New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty no longer wears No. 22, but at least he now owns a new car.
On Thursday, the Mets’ Instagram account posted a clip of right fielder Juan Soto gifting Baty a blacked-out Chevrolet Tahoe after recently swapping numbers. Soto had a message written on the car’s back windshield: “Thanks for No. 22.”
Baty wore No. 22 in his first three seasons with the Mets. After Soto signed a 15-year, $765M deal in December 2024, Baty gave up his number and switched to No. 7 because he grew up a fan of Jose Reyes and Joe Mauer.
It seemed like it was time for Baty to get a new ride. According to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, Mets third baseman Mark Vientos has been ragging him for driving the same 2016 Toyota 4Runner he did in high school.
“I come into spring training every single year,” Baty said, via DiComo, “and I’m like, ‘I’m going to get a new car. I’m going to get a new car.'”
After Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700M deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason, relief pitcher Joe Kelly gave No. 17 to the designated hitter/starting pitcher. Ohtani subsequently bought Kelly and his wife a new Porsche.
It’s good to see that stars like Soto and Ohtani have been using their money to give back to teammates.