For 22-year-old Brett Baty, his lifelong dream of being a major league baseball player has come true, as the third baseman is set to make his Mets debut on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Braves.
“I’m super excited,” Baty said. “Got the call the yesterday and got on a flight, got here last night and I’m just super excited to get out there and start playing.”
The club’s first-round pick in the 2019 draft, Baty started the season with Double-A Binghamton and then played just six games with Triple-A Syracuse before getting called up to the show.
While Buck Showalter had previously said that Baty was not at option to be called up at this point, the Mets saw injuries mount among their infielders, as both Luis Guillorme and Eduardo Escobar landed on the IL in the past week.
Braty said he was aware of those injuries, but he wasn’t thinking about what they might mean for his big league future.
“It wasn’t on my mind at all,” Baty said about getting called up to the majors. “I was just thinking about winning ballgames for Syracuse, but now I’m here so win ballgames for the New York Mets.”
And as Baty begins his major league journey, he’s already getting some help from others who have been in his shoes, like Brandon Nimmo, who was drafted by the Mets in the first round of the 2011 draft.
“As I was coming in here, Nimmo just took me aside and he was like ‘Hey man, slow it down. It’s gonna be a pretty big atmosphere for sure but we all trust you out there and we have your back,’ so that’s what I wanted to here,” said Baty.
Speaking of the atmosphere, Baty will make his big-league debut in a huge spot, as the Mets have dropped two straight games to the team right behind them in the standings.
“It’s huge. It’s what every kid dreams of for sure,” said Baty. “To be able to make my debut against the Atlanta Braves and play for the New York Mets is truly a dream come true.
“I’m just going to give 100 percent effort on every single pitch. I’m going to take it one pitch at a time, one AB at a time and really just go out there and try to win ballgames."