Johnny Baseball? Manziel drafted by Padres
There was a point in Johnny Manziel's college career when he considered forging a path as Johnny Baseball instead of Johnny Football.
Obviously, the football option worked out better for the now-Cleveland Browns quarterback, but -- thanks to the Padres -- the door hasn't completely shut on Manziel's baseball career. The Texas A&M product, who was selected by the Browns with the 22nd overall pick in the NFL Draft, was also selected on Saturday by San Diego in the 28th round of the First-Year Player Draft, with the 837th overall pick.
A Rangers fan growing up, Manziel was a middle infielder at Tivy High School (Kerrville, Texas) before foregoing his baseball career in favor of football. He played baseball through his junior year, but he skipped out on his senior season so he could graduate early and focus on preparing for his freshman football season at Texas A&M.
Manziel's passion for the game of baseball, however, did not diminish after high school. He briefly discussed the possibility of playing collegiate ball with Texas A&M's baseball coaches, but that never came to fruition once he won the starting quarterback job as a redshirt freshman. Manziel guided the Aggies football team to an 11-1 record, all while shattering a number of collegiate records and becoming the first freshman to win the prestigious Heisman Trophy in 2012.
Manziel returned to the diamond last year to throw out the first pitch prior to a Rangers-Angels game in Arlington. He was scheduled to throw out another first pitch in his new hometown at the Red Sox-Indians game in Cleveland earlier this week, but that plan was scrapped after a lengthy rain delay.
It's unlikely that Manziel's baseball career will ever go too far beyond throwing a few ceremonial first pitches, but he's far from the first NFL player to be taken in the Draft.
In recent years, star quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick have both had their names called in the Draft. Wilson was first drafted by the Orioles in 2007, then again by the Rockies in '10. He was then claimed by the Rangers in the Rule 5 Draft this past winter, and he spent time visiting with Rangers players this spring after helping lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title in February.
Among the other NFL players selected in the Draft in recent years are: quarterbacks Tom Brady (1995, Expos), Michael Vick (2000, Rockies), Matt Cassel ('04, Athletics) and Jake Locker ('06 and '09, Angels); and wide receivers Golden Tate ('07, D-backs; '10, Giants) and Eric Decker ('08, Brewers; '09, Twins). Locker was the highest drafted of any of those players, being taken in the 10th round by the Halos in 2009, three years after they had selected him in the 40th round.
This isn't exactly a new trend either, as legendary quarterbacks Dan Marino and John Elway were both drafted by Major League Baseball teams. In fact, both Marino (fourth round) and Elway (18th round) were taken by the Royals in the 1979 Draft. Elway was drafted again two years later, this time in the second round by the Yankees.
Though Manziel figures to follow the lead of those quarterbacks and stick to the gridiron, the Padres have at least given him the option to consider making 'Johnny Baseball' his next trademark.
Paul Casella is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Post a Comment for "Johnny Baseball? Manziel drafted by Padres"