There is a long history of intersport crossovers with quarterbacks playing baseball. Many people know that Tom Brady was actually drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1995 but turned it down to play football at Michigan. Dante Culpepper was drafted by the New York Yankees before deciding to air it out to Randy Moss and Cris Carter. Even John Elway actually played for the minor league affiliates of both the Yankees and the Kansas City Royals. The list goes on and on.
It makes sense that quarterbacks would thrive in baseball, throwing mechanics in both sports are fairly similar and, while some may argue otherwise, the pace of the games is actually fairly similar with frequent stoppages defining both. It's not surprising then that those individuals who excel in one of these sports, excel in the other.
So when you consider all of that, recent Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel should have had no problem tossing out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers game this past Sunday in Arlington, right? Aside from throwing up the Longhorns sign during his spring break in Cabo San Lucas -- and in the process alienating just about every Texas A&M fan in the country -- Manziel is arguably the most beloved man in Texas besides Ross Perot.
During his freshman year Manziel threw for over 3,000 yards and rushed for another 1,000 breaking an SEC record and taking A&M to their best season in years. Unfortunately, it seems as though his nickname “Johnny Football” is short for “Johnny Football.... only, and exclusively football.”
After watching the video above, the only thing that can come to mind is the call of famed (fictitious) Indians broadcaster Harry Doyle, “Juuuuuuuust a bit outside.”
Fortunately Johnny need not worry. In a bizarre one-up attempt, former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson channeled his inner Mariah Carey at Wednesday's game between the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays.
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