The New York Mets used their sixth overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft to select outfielder Jarred Kelenic. It only took a couple minutes for fans to find some old tweets he probably wishes didn’t exist anymore.
The first-year MLB player draft is always an exciting and important time for big league organizations. They have a chance to select one of the game’s next superstars, but these players have plenty of work ahead of them in the minor leagues for that to become a reality.
Either way, it’s a night where dreams come true for a lot of amateur players. The New York Mets held rights to the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft, their highest in 14 years. They made Jarred Kelenic’s dreams come true, taking the outfielder from Waukesha West High School in Wisconsin.
The poor kid didn’t even get 10 minutes to enjoy this moment without the internet scrounging up a couple of his old tweets pertaining to the Washington Nationals:
— lol (@Metsisles123) June 5, 2018
That first tweet isn’t in view, but it reads “Let’s go @Nationals!!! Win this one! @BHarper3407 4-4 tonight? Good luck to them!”
Are these tweets harmless? Absolutely. It’d be unrealistic for anyone to actually expect players to be lifelong fans of the MLB teams that select them on draft night. Plus, this is America — everyone has a right to root for whomever they choose.
But in a big market like New York, this kind of stuff can have a snowball effect, whether it’s right or wrong. Kelenic is already doing some Twitter work, too — after sending out his first tweet since the New Year to say hey to Mets Twitter, he protected his account.
That’s a smart move, but we all know the internet never forgets.
There could have been much worse things littered throughout his account. Mets fans (and the front office) should be grateful nothing blindsided them. If there’s anyone who can take something like this in stride, though, it seems like it’s Kelenic. If he’s not afraid to do something like what we see below, then the guy is basically fearless.
.@Mets fans are hoping that @JKelenic_1019's fielding range is better than his vocal range. #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/Jx39MTUVZj
— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 5, 2018
Looks like he may have the perfect kind of personality for New York once his time comes in the big leagues.
