📖 The Story Behind Patrick Mahomes’ ⚾ Career

Before Patrick Mahomes became an NFL star, he had both a memorable (and forgettable) college baseball career. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: As Patrick Mahomes prepares to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV, we look back at his time on the baseball diamond, which saw one ill-fated pitching outing as a freshman at Texas Tech ... we take a look at five schools who won big on National Signing Day ... and we celebrate the anniversary of the “Philly Special.” Every time – and it happens pretty frequently – that Johnathon Tripp hears a commentator on a National Football League broadcast describe a Patrick Mahomes throw as “impossible” he gives a little laugh. “It’s really difficult but obviously it’s not impossible, because he’s doing it,” Tripp, Mahomes’ former Texas Tech baseball teammate, told me via telephone. “And I know where it comes from. It comes from baseball.” As Mahomes prepares to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback gave a self-deprecating assessment on Wednesday of his time on the diamond for the Red Raiders, which saw just one ill-fated pitching outing as a freshman before he decided to focus on football. Yeah, the gridiron thing has worked out pretty well. “I think I have an infinity ERA, which isn't probably a good one,” Mahomes told reporters. “That's something I'm not very proud to have on my record.” [STORY IMAGE 1] He’s right about the ERA. His sole pitching appearance came on Feb. 21, 2015, against Northern Illinois. Introduced into the game with Texas Tech leading 6-0 in the ninth inning, Mahomes walked Carl Russell, drilled Malique Ziegler in the backside with a fastball, then walked Justin Fletcher on five pitches. Each of the three would score, spawning the undesirable ERA, and Mahomes never pitched competitively again. Yet don’t be fooled into thinking his college baseball career was a negative. Indeed, the sport may have given him the ability to make game announcers and fans alike shake their heads in wonderment. Tripp, who signed with the Cincinnati Reds organization in 2019 and is currently playing with the Florence Y’Alls (formerly Florence Freedom) of the Frontier League, regularly notices baseball techniques every time he watches Mahomes play for the Chiefs. [STORY IMAGE 2] “Like when he rolls out of the pocket to the right and lets off one of those throws – you’ve seen it – which is literally a sidearm throw on the run across his body,” Tripp, who had a locker stall next to Mahomes at Texas Tech, said. “It is similar to a slow roller where the shortstop grabs it. It is very common for shortstops and third basemen to have the arm that low because of the momentum. It looks weird in football but I’m sure it feels natural to him. “Then, when a linebacker is blitzing up the middle, Patrick might be back-pedaling and looking left and right. He will drop his arm real low and get it out as fast as he can to get it around a defensive player. It’s an unbelievable throw, it’s so athletic. But if you’re a baseball player, it’s not impossible.” Mahomes’ baseball roots run deep. His father, Pat Sr., won 42 games in a major league career that included stops with the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. Patrick himself starred at Whitehouse High School, was drafted in the 37th round by the Detroit Tigers and previously, at 14, helped lead Rose Capital East to the Junior League World Series championship game. In college, he held serious aspirations of trying to excel in both sports, but the scheduling rigors ultimately proved too demanding. With football and pitching requiring different physiology, Mahomes had bulked up during a freshman football season that saw him play the final four games and memorably light up Baylor for six touchdowns. Teammate Dylan Dusek said Mahomes made an admirable effort to be at the baseball field whenever he could, but that football commitments severely impacted his practice opportunities. “In spring, he rarely participated in an entire practice with us, as he either had weights or something involved with football,” Dusek said in an email. “Pat was a great pitcher, (but) just one semester of fully focusing on football can deter you from your full capability in baseball. We all knew he had the talent, if he would have been there the entire year there is no doubt he would have been a great player for us.” [STORY IMAGE 3] Coach Tim Tadlock loved having Mahomes around, correctly assuming his positivity would have an uplifting effect on the group. After the Northern Illinois game, Mahomes did not pitch again, but stayed on as a backup infielder. During a weather delay in a game at Kansas State, he grabbed a spare football as the team stretched at an indoor training facility and hurled passes for his teammates. “He had a lot of positive energy about him,” Ryan Moseley, now a pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, told me. For Moseley, and the rest of the players I spoke to, the most memorable part of Mahomes’ one trip to the mound wasn’t how he played. “It was the huge standing ovation that he got,” Moseley added. “He was pretty muscular at that point and his velocity was down. It was tough for him because he didn’t have the pitching reps in because he’d been busy with football. But he came in with everyone standing up and cheering for him. “He pitched, he got taken out and it was the same again – a standing ovation. The fans were so into it, having the QB out there pitching. You could see he was bummed and had this kind of embarrassed little smile. But everyone had his back.” When the team needed a rally, Mahomes could be relied upon to try to spark one with encouraging words and several players said they sensed he enjoyed being part of a more normal college experience, going to parties, relaxing with the guys, away from the intensity that is football in Texas. [STORY IMAGE 4] “I think the baseball experience actually fueled him in some way,” teammate Hunter Hargrove said. “He always wanted to be the best (Mahomes was intensely competitive in locker room ping