Russell Wilson's head knows football was the right choice. Baseball still has his heart.
A 2014 Super Bowl champion quarterback with the Seattle Seahawks
Anthony Castonzo Jersey , the 29-year-old began a week of workouts Monday with the New York Yankees.
"Is this just a stunt?" he said. "I think that if you really know me, baseball's been a part of my blood. It's been a part of who I am and where I've
come from and what I've done. When you see me make plays on the football field,
a lot of that's a direct correlation to baseball."
Wilson hit six homers in 39 swings as part of a batting practice group that included Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, the top sluggers in the major
leagues last season, plus Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird.
A middle infielder who hit .229 over 93 games at Class A in the Colorado Rockies' system in 2011 and '12, Wilson became the Seahawks' starting
quarterback in autumn 2012. He was selected by Texas in the 2013 winter meeting
draft and attended spring training with the Rangers.
Wilson was on vacation in the Bahamas early this month when he learned he had been acquired in a trade by the Yankees, his favorite team growing up. While the
Yankees gave playing time to football players Deion Sanders and Drew Henson,
they said Wilson will not appear in any spring training games; they want to
observe his leadership skills, and he wants to soak up the attitude of a
franchise with a record 27 World Series titles.
"There's an aroma around here that I've got to figure out, and I can't wait to learn more about it and use that for my football career," he said.
Wearing pink sunglasses for BP
Marcus Cooper Jersey , Wilson fell short of the fence in his first 17 swings with a 33-inch, 31-ounce Louisville Slugger, a personalized maple model
H319C in black. He then hit three in his next four tries, cleared the left-field
walkway and clanked his final drive off the center-field batter's eye.
"It's just cool being able to pick his brain, that was the coolest part for me," Judge said. "When he's working out, everything is for a purpose."
Wilson was on the field hours early, working with shortstop Didi Gregorius. He and the Yankees were all smiles.
"Watching him take a ball from the outfield that was kind of an in-between hop and watching him moving his feet real well and create a longer hop, that's a
savvy good-player move," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Wilson spoke to the team before batting practice about leadership principles and said Judge and Stanton would be tight ends if they played in the NFL. He
wore No. 73 ??his football number, 3
Jabrill Peppers Jersey , is retired by the Yankees for Babe Ruth and his baseball number in high school was 7, retired by New York for Mickey Mantle.
He said his great uncle wears a Yankees cap every day, even to Seahawks games.
"I was always a fair-weather fan. I loved watching the best players, the best teams play. So when I was growing up, playing football, it was the Green Bay
Packers at one point, then it was the 49ers, then it was the Cowboys," Wilson
said. "But for baseball growing up, I was always a huge Yankees fan, and I think
it was because I loved the process. I love watching winners win."
Wilson has no intention to switch sports.
"I love playing the game I play now
Tom Waddle Jersey ," he said. "Being the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, I'm one of 32 men in the world that get to do what I get to
do. It's the best job in the world, and so for me I'm very passionate about
that. And my focus is winning more Super Bowls, doing whatever it takes to do
that."
He doesn't want to expand to a third sport and dabble with dribbling.
"I wouldn't be good at basketball. But baseball," he said, "it's like riding bike."
NOTES: Boone said he likely will break up Judge, Stanton and Sanchez with left-handed hitters in the batting order against most right-handed pitchers.
Coming off left shoulder surgery, Judge is slated to play his first exhibition
game Wednesday and in another Friday, both times in the outfield. ... OF Clint
Frazier sustained a mild concussion Saturday while diving into a fence at
Bradenton to deny Ryan Lavarnway an extra-base hit. Boone said Frazier likely
will miss a few days but not more. "Foggy, that's how I felt all day," said of
his condition Sunday.
The San Francisco 49ers are easing linebacker Reuben Foster back into the system after he missed the start of the offseason program
while dealing with a domestic violence case that was eventually dropped.
Foster was not allowed to participate in the offseason program until a judge ruled last week that he wouldn’t have to stand trial on domestic violence
charges. The judge determined there was no evidence that Foster ever hit his
ex-girlfriend.
Foster rejoined the Niners last Thursday but has been held out of team drills as he gets back into form after missing more than five weeks of the offseason
program while waiting for his case to be resolved.
He took part in individual drills during organized team activities but spent the time during team drills doing conditioning or watching teammates.
”Getting him up to speed won’t take as long
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cool to see.”
Foster had a trying offseason following an arrest in February on charges of beating up his girlfriend. He was charged in April with felony domestic
violence, forcefully attempting to dissuade a witness and felony possession of
an assault weapon.
That led to the decision by the 49ers to keep him away from the offseason program and general manager John Lynch said Foster would be cut if it was proven
he hit his girlfriend.
But the case quickly fell apart. The accuser, Elissa Ennis, recanted her accusations two days after telling police she was hit in the head eight to 10
times by Foster. She testified at a preliminary hearing earlier this month that
the injuries were caused by a fight with another woman and she gave prosecutors
video of that fight. She said she lied initially because she wanted retribution
after Foster tried to end their relationship.
Judge Nona Klippen said recantations aren’t uncommon in domestic violence cases but said there was no supporting evidence in this case that Foster had
attacked Ennis and dropped the domestic violence charges. Foster still faces a
misdemeanor weapons charge for having a Sig Sauer 516 short-barreled rifle in
his home that was legally registered in Alabama.
Foster also had a misdemeanor marijuana case dismissed in Alabama this month when he completed a pretrial diversion program.
”Reuben is in a good spot right now,” 49ers defensive assistant Johnny Holland said. ”He’s been through a lot in the offseason. Going through court
cases you never know what’s going to happen. He still has a long road to go but
he’s excited to be back out here. He’s family. We wanted to keep him encouraged
while he was away and we welcomed him back.”
The 49ers drafted Foster 31st overall last year after questions about his health and character caused him to drop from being a possible top 10 pick.
Foster delivered on the field, ranking second on the team with 72 tackles despite being limited to 10 games as a rookie because of injuries. He is being
counted on now to be a key part of San Francisco’s defensive future.
”For the 10 games he played in, I thought he was outstanding,” Holland said. ”His ceiling is very high. He’s going to be better this year. We’re excited to
have him back and hopefully he can come back at full speed and his health is not
a factor and he can be an outstanding football player.”
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