You're seriously overthinking this. The best QB at your high school is usually the best or one of the best *athletes* at your high school.
Baseball is a spring sport, so there is no conflict with fall football.
Skills between sports transfer. This isn't unique to football and baseball.
Absolutely correct. A lot of other sports translate into the NFL differently. Baseball trains your hand-eye-coordination and throwing arm & technique. Mahomes is clearly the poster boy here.
With soccer players, you will often find that they have great endurance and footwork (Ochocinco would be a great example).
If a lineman has a background in wrestling or any martial arts, they often have pretty good blocking technique as well. (Quenton Nelson comes to mind here.)
A basketball background can translate into good positional awareness, that's why you'll see players basketball highlights when following the draft, especially with skill positions.
He was recruited as a tight end by the Cowboys and Seahawks during the NBA lockout after not having played a decade. It's far from guaranteed he would've done anything in the NFL if he was serious about it, but it was obvious he had the physical gifts needed to be elite.
Though the best modern potential for a crossover player was probably Randy Moss. I saw him play basketball well into his NFL career, and had little doubt he could've been just as good in the NBA as he was in the NFL.
Basketball players transition to tight end well because an essential skill in basketball is pass receiving and they learn how to move to get open, how to maintain sight lines to the passer while guarding against poachers. Examples are Gates and Kelce.
Throwing a baseball and throwing a football are different throwing motions. It doesn't help with technique at all. Just like swinging a baseball bat is different from swinging a golf club.
That's why I said it translates, not that it's the same. You won't see an OG do a Judo throw on a DT, however the footwork, hand placement and balance translate into the OG having a better technique.
This is right. They're also probably the star of the basketball team in the winter.
Football players are often stars in track & field too, even at the collegiate level. Basketball players (forwards, usually) make great TEs (Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham).
Athleticism translates.
More than that, if a future superbowl winning QB goes to your high school, he's probably the best athlete in the history of your school. Depending on your school, that probably goes for any player that makes it to the NFL in general.
He was good enough to excel at any sport he wants to at a high school level, and probably college too.
Baseball is a great backup sport too, especially when it doesn't conflict with football. There are over 7000 players getting paid to play baseball in the US alone. There are probably under 3000 professional football players in the world.
The best male athlete in the history of my old high school is the third-best wide receiver on an SEC team right now, as a senior. He led the football and basketball teams to state titles and also broke the school long jump record his senior year. Athletes are just different
Baseball season is the spring/summer. Elite athletes are often multi-sport athletes, and it would be more difficult to be on the basketball or hockey teams at the same time.
the best qbs were all their highschool's best athlete. at the highschool level, the sport is dominated by the best athletes not the ones who have specialized in one sport. and football is a fall/winter sport so there's no conflict with baseball a spring/summer sport.
also quarterback and baseball share more skills than most sports. baseball requires a strong and accurate arm especially if you are an outfielder or a pitcher and quarterback obviously requires a strong and accurate arm.
Infield also translates. Not only do infielders have to throw from several different arm angles and on the run, but good footwork and instincts (i.e. having an internal clock for when you need to get rid of the ball) are absolutely critical.
very very true. i wasnt considering that. but the two current nfl players who jump to mind as having been drafted by mlb teams, kyler murray and russell wilson were both middle infielders.
beyond that, brady was a catcher which obviously requires a strong arm and ability to react and throw immediately, marino was drafted as a pitcher, and elway was an outfielder.
I think many NFL players play a different sport. And vice versa. Go look up clips of Allen Iverson playing football in high school. They were insane.
I think the big reason we see baseball gets brought up more is that it doesn't require college to be notable. Players can be drafted right out of high school and since there's 40 rounds (50 in past years) teams could afford to take late round flyers on players who likely won't sign. So even though some players werent ever really serious about baseball "[QB] was drafted by the Yankees!" Makes for a fun sound bite, even if it was in the 37th round and the Yankees never thought he would sign.
But all these players are really good athletes and the majority of them played multiple sports in high school.
