Brett Baty shines in his MLB debut, helping the Mets to win a crucial game

New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty opened his major league career with a bang on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Braves. There was an intense amount of pressure on Baty entering tonight’s game, given the Mets just lost two straight to Atlanta, saw their division lead decrease by two games over two nights, and their regular third base platoon in Luis Guillorme and Eduardo Escobar landed on the injured list each of the last two days. 

The Mets wound up winning by a final score of 9-7, but what did we see from the No. 19 prospect in baseball on Wednesday (according to MLB.com’s Pipeline list)? 

Mets third baseman Brett Baty hit a home run in his first at-bat! 

Baty homered on the second pitch he saw in his career and homered to the Chop House area in right field at Truist Park off starter Jake Odorizzi. That magical moment in time was much to the delight of his family and friends who traveled to Atlanta to watch this moment. 

Baty's first swung on a hanging curveball on a 1-0 pitch and took it 377 feet with an exit velocity of 98.5 mph, which extended a 2-0 lead into a 4-0 lead. He was just the fifth Met ever to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, and the first since Mike Jacobs did it in 2005. 

He then hit a rope to the shortstop with an exit velocity of 113 mph in the sixth inning, which resulted in a fielder’s choice. That was impressive given that it was his first at-bat against a left-handed pitcher.  

Baty finished the game 1-for-4, with the second inning home run as his only hit, while hitting three ground ball outs in his next three times up.

Baty made three putouts on the field in his first action at third base. 

Baty threw out the speedy Ronald Acuna, Jr. in the third inning on a ground ball for his first chance in the majors, then caught a popout in the fifth off the bat of Michael Harris Jr., and then got a fielder’s choice in the seventh on what could have been an inning-ending double play. 

So overall, it was a clean sheet defensively from Baty, and after the game, he was greeted with congratulations from his family and friends following the first of what is to be many more Mets victories to come with him.