Russell Wilson traded to New York – and it’s perfectly okay
Russell Wilson was traded to New York on Wednesday, and there’s no reason to worry. The Seahawks aren’t the team that traded him.
So how exactly does Seattle’s brilliant quarterback get traded without the Seahawks trading him? Simple – the Texas Rangers are the team that sent him to Big Apple. And it isn’t the Jets or Giants that got him. Russell Wilson will suit up for the New York Yankees.
There, don’t you feel better now? I know I had a moment of panic when I first saw the headline – “Russell Wilson traded to New” – that was all I got on my notification. Wilson traded? For a few desperate moments, I thought Pete Carroll had gone off the deep end. I imagined Seattle had sent the best quarterback in their history to the New York Jets for their entire draft. I wondered if Russell Wilson was now a member of the New York Giants, and that Eli Manning would be heading west, along with half of their draft picks.
See, your mind can go crazy in the few seconds it takes to click a link. Thankfully, the entire headline read “Russell Wilson traded to New York Yankees.” Which still had me a bit perplexed. Some one still had the rights to Wilson? Who knew? I knew he’d played in spring training a couple of years ago, but this came out of nowhere.
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Russell Wilson won’t be switching careers
Okay, probably a lot of you knew the Texas Rangers still had his rights. I’ll tell you someone else who knew: Bob Condotta, who knows virtually everything worth knowing about the Seahawks. Turns out this has been a lifelong dream for Wilson. As Condotta wrote in the Seattle Times earlier today,
"“Always said we’d be a Yankee Pops!,” Wilson tweeted, a reference to his late father, Harrison, who died in 2010. He expanded on that later in the day in an interview with ESPN when he said of his father that “I think he’s smiling from ear to ear. It was always something we talked about. He used to watch all the old Yankees and tell me stories. To be able put on the pinstripes, it’s pretty exciting. It’s going to give me chills.”"
Condotta also wrote this could be a small reminder Wilson just has two years left on his contract. I agree with him. It could be a subtle contract hint, but it’s more likely this is a simple bit of wish fulfillment his agent worked out on his behalf. Maybe you think the Yankees really want a 29 year old second baseman who hasn’t played since 2011 in Asheville. Believe me, they don’t.
Wilson’s OPS for his two minor league seasons was .710. For those not familiar with the stat, it’s a quick summary of offensive skill. For baseball fans, think of him as somewhere between Brandon Crawford (with less power) and Dee Gordon (with a lower batting average). Sounds pretty good, right?
Don’t worry, Wilson’s not pulling a Bo Jackson – maybe not
Well, those numbers would be okay if he’d put up them up in San Francisco or Miami. But he did that in single A ball. Not the majors, not AAA, not even AA. And it was seven years ago. Let take a more complete look at his stats in Asheville.
AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS AVG OBP SLG
193 40 44 5 4 3 15 15 2 .228 .366 .342
That is not a good average at all. But, he did get on base more than a third of the time. That’s the primary skill for a lead-off man. He also stole 15 bases and was only caught twice. Best of all, he scored 40 runs in 61 games. Over a 162 game season, that equals 106 runs. He also showed exceptional range at second base, equaling Dee Gordon’s range factor per nine innings in Gordon’s Gold Glove year. And Wilson turned 46 double plays in just 55 starts at second. That would be 135 in a full major league season. That would have tied for the league lead in 2017. Wow, maybe there is something to this after all.
Nah. Like I said, there’s a huge difference between performing in the low minors and the majors. Just ask Michael Jordan or Tim Tebow. There’s a big difference too in swinging the bat every day when you’re 22 years old, and trying to do it again when you’re 29. Trust me, neither Brian Cashman nor John Schneider expect this to be anything but a fun week or so for Wilson. He gets to pal around with behemoths like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. He gets to wear the pinstripes. Best of all, he gets to look skyward as they call out, “Now batting for the New York Yankees, Russell Wilson!”