Brandon Carr discusses what could have been with Kansas City Chiefs two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes, if he continued to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue a career as an MLBbro pitcher. Mahomes was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the
Aaron Judge could be the next Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders.
After having a historic season by setting an AL record of home runs and almost winning the triple crown, Judge is expected to get a massive contract this offseason, as he is the AL MVP favorite. He already got his first contract offer, but from a team that no one saw coming.
On a recent episode of Tom Brady’s “Let’s Go” Podcast, he was very adamant on Judge possibly making an appearance “I was certainly wondering what it would take to get you down in Tampa to be a tight end for us next year.”
When most people hear this, a normal thought is that this is just crazy. But it’s not like Judge doesn’t have any experience playing football, as he was a terrific wide receiver at his high school, where he ended up setting a school record during his time there with 17 touchdown receptions.
With him reaching six feet seven inches in high school, he was heavily recruited to play tight end by elite football schools, including Notre Dame, UCLA, and Stanford, before he ended up choosing to play baseball at Fresno State.
He has a 27.3 Ft/s sprint speed, meaning that he can run a very good 40-yard dash. And is pretty strong weighing in at 282 pounds. There is no question that Judge can definitely compete with NFL athletes, which Brady concurs with. “The way you run, the size, the catch radius, the power… I know you were a great high school football player.”
Now the question is, would it be a smart decision for Judge to make the leap to the NFL. It’s key to note that he has had an injury-plagued career. He had a wrist fracture in 2018, and an oblique strain in 2019, that costed him about two months in each season. He played less than half the games in the shortened 2020 season due to a calf strain.
Now since he has already had several significant injuries during his career, and if he decides to join the Bucs in the NFL, his value in the MLB could drop in a hurry. His injuries will more than likely go up, and with the NFL just getting started in September, it is the absolute worst time he could get hurt with the MLB playoffs approaching during that time.
Before Judge can consider any sort of NFL career, he needs to focus and take care of business with the Yankees in these playoffs. As the Yankees fell to the Guardians on Friday, 4-2 in 10 innings, Judge had one of his worst games in recent memory. He went 0-5 with four strikeouts, which caused Yankees fans to start booing him. He is 1-8 this postseason with no home runs, no RBI, and a walk.
As the end of the season approaches, he will be looking to get one of the biggest contracts in MLB history, whether that’s from the Yankees, or elsewhere. Once he gets that settled, then he may consider anything from Tom Brady. Whatever he decides to do, Judge is going to have one offseason to remember.
Former NFL wide receiver Golden Tate may be done making plays on a football field, but he’s looking to extend his athletic career within our national pastime. Earlier this week, Golden signed a contract with the Port Angeles Lefties of the West Coast League.
Former MLB pitcher Jeff Samardzija is normally the name that people mention when referencing recent two-way athletes from the University of Notre Dame, but Tate was another member of the fighting Irish who made a name for himself on the diamond as well as the gridiron.
After only appearing in 18 games his freshman year, Golden racked up 73 hits in 55 games as a sophomore. He hit .329 with eight doubles and 4 triples while driving in 21 for Notre Dame and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 50th round of the 2010 MLB draft, his second time coming off the draft board (He was taken in the 42nd round out of high school in 2007).
Tate will start in centerfield for the Lefties and is excited about the opportunity to revive his baseball career.
“I am extremely thankful to the West Coast League and the Port Angeles Lefties for allowing me to join their league,” Tate said in a statement. “As some might know, I was drafted twice in baseball. As a child, my first love was baseball, so I’m excited about the opportunity to compete against some of the best young players in the league. I look forward to having a lot of fun and exploring baseball more.”
Tate is probably the most notable football player to take baseball seriously since Tim Tebow, and we all remember how that turned out. Only time will tell if Golden’s long-shot MLB dreams are legit, but if he’s able to dust off the cleats and eventually make it to The Show, he’ll join a special group of elite athletes who have played both professional football and baseball.
Tate is highly unlikely to join the ranks of Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders or Brian Jordan, but he’s already accomplished something special by being drafted in both leagues. Here are a few other recent Black NFL players who hold this distinction. Unfortunately, each player mentioned chose football over baseball, something that we’ve seen far too often over the past 30 years.
Russell Wilson
Russell was drafted in the 41st round out of high school in 2007 by Baltimore, and again in 2010 when the Colorado Rockies made him a 4th round selection.
Colin Kaepernick
Kap was selected in the 43rd round by the Chicago Cubs in 2009.
Jameis Winston
Winston was a 15th round pick out of high school by the Texas Rangers in 2012.
Shaq Thompson
Shaq was drafted in the 18th round by the Boston Red Sox in 2012.
Kyler Murray
Turned down $9M bonus from Oakland A’s to chase Heisman dreams at Oklahoma.
Recent Comments