Ever since being drafted in 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has continued baffling the NFL world with his unfathomable arm strength. While Mahomes’ tenacity and leadership skills have drawn comparisons to some of the greatest signal callers ever, there was a chance that the world would never get to witness the genius of Patrick Mahomes on the football field.
As most avid NFL fans are aware Patrick Mahomes first love was baseball. Having watched his father, Patrick Mahomes Sr., terrorize the MLB as a prolific pitcher, Mahomes wanted to follow in the same pedigree. While football came during his high school years, it was still not the second career option that Mahomes had planned.
Patrick Mahomes’ career alternatives
During his high school days, a young Patrick Mahomes would describe himself as “a baseball player that was playing football.” Ever in recent years, the Super Bowl MVP often puts his baseball skills on display during celebrity games and even embarrasses a few opponents along the way. Still, the NFL world should feel blessed to have Patrick Mahomes as the face of the league, as there was a very real conversation about Mahomes aligning with his father’s discipline.
As most avid NFL fans are aware Patrick Mahomes first love was baseball. Having watched his father, Patrick Mahomes Sr., terrorize the MLB as a prolific pitcher, Mahomes wanted to follow in the same pedigree. While football came during his high school years, it was still not the second career option that Mahomes had planned.
Patrick Mahomes’ career alternatives
Turns out the NFL wasn’t on Patrick Mahomes’ list of career options. Mahomes was hellbent on following in his father’s footsteps as an MLB professional, but his safety net is something not many would have imagined. The recent Netflix series ‘Quarterback’ has allowed fans an intimate look into the mindset of the 2x Super Bowl champion, and some of the intricacies are truly fascinating.
Speaking on his career options as a young phenom Patrick Mahomes shared, “When I was a kid I didn’t want to be a football player, I wanted to be a baseball player, my dad was a baseball player, so my dream was to play baseball. But if I wasn’t a baseball player I wanted to be a lawyer. I grew up playing baseball.”
While the baseball thing was fairly well known at this point, Mahomes’ ambitions of being a lawyer were as mindboggling as the 80-yard throw he made during his Texas Tech Pro Day. Being one of the most eloquent and well-articulated professionals in the NFL, surely Mahomes’ would have continued working his magic whether it’s on the field, in the courtroom, or the diamond.
Walking away from the diamond
Prior to getting selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, Patrick Mahomes received another equally captivating offer. An 18 year old Mahomes was scouted by the Detroit Tigers and eventually in the 37th round. The then-Tigers scout, Tim Grieve was however aware of the fact that Patrick Mahomes would be taking his talents to the NFL. However, just in case Patrick Mahomes had a change of mind, the Tigers wanted to appear as a viable option.
Speaking on his decision, Grieve said, “With Patrick, it was as simple as ‘here’s a kid who looks like he’s going to play football BUT…let’s be that team that started to build the relationship so that if he wants to play baseball 2-4 years down the road, we’ve got our foot in the door,” With baseball being his initial calling, the opportunity must have been a tough one for Patrick Mahomes to pass on, but then again the 2x Super Bowl champion eventually landed in the perfect position, and the Kansas City fanbase must certainly be thanking their lucky stars.