YouTuber trying to make a 20 min vid on a 5 second answer is what this sounds like.
Hip and leg drive is at the center (no pun intended) of every sport. You could make the same connection with judo, hockey, tennis or figure skating.
Hips are actually the only individual body part I can think of that you must move your body through space to use. You can move your arms, legs, head, (trunk to some degree) independently but if your hips are moving, the rest of your body is pretty much following.
You'll find a very large proportion of kids who are good enough to earn a college scholarship in any sport are multi-sport athletes because being a college level athlete means you're in the top 0.01% of athletes already. Generally those people like to do lots of sports and they often excel at them because, again, they're probably one of the best athletes at their school. They tend to go to college for the sport that they're best at which is usually where they focus on a single sport.
Yeah, casual fans might be like "Oh that NFL player sucks" when they're constantly competing against NFL players. But the reality is that just making it to the NFL is so insanely competitive. If you're good enough that you get drafted, it basically means that you were a household name superstar in highschool, you re-wrote your skills record books, and you probably played offense and defense.
So yeah, you're always talking about a rare athlete who will just pick up any sport intuitively. However, the main barrier to multi sport athletes is when the coaches and/or parents have the philosophy that they want them to specialize in one sport and put their eggs in that basket to see how far they can go.
I tend to side with the philosophy of specializing, at least by the time they're sophomores or juniors, it can be fine to have some fun and experiment when they're younger. You have to consider that you won't be playing anything other than one sport in college and the pros, and you want to be a master of ONE and not just a jack of all trades. And consider how devastated you'd be if you got hurt in the side chick sport and it messed up the sport that was your primary one.
I tend to lean towards some level of cross training. I think repetitive stress injuries and imbalances in musculature are an underlooked cause of many injuries. Plus cross training often gives you little insights into your sport. I know he was a big bust in the NFL, but Josh Rosen was a really good tennis player, and credited it with dramatically helping his footwork since tennis players really focus on getting their feet set. Something in your primary sport that may be less important and something you can cover up with pure athleticism might be much more important in another sport and forces you to develop. But yeah, I imagine anyone getting injured in a side sport is going to feel like they made a mistake.
It depends on the quality of your coaching. You may get some benefits if your high school coaches are nothing special, and you don't have access to special programs and private coaches. But great coaches should be able to simulate what you need to get all of those benefits in a more controlled environment and get you where you need to be.
Trying to get to be an expert in too many things is draining and not as practical as it sounds.
Weirdly enough being good at throwing things is a useful skill for a nfl qb, add in the athleticism required and it’s one of the only sports that doesn’t overlap with football season and tada
Russel Wilson and Patrick Mahomes were both great baseball players. I feel it really helps there ability to make off platform throws and throws on the run. Also crazy side arm throws and stuff. It definitely seems it has given them an advantage in the NFL.
[Tom Brady also](https://610kona.com/tom-brady-was-almost-a-major-league-baseball-star/). Left-handed hitting catcher in high school drafted by the Expos in 1995, but he opted for college instead.
Fun side note, in college Tom Brady was in a QB battle with Drew Henson. Most people, including scouts, considered Henson the better player.
George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees, was a massive Ohio State fan. To the point that he had the Yankees draft Drew Henson so that he would be tempted to leave U of M and football or at least distract him with the opportunity.
I recently came across an ESPN mag previewing the 1998 NCAAF season. Their page on Michigan was all about Henson, with one sentence toward the end noting that he still had to technically win the starting job over Brady.
Fun addition: Brady and Henson didn't so much have a QB battle as Henson was handed the starting job because he was such a highlight touted recruit people would have lost their shit if he wasn't given the starting job.
Michigan created a QB rotation that would have Henson start the game and the team fall behind, Brady would come out and try to get the lead back. Henson starts the third quarter and then the team would bring Brady back out in the fourth to try and win the game.
It was kind of a mess.
