, joy, laughter and excitement as ol' No. 5 mans the hot corner one last time.

For some, it will be the proverbial end of their childhood as the living embodiment of Mr. Met hangs up the cleats. For others, it will be a day to celebrate a remarkable career.

"The fact Saturday is sold out speaks volumes about how the fans feel about him," Mets icon Keith Hernandez said.

Wright's journey began 14 years ago against Montreal, and it ends with him as one of the franchise's all-time greats and forever entrenched as a New York City legend.

As he readies for the big day, Wright hopes he did his father proud and left behind a legacy that can never be questioned.

“I’d like to think I’ve done what I could, especially in the community, to at least try, as small as it may be, make some sort of difference," Wright said. "I tried to fulfill the goals I have: baseball, trying to help in the community, and do things I was passionate about."