Bea Myers is the younger brother of Wil Myers and will be pitching to his brother at the 2016 Home Run Derby. (Twitter/@beau_myers1)
Despite winning AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rays, Wil Myers, 25, will be making his All-Star Game debut this week with the San Diego Padres. He will also be participating in the Home Run Derby on July 11 and picked his younger brother, Beau Myers, 19, to pitch for him. Beau is following his older brother into baseball and is currently playing college ball. The two grew up in North Carolina.
Here’s a look at Beau.
1. Wil Says His Brother Has Never Pitched to Him Before
Wil Myers. (Getty)
Beau has never pitched to his brother before. So, Beau traveled to Los Angeles last week while the Padres were playing the Dodgers to practice.
“He has never thrown to me,” Wil told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We’ll probably get on the field early, and I’ll just watch him throw.”
Wil had picked Padres coach Eddie Rodriguez to be his pitcher, but Rodriguez declined so he could be with his family during the All-Star break.
2. Beau Called This Opportunity a Dream Come True
Let’s go in the cage with freshman OF Beau Myers. First pitch vs No. 23 CCU at 4 pm!
Beau told the San Diego Union-Tribune that this is a “dream come true” for him. Not only does he get to go to the game, but he’ll be on the mount at Petco Park.
“Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been at Wil’s games and running around,” Beau told MLB.com. “It’s every kid’s dream to go to an All-Star Game, just as a fan. That’s the dream, but to get to be on the field, and to pitch to Wil, that’s special.”
“I don’t want to put any more pressure on him and I don’t want to put any more pressure on myself,” Wil told the Union-Tribune. “We’re just going to go out there and have fun and whatever happens, happens.”
3. Beau Is a Freshman at Appalachian State & Studies Marketing
The Appalachian State Mountaineers mascot is Yosef. (Getty)
According to Beau’s Appalachian State profile, Beau is majoring in marketing. He made the Dean’s List and was on the university’s athletes academic honor roll.
Last year, Perfect Game ranked Beau as number 111 among high school outfielders. According to 247 Sports, Beau was ranked the number 2 player in all of North Carolina last year.
4. Wil Never Let Beau Win Just Because He was Younger
Wil Myers. (Getty)
In another San Diego Union-Tribune interview, Beau said that his older brother never let him win whenever they competed in anything just because Beau is his litter brother. The two are six years and six days apart.
“Everything we ever did he made sure that he won. He didn’t give in — ‘Oh, this is my little brother, maybe I should let him win.’ Not once,” Beau told the Union-Tribune. “He was very competitive and so am I. That’s why I have a very good feeling about this home run derby.”
Beau also revealed that the two shared bunkbeds until Wil graduated from high school.
5. Wil & Beau Both Played for the Dirtbags
Q&A: Beau Myers, #WilMyers’ derby pitcher t.co/0VIIVfsROs
Both Wil and Beau played for the traveling Dirtbags baseball team. Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner was also a Dirtbags player.
The goal of the Dirtbags program is to teach players the skills they need to become successful ballplayers before they get to the college and professional levels.
The Myers brothers also went to Wesleyan Christian Academy. During Wil’s junior year, the school won the 3-A NCISAA state championship. Surprisingly, Wil was still pitching at the time, DNA Of Sports reports. Their dad, Eric Myers, also tried out for baseball.
“I can honestly say, I can count on one hand how many times my dad threw BP to me,” Wil told DNA of Sports. “He wasn’t a great BP thrower. I went to batting centers a lot. The thing I really remember my dad teaching me was keep my elbow up when I threw.”