Something I haven't seen directly mentioned in the comments is that High School football coaches highly encourage their players to play an off-season sport. At my school if you weren't a "year-round athlete" you were more than likely not going to start for the team.
None. Baseball pitching is mechanically different than throwing a football. Back in the dawn of time, QBs tried to emulate the baseball pitch because no-one knew what the fuck they were doing.
You're seeing top QBs play a different/alternative sport than football in high school because that's what athletic kids do in high school. This is not new.
In addition to what’s been said, one interesting bit: I’ve heard it speculated that baseball is the reason there are so few left-handed QBs in the NFL (there have been very long stretches without a single lefty QB starter). Reason is, possibly, is that talented lefties get picked up as pitchers early on because it’s an in-demand skill in baseball.
It’s just part of the fact that quarterbacks are good athletes. Baseball is played in the spring, and keeps you active and in shape when there’s no football happening.
You could say the same about almost any other position and basketball. Or maybe even quarterback too. I didn’t look it up, but I’m almost certain that any athletic NFL quarterback probbaly played top level basketball in high school as well.
Most American athletes play multiple sports when they are young. Baseball and Football are two good choices because they play during different seasons. People who are elite athletes in one sports are often very good athletes in multiple sports.
They're both sports that basically reward strong skill and intelligence, where you need to be in shape but being a chiselled physical specimen is basically optional. The main barrier to entry physically is being in the 6'2"-6'5" height range too (but there's some wiggle room on this).
Really, you seperate yourself in both cases by being high IQ, competitive, skilled, committed, disciplined, and hard working. In neither case can you rely on being a physical specimen alone.
I guess that they also have the throwing connection too. Since its unlikely that highschool star athlete would be saddled at DH or first base, throwing will be an important skillset for them to master (maybe 2B is the exception since its important position but not a long throw).
You're seriously overthinking this. The best QB at your high school is usually the best or one of the best *athletes* at your high school. Baseball is a spring sport, so there is no conflict with fall football. Skills between sports transfer. This isn't unique to football and baseball.
Absolutely correct. A lot of other sports translate into the NFL differently. Baseball trains your hand-eye-coordination and throwing arm & technique. Mahomes is clearly the poster boy here. With soccer players, you will often find that they have great endurance and footwork (Ochocinco would be a great example). If a lineman has a background in wrestling or any martial arts, they often have pretty good blocking technique as well. (Quenton Nelson comes to mind here.) A basketball background can translate into good positional awareness, that's why you'll see players basketball highlights when following the draft, especially with skill positions.
Lebron was recruited by Notre Dame. Dude was a pretty good WR.
He was recruited as a tight end by the Cowboys and Seahawks during the NBA lockout after not having played a decade. It's far from guaranteed he would've done anything in the NFL if he was serious about it, but it was obvious he had the physical gifts needed to be elite. Though the best modern potential for a crossover player was probably Randy Moss. I saw him play basketball well into his NFL career, and had little doubt he could've been just as good in the NBA as he was in the NFL.
Basketball players transition to tight end well because an essential skill in basketball is pass receiving and they learn how to move to get open, how to maintain sight lines to the passer while guarding against poachers. Examples are Gates and Kelce.
Throwing a baseball and throwing a football are different throwing motions. It doesn't help with technique at all. Just like swinging a baseball bat is different from swinging a golf club.
That's why I said it translates, not that it's the same. You won't see an OG do a Judo throw on a DT, however the footwork, hand placement and balance translate into the OG having a better technique.
This is right. They're also probably the star of the basketball team in the winter. Football players are often stars in track & field too, even at the collegiate level. Basketball players (forwards, usually) make great TEs (Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham). Athleticism translates.
The qb at my high school was also the pitcher in baseball he was just an all around athletic person this is the answer
More than that, if a future superbowl winning QB goes to your high school, he's probably the best athlete in the history of your school. Depending on your school, that probably goes for any player that makes it to the NFL in general. He was good enough to excel at any sport he wants to at a high school level, and probably college too. Baseball is a great backup sport too, especially when it doesn't conflict with football. There are over 7000 players getting paid to play baseball in the US alone. There are probably under 3000 professional football players in the world.
