Two of New York City’s most exciting young sports players have a long history together.
Brett Baty, who made his triumphant debut at third base for the Mets on Wednesday night, and Jets rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson played Pop Warner football together in Texas during sixth grade — and now the two athletes are back in the same city, playing professionally in different sports.
Baty was called up from the minor leagues to start in the infield for the Mets, and hit a home run on his first swing in the Major Leagues to right field.
Wilson, meanwhile, was drafted 10th overall out of Ohio State by the Jets in the 2022 NFL Draft, and heads to the NFL with sky-high expectations ahead of the team’s Week 1 game on Sept. 11.
The two young prospects have known one another for years, as they played football during grade school for the Lake Travis Youth Association in the Lone Star State.
In fact, Baty’s talent at quarterback actually forced Wilson to transition to the wide receiver position, where he now plays professionally for Gang Green.
“I’m confident he would’ve been in the NFL as a quarterback,” Wilson told SNY. “He was that good. He says he was just throwing it up to me, but the bombs he was throwing were 45, 50 yards.”
Baty, who said he was surprised to learn of Wilson’s ascension to the NFL, praised the wide receiver for his extraordinary athleticism, and reminisced about their time together as a quarterback and wideout pair.
“It’s a funny story,” Baty said. “Our coach had no idea. It was a random name in the draft. But even in sixth grade, Garrett was still, head and shoulders, the best athlete I ever saw or played with. We had a great football season together. On third down, I’d throw it up to him.”
When they met, Wilson had just moved to Texas from Ohio,
Wilson celebrated Baty’s stellar start to his MLB career with a simple tweet, saying “Went yard,” accompanied by a goat emoji (an acrostic symbol for the “Greatest of All Time”).
Went yard 🐐 @baty_brett
— Garrett Wilson (@GarrettWilson_V) August 17, 2022
Baty and Wilson said they both expect to attend each others’ games during their downtime.
“I’ve never followed the Jets in my life, now I’m one of the biggest Jets fans,” Baty told SNY.. “I can’t get over the fact that he’s going to be a New York Jet.”
