24 Aug GETTING TO KNOW: NY METS ROOKIE THIRD BASEMAN, BRETT BATY

 Following injuries to Eduardo Escobar and Luis Guillorme, Brett Baty was called up to the New York Mets on August 17, 2022. Brett hit a home run in his first major league at-bat on a curveball from Jake Odorizzi. He became only the fifth Mets player to homer in his first career MLB at bat. Baty ended up going 1-for-4 with two RBIs, including a 113 mph groundout that was the hardest hit ball by a Mets left-handed hitter off a lefty pitcher since 2016. The Mets’ top pick in the 2019 draft, Baty was only promoted to Syracuse two weeks ago. In 95 games between Double-A Binghamton and Syracuse, he had a. 315/.410/.533 slash line with 19 homers and 60 RBIs.

Welcome to the big leagues! Congratulations on becoming a New York Met!

What did it feel like to get your first home run in your first at bat?

It’s what every kid dreams of for sure.

At what point did you think you would be in the big leagues?

The big leagues weren’t on my mind at all. I was just worried about winning games for Syracuse, but now I am here to win ball games for the New York Mets.

Any expectations for this season?

I’m not putting any expectations on myself. I’m just gonna go out there and play to the best of my ability. I’m here for a reason. I’ll let it show and do my best out there.

Did anybody on the team reach out to you when you came up?

Nimmo took me aside and said, ‘Hey man, slow it down. It’s going to be a pretty big atmosphere for sure, but we all trust you out there and we have your back.’ That is what I wanted to hear. He is definitely a leader in this clubhouse, so for him to say that to me, it was really big.

Do you consider yourself a power hitter?

I would say I’m a power hitter, but I’m also a hitter with power. Like, I’m not going to go up there and sell out for power. At the same time, I have really good plate discipline and I swing at the right pitches in the zone.