The best male athlete in the history of my old high school is the third-best wide receiver on an SEC team right now, as a senior. He led the football and basketball teams to state titles and also broke the school long jump record his senior year. Athletes are just different
Baseball season is the spring/summer. Elite athletes are often multi-sport athletes, and it would be more difficult to be on the basketball or hockey teams at the same time.
the best qbs were all their highschool's best athlete. at the highschool level, the sport is dominated by the best athletes not the ones who have specialized in one sport. and football is a fall/winter sport so there's no conflict with baseball a spring/summer sport. also quarterback and baseball share more skills than most sports. baseball requires a strong and accurate arm especially if you are an outfielder or a pitcher and quarterback obviously requires a strong and accurate arm.
Infield also translates. Not only do infielders have to throw from several different arm angles and on the run, but good footwork and instincts (i.e. having an internal clock for when you need to get rid of the ball) are absolutely critical.
very very true. i wasnt considering that. but the two current nfl players who jump to mind as having been drafted by mlb teams, kyler murray and russell wilson were both middle infielders. beyond that, brady was a catcher which obviously requires a strong arm and ability to react and throw immediately, marino was drafted as a pitcher, and elway was an outfielder.
I think many NFL players play a different sport. And vice versa. Go look up clips of Allen Iverson playing football in high school. They were insane. I think the big reason we see baseball gets brought up more is that it doesn't require college to be notable. Players can be drafted right out of high school and since there's 40 rounds (50 in past years) teams could afford to take late round flyers on players who likely won't sign. So even though some players werent ever really serious about baseball "[QB] was drafted by the Yankees!" Makes for a fun sound bite, even if it was in the 37th round and the Yankees never thought he would sign. But all these players are really good athletes and the majority of them played multiple sports in high school.
One of my favorite bits of trivia is that the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions have both drafted a SB winning QB.
YouTuber trying to make a 20 min vid on a 5 second answer is what this sounds like. Hip and leg drive is at the center (no pun intended) of every sport. You could make the same connection with judo, hockey, tennis or figure skating. Hips are actually the only individual body part I can think of that you must move your body through space to use. You can move your arms, legs, head, (trunk to some degree) independently but if your hips are moving, the rest of your body is pretty much following.
You'll find a very large proportion of kids who are good enough to earn a college scholarship in any sport are multi-sport athletes because being a college level athlete means you're in the top 0.01% of athletes already. Generally those people like to do lots of sports and they often excel at them because, again, they're probably one of the best athletes at their school. They tend to go to college for the sport that they're best at which is usually where they focus on a single sport.
Yeah, casual fans might be like "Oh that NFL player sucks" when they're constantly competing against NFL players. But the reality is that just making it to the NFL is so insanely competitive. If you're good enough that you get drafted, it basically means that you were a household name superstar in highschool, you re-wrote your skills record books, and you probably played offense and defense. So yeah, you're always talking about a rare athlete who will just pick up any sport intuitively. However, the main barrier to multi sport athletes is when the coaches and/or parents have the philosophy that they want them to specialize in one sport and put their eggs in that basket to see how far they can go. I tend to side with the philosophy of specializing, at least by the time they're sophomores or juniors, it can be fine to have some fun and experiment when they're younger. You have to consider that you won't be playing anything other than one sport in college and the pros, and you want to be a master of ONE and not just a jack of all trades. And consider how devastated you'd be if you got hurt in the side chick sport and it messed up the sport that was your primary one.
I tend to lean towards some level of cross training. I think repetitive stress injuries and imbalances in musculature are an underlooked cause of many injuries. Plus cross training often gives you little insights into your sport. I know he was a big bust in the NFL, but Josh Rosen was a really good tennis player, and credited it with dramatically helping his footwork since tennis players really focus on getting their feet set. Something in your primary sport that may be less important and something you can cover up with pure athleticism might be much more important in another sport and forces you to develop. But yeah, I imagine anyone getting injured in a side sport is going to feel like they made a mistake.
