Sports fans had to do a double take on Feb. 7, after news broke that Russell Wilson, 29, a football player, was traded to the New York Yankees, a baseball team, according to ESPN. It turns out that Russell has always been a two-sport athlete, as the NFL champion plays minor league ball during the NFL offseason. Prior to the Yankees, Russell played Triple-A ball for the Colorado Rockies and the Texas Rangers. Russell has long desired to be part of the Yankees organizations, and the Rangers made a trade that helped make that dream come true.
“I want to personally thank the Texas Rangers for giving me the chance to experience professional baseball again,” Russell said in a statement. “Growing up taking grounders, hitting BP, and throwing deep post routes early in the mornings with my dad and brother is where my love of sports came from, and those memories stick with me every morning I wake up. I remember how excited I was when Texas selected me in the Rule 5 Draft in December 2013. During my two springs in Arizona with the Rangers, I was reminded just how much I love the game of baseball.
“While football is my passion and my livelihood, baseball remains a huge part of where I came from and who I am today,” Russell added. He’ll now join the Double-A Trenton Thunder and report for the Yankees’ Grapefruit League camp in Tampa, Florida sometime in February or March. Russell was actually picked in the 2007 MLB draft, right after he graduated high school. The Baltimore Oriels took him as the fifth pick in the 41st round, the 1,222nd overall pick. Russell decided to attend college instead, enrolling in NC State. He’d finish his degree and his college football career at Wisconsin.
Thank you Texas...Hello New York.
Always said we’d be a Yankee Pops! #MLB @Yankees link.traceme.com/rangers-yankees
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