Jacob Wilson Shares Special Moment with Dad with A's in Pittsburgh
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A's All Star shortstop Jacob Wilson grew up on the baseball diamond, watching his father Jack during his 12-year big-league career. Nine of those seasons were spent in Pittsburgh, where the A's visited the Pirates for the first time since Jacob's debut.
Ahead of Friday's opening matchup, the father and son recreated a special family moment, but flipped the roles. When he was four years old, Jacob threw out the first pitch at a Pirates game, with his big-league dad catching him. Last night, it was Jack throwing to his big-league son.
2006: Jacob Wilson to Jack Wilson
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) September 19, 2025
2025: Jack Wilson to Jacob Wilson
So cool. pic.twitter.com/sgYAhJgnS3
Having a dad playing ball in Pittsburgh, Wilson told us earlier in the year that he was able to go to a lot of Penguins games growing up, and became a fan of the team. He was also able to meet some of the legends of those teams, like Mario Lemieux and Jaromír Jágr, so his own roots with the city run fairly deep.
Friday night, with his dad and family watching from a box at PNC Park, Jacob ended up going 0-for-4, but he was all smiles after the A's 4-3 win, having played in Pittsburgh. He also made a terrific play at short, where his momentum was carrying him towards third, and he was able to leap and make a strong throw to first to get the second out of the bottom of the eighth inning.
Jack Wilson was also a big fan of the play, despite wearing a Pirates jersey.
Jumpin' J Willy! pic.twitter.com/b0UWjxzsIR
— Athletics (@Athletics) September 20, 2025
While Jacob is certainly more well known for his bat-to-ball skills which have helped lead him to a .317 average entering play on Saturday, he's also beginning to make plays like this more regularly, showing off his defensive skill.
The visiting clubhouse also had old photos of Jack and Jacob from around the ballpark hung around Jacob's locker, which brought back plenty of memories for the A's former first rounder.
Jacob's first Opening Day in the big leagues came in Seattle, where his dad spent time from 2009-2011, and then he was voted into the All Star game in Atlanta, where his dad finished up his career in 2011-12. This weekend he's back where he built a lot of memories growing up.
With just a few games left in the season left to go, Wilson is batting .317, six points ahead of Toronto's Bo Bichette, and ten points back of Yankees' slugger Aaron Judge for the batting title. Only two rookies have ever won the batting title—Tony Oliva and Ichiro Suzuki—and both are members of the Hall of Fame.
A solid offensive weekend in his dad's old stomping grounds could go a long way in Wilson's quest to become the third such player.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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