TAMPA, Fla. _ Russell Wilson, a lifelong Yankees' fan, called putting on his No. 73 jersey "definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done."
"Ever since I was a young kid I always dreamed of being a Yankee, I always watched them, and my favorite player was Derek Jeter," the Seahawks quarterback said Monday.
Wilson joked that he tried to get No. 3, "but I think somebody had it already." He is wearing No. 73 because No. 7 was his high school baseball number, and obviously No. 3 is what he wears with Seattle.
"I always told my dad I'd be a New York Yankee, and now I'm here," he said of his father, who died at 55 years old in 2010 due to complications from diabetes.
Wilson dismissed the idea that this is all a publicity stunt, while adding that he has no plans to leave the NFL, despite all its issues with CTE, saying he feels fortunate to be one of 32 men who start at quarterback.
"If you really know me, baseball's been a part of my blood. It's all about who I am and where I come from and what I've done. When you see me make plays on the football field, a lot of that is a direct correlation to baseball," he said.
The Yankees have said that Wilson will not play in a game during his nearly week-long stint in camp, but he will take batting practice in a group with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Greg Bird and Gary Sanchez prior to Monday's game against the Phillies. Wilson participated in double-play drills at second with Didi Gregorius earlier in the day.
"I definitely love playing," said Wilson, a former minor-leaguer in the Rockies' organization. "I obviously want to get out there, but I also don't want to get in the way. I want to learn as much as I can. I'm ready to go up there if they want me to, though. I'll be ready to swing, I'll be ready to hack away and turn some DPs."
Asked what positions Stanton and Judge would play in the NFL, Wilson responded tight end. Wilson added that he and Jimmy Graham often joke that Graham looks like Judge, and Graham wore Judge's No. 99 jersey for Halloween.
Wilson said he found out his rights were being traded to the Yankees while he was vacationing in the Bahamas before heading to play in his fourth the Pro Bowl. "I was pretty pumped," he said.
Wilson's great uncle was a huge Yankees fan _ wearing an interlocking NY cap wherever he goes _ and the Super Bowl winner always rooted for the Bombers.
"Growing up as a sports fan I was always a fair-weather fan," he said. "I love watching winners win, and I love seeing the process of how they won, the discipline that it took, the passion of Yankees fans, the energy that they played with, the poise that they played with. I remember all the (title) celebrations, and I used to celebrate with them when I was a kid."
