Seahawks QB Russell Wilson visits Yankees camp
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson walks off the field after doing drills at Yankees spring training camp on Feb. 26, 2018, in Tampa. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
TAMPA, Fla. – For the second straight spring training, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson visited Yankees camp on Friday, was issued a uniform (No. 73) and locker and worked out with the club.
But this year, Wilson doesn’t expect to get an at-bat in a spring training game because his visit is for only two days.
The Yankees acquired Wilson, 30, from the Texas Rangers' organization last February. Wilson, a one-time second baseman who played in 93 minor-league games in the Colorado system from 2010-11 before becoming a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, was at Yankees camp for a week last year and struck out in his only at-bat.
“I probably won’t,” Wilson said of getting another at-bat. “It’s [13] days away from the first game. I don’t want to be a distraction from that. I got my hacks last year. My first swing, I was going for the fences. It didn’t work out the way I wanted to, but it was still a great experience. To be honest with you, just to have the honor to wear the pinstripes is really why I’m here and really to learn from these guys.”
Wilson has become friends with Aaron Judge, who hit his fifth home run of spring training on Friday in the Yankees' 14-1 victory over the Red Sox.
“Always excited to see him," Judge said. "We kept in touch during last season. He’s a treat to have and it’s fun to watch his work ethic and how hard he pushes. He would be running the bases on the back field and he would go 110 percent. You can just see that competitive edge he has and that ‘want’ to be better. That was pretty cool to be around and kind of pick his brain about the football side of things or the mental side of the game.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