pong games). How baseball worked out maybe made him see that football was for him but also that he saw what it was like to struggle and it pushed him on further. “He’s human, even though it doesn’t always look like it when he plays football. The funniest thing is to see him now in commercials and all that, because he is such a regular guy – and a good guy.” Mahomes now finds himself in the biggest game in football for the second year in a row and while his old baseball crew support different NFL teams, they’re all honorary Chiefs fans. Tripp saw him most recently at a Dallas Stars game a couple of years ago and said Mahomes was unaffected by the fame, fortune and spotlight that now occupies his current reality. He also believes the sight of what Mahomes can do with his arm on the gridiron is a welcome reminder that playing multiple sports – in an era where early age specialization becomes increasingly prominent – can only help a young athlete. That said, don’t expect NFL QBs to start routinely nailing the “impossible” throws anytime soon. “Yeah, it’s a baseball throw,” Tripp added. “But he’s doing it with a football – not a baseball - while there are a bunch of guys trying to tackle him. So, it’s still pretty ridiculous.” [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Brooke Pryor, ESPN: “Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is great at a lot of things. Heck, he's better than nearly everyone at most of them. But despite Mahomes being the son of a former major league reliever ... pitching at the college level isn't one of them.” Shannon Sharpe, Undisputed: “As far as just throwing the ball, athleticism and a baseball background, I can see where coach Vic Fangio would say Patrick Mahomes does remind you a little of John Elway.” Tim Grieve, Detroit Tigers scout: “He was the best player on the field or on the court in three different sports. It wasn't like you were just talking about one sport, one position. I'm pretty sure he would've been good at whatever he wanted to do.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - With so many superstars off the market, this year’s NBA trade deadline could be quiet. [ESPN.com’s Tim Bontemps]( takes a look at three big questions that will shape the NBA trade deadline. - There seems to be a consensus that Tom Brady is the GOAT among quarterbacks right now, but plenty of people think Patrick Mahomes could be the GOAT one day. [Yahoo Sports columnist Dan Wetzel]( explains why Mahomes’ path to catching Brady in the GOAT debate is more challenging than people think. - National Signing Day doesn’t have the same fireworks it used to as the early signing period now gobbles up many of the major headlines. However, that doesn’t mean we were without some excitement to conclude the 2021 recruiting cycle. [247Sports.com’s Steve Wiltfong]( takes a look at five schools who won big on National Signing Day. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Happy anniversary to one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history! On this date in 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles ran a reverse to tight end Trey Burton who threw the ball to QB Nick Foles for a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half in Super Bowl LII. The play became forever known as the “Philly Special.” The Eagles would go on to defeat the Patriots, 41-33, and Foles - who was playing in place of Eagles starting QB Carson Wentz - was named the MVP of the Super Bowl. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Ohio State at Iowa (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) E.J. Liddell and the No. 7-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes travel to Iowa to take on Luka Garza and the No. 8-ranked Hawkeyes in a Big Ten showdown. Arizona at Utah (FS1, 7 p.m. ET) James Akinjo and the Arizona Wildcats battle Timmy Allen and the Utah Utes. Golden State Warriors at Dallas Mavericks (TNT, 7:30 p.m. ET) Stephen Curry leads the Golden State Warriors into Dallas to take on Luka Doncic and the Mavericks. Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers (TNT, 10 p.m. ET) Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets go up against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a Western Conference matchup. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( The biggest sports gambling day of the year is Super Bowl Sunday, and as a result, FOX Sports betting analyst Jason McIntyre is here to help with all of your betting needs. Here’s a look at McIntyre’s Super Bowl LV picks: Leonard Fournette OVER 3.5 receptions (-138) Fournette’s targets have gone up in each playoff game (4, 5, 7), and he has better hands than Ronald Jones, too. Total FGs made in the first half: OVER 1.5 (-120) In two playoff games, the Chiefs held the Browns and Bills to a combined one TD and two field goals in the first half. Bruce Arians is Mr. "No risk it, no biscuit," but he’ll save that for the second half. Darrel Williams OVER 30.5 rush yards (-105) In the earlier meeting with Tampa Bay this year, Mahomes attempted 49 passes, and rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 37 yards. With CEH nursing a sprained ankle that limited him to six carries for seven yards in the AFC title game, Darrel Williams will get the bulk of the carries. Jason Pierre-Paul to record a sack: YES (+140) This is simply a play against the beat-up Chiefs offensive line. Their two best tackles are out, and it’ll be musical chairs of offensive linemen. Shaq Barrett to record a sack: YES (+115) Shaq Barrett has become one of the best edge rushers in the league the past two seasons, and he has an extremely favorable matchup against K.C. guard Andrew Wylie, who is likely to move to right tackle for this game. Total interceptions: OVER 1.5 (+120) Tom Brady has played 19 games this season, and for some reason, he has thrown interceptions in bunches, registering five games with multiple picks. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Every experience, good or bad, you have to learn from.” — Patrick Mahomes [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900