Alex Rodriguez admits giving Patrick Mahomes the ‘worst advice ever’ to quit football for baseball

Patrick Mahomes has always had the heart of a champion. I remember Pat as a young kid, coming to practice with his dad to tee up baseballs for me and my teammate. I distinctly remember giving him the worst advice ever. ‘Don’t play football. The money’s in baseball.’ I’m happy to be wrong and glad he didn’t listen!

Alex Rodriguez said as per Time

Rodrigues was correct in saying that it indeed was the ‘worst piece’ of advice. The MLB legend himself admitted that Patrick has transcended the game of football to become one of the most respected athletes of all time, both on and off the field.

Why did Patrick Mahomes choose football over baseball?

The influence of his father, Pat Mahomes, was deep on Patrick. Mahomes Sr. played with Rodriguez at the Texas Rangers during the 2001 MLB season. For that reason, baseball was his first love.

Throughout his school and college life, Mahomes was part of both the baseball and football teams. However, at Texas Tech, he started having fatigue. His then head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, told him that he would be drafted in the first round—to focus more on football.

I came into the game; [I think] I walked the first guy, [then] hit the second guy, [and] gave him a double, and they scored a run. Then I got taken out of the game. I think I have an affinity ERA, which isn't probably a good one. That's not something I am proud of my record. Mahomes revealed

He gave up baseball after just one game and started three seasons as a quarterback with the Texas Tech Red Rangers. In 2017, after Sean Payton passed him on, the Chiefs selected Mahomes as their future under center. 

In that one game, he threw only 15 passes, which was enough for him to make up his mind. 

I was like,'Let's do it. I want to see where this takes me. Patrick Mahomes said per Time

During his three years as QB, Mahomes threw for 857 completions for 11,252 yards and 93 touchdowns. For the Chiefs, he has a completion rate of 66.5 with a league-best average of 296.1 yards per game.  

Mahomes has won three Super Bowls in his career—the last two back-to-back. He has been named NFL MVP twice, Super Bowl MVP three times, 6 Pro Bowl nods, twice All-Pro nods, and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2017.

If Mahomes someday switches to baseball, he will follow in the footsteps of some of the greats of both games. Two players who excelled in both these sports on a professional level were Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders.