Getty San Francisco Giants catcher Joey Bart attempts to tag out Yan Gomes during a game against the Chicago Cubs.
James Wiseman may be entering his third year with the Golden State Warriors but, in some ways, the former No. 2 overall pick still feels like a rookie. After all, he’s still 21 years old and, thanks to a meniscus tear, he has just 39 career NBA games under his belt (after playing in all of three games as a collegiate).
It was difficult to predict what he would do from possession to possession during summer league, too. And it’s also difficult to know what can reasonably be expected of him next season.
Nevertheless, Wiseman is slated for a significant role as Golden State’s backup pivot in 2022-23 — with an opportunity to squeeze his way into the starting five seemingly on the table.
Asking any young player with limited experience to tackle such a job would be asking a lot. When one considers that Wiseman is also dealing with the pressure of being a top-two pick, it becomes an even more difficult position for him to be in.
Joey Bart of the San Francisco Giants knows well the life of a blue-chipper trying to make good on their potential. And during a recent radio interview, the young catcher compared Wiseman’s situation to his own.
Bart Sounds Off
Bart joined KNBR 680‘s Papa & Lund on Friday and was asked about living up to the hype as a high draft pick (he was taken second overall in the 2018 MLB Draft). As the 25-year-old sees it, the best way to navigate the situation is to just ignore that hype, as well as the haters, and go about your business.
“To be honest with you, I don’t really let it affect me,” Bart said of the pressure that comes with being a top pick. “For the most part, I stay off social media, I stay out of the way. There’s always going to be people that are going to say a lot of negative things to you and are going to wish you and your family a lot of bad and evil things, that’s just part of the business.”
Probed for his thoughts on how this applies to Wiseman, as well as upstart San Francisco 49ers QB Trey Lance, Bart stressed the importance of understanding how you got to the big dance in the first place and leaning on that experience when times get tough.
“No one’s gone under center for Trey Lance, his whole career has been made because of him. Wiseman, nobody is out there helping him out, he has to work for everything he has. And everything any player has succeeded at or overcomes is based on what they have done… Just remember that, don’t look too far out, remember what you’ve done and why you’re there for a reason and let it soak in and enjoy it.”
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Bart continued on, advising the Bay Area’s brightest youngsters to focus on what they can control and to maintain an even keel regardless of whether things are looking up or down.
“Crazy fans and people wishing you bad things should have no play or no real meaning to you. We don’t know who these people are, we don’t know why they say the things they say, but at the end of the day, it’s just you and be yourself and enjoy the game,” Bart said.
“That’s something I would say, just don’t get caught up in what people talk about, what they say during good and bad times. Don’t get caught up with people praising you so well during the good times, you can’t take too high or too low in this game or any of the other games, because it’s just tough.”
Over 73 games and 227 plate appearances with the Giants this season, Bart is hitting .228 with 10 homers and 21 RBI.
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