David Wright home run hug with fan becomes heartwarming viral hit

David Wright is one of the few bright spots on a dismal New York Mets team so far this season and knows it takes more than just any casual fan to come out and cheer the orange and blue out at Citi Field. During Monday's 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees, the Mets' third baseman heard the constant encouragement of one young fan to hit a home run throughout the game and it ended up with Wright making both of their nights a lot brighter.

After six fruitless innings, Wright jacked a seventh-inning solo shot into the stands and, after the game, the slugger sought out the voice who had pushed him.

Wright figured he would get a fist bump or a high five but had no idea the meeting was about to turn into a bro hug that would go viral and turn into something bigger than he ever imagined.

“He wasn’t having it,” Wright said with a laugh Tuesday. “He went in for the full-on hug. He was really excited.”

The video — caught by SNY cameras of the unwitting Wright — filmed the boy grabbing and hugging Wright after the game.

Wright said he had no idea who the boy was and the Mets were trying to identify him through his seats, but were unable to do so before Tuesday’s game.

“I never caught his name,” said Wright, who had no idea that the video had gained wide attention on the Internet when he came to Citi Field Tuesday afternoon for the second Subway Series game.

Wright said the boy had been yelling, “You’re gonna hit a home run,” to him every time he got into the on-deck circle. Wright smiled back and said he’d try. In the seventh, Wright homered off Phil Hughes and, as he rounded third base, he remembered the boy.

“I was going to give him five after I scored, but he wasn’t there,” Wright said.

Wright sounded pleased that by taking a few seconds of a his time could show a different side to sports and the athletes who play them.

“Sometimes, and probably rightly so, some people view us as robotic,” Wright said. “There is not a lot of interaction with fans. In the middle of the game it is hard to interact, so when you see something like the Matt Kemp video, that was cool. Any time you see stuff like that, like LeBron (James) tackling the guy at midcourt after he hit that halfcourt shot. That’s cool.”