Published 16:31 IST, January 24th 2020
Yankees reveal Patrick Mahomes could have almost taken MLB by storm in New York City
Patrick Mahomes has been among the most impressive quarterbacks in the NFL. However, things could have been a lot different had the Yankees taken notice.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
National Football League (NFL) star Patrick Mahomes is a week away from clinching a Super Bowl ring. The Kansas City Chiefs booked a trip to Super Bowl 2020 on the back of some huge comeback wins over the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans. However, if things were different, Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise New York Yankees claim that Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes could have been a Yankee had he not chosen the NFL.
Yankees reportedly scouted Patrick Mahomes ahead of the 2014 MLB Draft
Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees head of talent scouting, revealed that one of the team's scouts Mike Leuzinger was tracking Patrick Mahomes back when he was at Whitehouse High School in Texas. Oppenheimer claims that Leuzinger 'really liked' Patrick Mahomes. He even thought that the now-Chiefs star had a lofty ceiling for improvement both in the field and on the mound. "He thought the guy had a future in baseball," Oppenheimer said this week. "He thought he could hit, that he could play the outfield, that he was athletic. He liked him quite a bit and he also thought he had a big arm in case something happened and he could pitch.", Oppenheimer claimed.
The declaration from the Yankees camp comes after it was revealed that the Detroit Tigers were also in for Patrick Mahomes. In fact, he was drafted out of Whitehouse High School by the Detroit Tigers in the 37th round of the 2014 MLB draft. His erstwhile baseball career comes as little surprise since he has family history in the MLB. Patrick Mahomes' father featured in the MLB for the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets and Texas Rangers.
The state of Kansas will heave a sigh of relief that the Yankees chose not to go ahead with their interest and convince the Chiefs star to join the MLB. Over the course of the regular season, Patrick Mahomes led a Chiefs offence that was among the most impressive in the NFL. He also displayed his array of talent during the AFC Championship game against the Tennesee Titans.
Updated 16:31 IST, January 24th 2020