Patrick Mahomes was once a two-sport star in baseball and football, ditching the diamond for the gridiron during his time at Texas Tech. The decision to focus on football led Mahomes to become a first-round draft pick, two-time NFL MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP with the Kansas City Chiefs – having one of the best career starts for a NFL player. history.
Even with the quest to become the greatest player to ever wear an NFL uniform, Mahomes still has that baseball itch. Given that his father, Pat Mahomes, was a major league pitcher and Patrick is a part-owner of the Kansas City Royals, it makes sense that Mahomes would be willing to give Major League Baseball a chance.
“I talked to the Royals,” Mahomes said in his interview with Time Magazine about being one of the magazine’s members. 100 most influential people. “And if I can maybe get in some spring training, I’m not opposed to that.
“I’m going to get it approved by the Chiefs and everything else. But maybe one of these years I’ll go out there and see what I got. See if I can still hit the ball or throw or anything Maybe not in the games but I can at least practice with them.
The baseball connection is strong with Mahomes, as his father pitched 11 seasons in the major leagues for six different teams. He even pitched for the New York Mets in the 1999 National League Championship Series, while Mahomes was growing up around the clubhouse.
Mahomes was drafted in the 37th round by the Detroit Tigers before deciding to play both football and baseball at Texas Tech (he was recruited for both). He actually intended to play both sports for three years and then return to the MLB draft, but success in football and exhaustion of both sports during his junior year brought him back to the ground.
The rest is history.
Mahomes still wants to try baseball, even if it’s just a few spring practices. He has the approval of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, but on one condition.
“He was a heck of a baseball player,” Reid said. “He grew up around it. I’m sure he can play in the big leagues. I mean, he’s pretty good.
“He should take me on as manager.”