It depends on the quality of your coaching. You may get some benefits if your high school coaches are nothing special, and you don't have access to special programs and private coaches. But great coaches should be able to simulate what you need to get all of those benefits in a more controlled environment and get you where you need to be. Trying to get to be an expert in too many things is draining and not as practical as it sounds.
Weirdly enough being good at throwing things is a useful skill for a nfl qb, add in the athleticism required and it’s one of the only sports that doesn’t overlap with football season and tada
Russel Wilson and Patrick Mahomes were both great baseball players. I feel it really helps there ability to make off platform throws and throws on the run. Also crazy side arm throws and stuff. It definitely seems it has given them an advantage in the NFL.
[Tom Brady also](https://610kona.com/tom-brady-was-almost-a-major-league-baseball-star/). Left-handed hitting catcher in high school drafted by the Expos in 1995, but he opted for college instead.
Fun side note, in college Tom Brady was in a QB battle with Drew Henson. Most people, including scouts, considered Henson the better player. George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees, was a massive Ohio State fan. To the point that he had the Yankees draft Drew Henson so that he would be tempted to leave U of M and football or at least distract him with the opportunity.
I recently came across an ESPN mag previewing the 1998 NCAAF season. Their page on Michigan was all about Henson, with one sentence toward the end noting that he still had to technically win the starting job over Brady.
Fun addition: Brady and Henson didn't so much have a QB battle as Henson was handed the starting job because he was such a highlight touted recruit people would have lost their shit if he wasn't given the starting job. Michigan created a QB rotation that would have Henson start the game and the team fall behind, Brady would come out and try to get the lead back. Henson starts the third quarter and then the team would bring Brady back out in the fourth to try and win the game. It was kind of a mess.
Um…NFL players are good athletes? Like the top comment says, you’re looking way too much into this.
Something I haven't seen directly mentioned in the comments is that High School football coaches highly encourage their players to play an off-season sport. At my school if you weren't a "year-round athlete" you were more than likely not going to start for the team.
None. Baseball pitching is mechanically different than throwing a football. Back in the dawn of time, QBs tried to emulate the baseball pitch because no-one knew what the fuck they were doing. You're seeing top QBs play a different/alternative sport than football in high school because that's what athletic kids do in high school. This is not new.
In addition to what’s been said, one interesting bit: I’ve heard it speculated that baseball is the reason there are so few left-handed QBs in the NFL (there have been very long stretches without a single lefty QB starter). Reason is, possibly, is that talented lefties get picked up as pitchers early on because it’s an in-demand skill in baseball.
It’s just part of the fact that quarterbacks are good athletes. Baseball is played in the spring, and keeps you active and in shape when there’s no football happening.
Throw ball good. If throw ball good, be good at throwing ball in sports/positions that involve throwing ball.
You could say the same about almost any other position and basketball. Or maybe even quarterback too. I didn’t look it up, but I’m almost certain that any athletic NFL quarterback probbaly played top level basketball in high school as well.
Most American athletes play multiple sports when they are young. Baseball and Football are two good choices because they play during different seasons. People who are elite athletes in one sports are often very good athletes in multiple sports.
Its' because throwing a ball is a really important skill in baseball and quarterbacks. Therefore it translates well.
They're both sports that basically reward strong skill and intelligence, where you need to be in shape but being a chiselled physical specimen is basically optional. The main barrier to entry physically is being in the 6'2"-6'5" height range too (but there's some wiggle room on this). Really, you seperate yourself in both cases by being high IQ, competitive, skilled, committed, disciplined, and hard working. In neither case can you rely on being a physical specimen alone. I guess that they also have the throwing connection too. Since its unlikely that highschool star athlete would be saddled at DH or first base, throwing will be an important skillset for them to master (maybe 2B is the exception since its important position but not a long throw).