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Some destinies are truly written in the stars.
When the New York Jets selected Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson with the No. 10 overall pick in the NFL draft, they were unintentionally reuniting him with New York Mets top-tier prospect Brett Baty — a childhood friend and teammate with ties that go back to Pop Warner football.
All Baty had to do was make it to the majors, something he finally accomplished this week. If you’re a fan of the Mets, you probably already know that Baty hit a home run during the first at-bat of his professional career — but that didn’t surprise Wilson.
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Wilson on Baty’s Homer: GOAT
If you follow the Jets rookie wideout on Twitter, you may have wondered why he’s been following the minor league career of Baty with his retweets. The latest — from “Metsmerized” executive editor Michael Mayer — informed that the Mets were expected to call up Baty on August 16.
Shortly after, Baty joined the big-league club and parked one in the right field stands of Truist Park in Atlanta. This time, Wilson tweeted himself, praising his old Texas buddy.
“Went yard [GOAT] @baty_brett,” he voiced. The proud show of support seemed somewhat unphased by Baty’s immediate success.
After all, the brand-new Met did bat .602 with 19 home runs when Wilson last saw him play their senior year of high school together. Oh, by the way, he was also 6-0 with a 0.92 ERA as a pitcher.
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Baty & Wilson Dominated the Austin Sports Scene
Anthony McCarron wrote a captivating exclusive with SNY on the friendship between Wilson and Baty back in May.
“Even in sixth grade, Garrett was still, head and shoulders, the best athlete I ever saw or played with,” Baty told McCarron. “We had a great football season together. On third down, I’d throw it up to him.”
At the time, the promising MLB prospect was a quarterback, which should come as no surprise based on the third baseman’s arm. The two ended up becoming close friends before they attended Lake Travis High School together in Austin, Texas — where they dominated the sports scene winning back-to-back “Male Athlete of the Year” awards from 2017 through ’19 (Wilson first, then Baty the following year).
Each young man was gifted in multiple sports, and the pair played football and basketball together for a time. Baty eventually gravitated toward baseball, of course, although Wilson made sure to talk up his ability on the gridiron.
“I’m confident he would’ve been in the NFL as a quarterback,” Wilson expressed. “He was that good. He says he was just throwing it up to me, but the bombs he was throwing were 45, 50 yards and we were in sixth grade. He’s real humble.”
The Jets receiver shares in that trait. Baty called Wilson “one of the best basketball players I’ve ever seen,” adding that he could have made it to the NBA.
Clearly, the two high school pals are fans of one another, and they plan to continue that comradery during their professional careers. “I’ve never followed the Jets in my life, now I’m one of the biggest Jets fans,” Baty told McCarron.
Wilson offered a similar sentiment, stating: “When he’s there playing his first game [at CitiField], I’ll for sure be in the stands… I did my research [on the Mets-Jets friendship]. I’ve always loved Francisco Lindor. I won’t have any problem rooting for the Mets and then Brett will get there [soon].”
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