Photo by Al Rabon
In a bit of shocking news, Columbia Fireflies outfielder Ivan Wilson has decided to retire from baseball. The 21-year old was taken in the third round of the 2013 draft by the Mets. Wilson will forgo his baseball career to play football instead.
The right-handed Wilson was hitting .197/.275/.352 with 15 doubles, six home runs and 22 RBI but had struck out 80 times in 64 games.
Wilson had been praised for his ability to play a strong center field and his raw power. Coming into the 2016 season, Baseball American named him the best defensive outfielder in the Mets system.
Overall, in his Mets career he slashed .209/.298/.356 in 223 games with 21 homers and 31 stolen bases.
This is a shocker. He is only 21 yo! Why would he give up so early?
Being a Baseball Prospect is a very long game. It’s an everyday sport for 9 months a year… you need to love the game pitch by pitch, and you need to get lucky.
Wilson seems to ahve all the tools, but he just hasn’t advanced. It’s a sad sounding thing.
Maybe he’s decided to go to college or has a job opportunity and wants to get started with the rest of his life?
First Jared King the 5th rounder in 2013 retires and now Ivan Wilson the 3rd round pick. Not surprised by King being 4 years older and having injuries, but Wilson is a bit of a surprise that he his retiring at 21. He must have been frustrated by his lack of production. Interesting of the time away from the game changes his mind.
Michael, any word on Kay, Planck, or Cleveland?
Good luck to him in his future. Speaking in organizational terms, is it fair to say that Church and Wilson have now basically swapped organizational standing? Entering the season, Church was written off while some still had hope for Wilson. Now that appears to be flipped.
He has decided to pursue a career in football.
He is going to try to play football which he did in high school.
He’s probably better suited for it.