Quarterback Patrick Mahomes often leaves every fan in awe with some of the amazing throws that he can pull off. His unique ability to utilize different arm angels is sometimes mind-bending, but it's second nature to Mahomes thanks to his baseball past.
"I'm a baseball player at heart," said Mahomes. "That's just who I am. I'm playing shortstop back there."
Mahomes grew up around baseball traveling around the country with his dad, Patrick Mahomes Sr., who played a total of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball. Being around baseball early in his life, Mahomes' love for the sport grew as he got older.
In fact, Mahomes' first appearance on ESPN was long before his football days. Mahomes had the opportunity to play in the 2010 Junior League World Series as the shortstop for Tyler, Texas. That is where his athleticism and magical abilities began to shine.
In high school, Mahomes already had a strong arm and could touch the lower 90s with his fast ball. His talents were enough to draw the attention of the Detroit Tigers, who drafted Mahomes in the 37th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
He turned down that offer to continue his football career with Texas Tech University while also initially opting to play baseball for the Red Raiders, but with his attention focused on football, Mahomes' baseball career soon came to halt.
It turned out to be the correct decision for the eventual league MVP and Super Bowl champion, but Mahomes' baseball background is still alive and well. The incredible throws that Mahomes makes every Sunday all lead back to his baseball skills, whether that is throwing a 57-yard pass – as he did against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday – or his shovel passes to tight end Travis Kelce.
Additionally, on the football field, Mahomes is able to drop his arm down and throw sidearm passes to fit the ball through the tightest of windows. This skill was likely developed back in high school when Mahomes needed to field a ground ball on the run and send the baseball to the first baseman from shortstop.
Even with a little shovel pass to Kelce, you are able to draw a line directly to a familiar baseball play Mahomes probably made time after time. Picture this, a ball is hit up the middle with a runner on first, Mahomes fields it and makes the flip to his second baseman. That arm motion he used to flip the baseball looks very similar to his shovel passes to Kelce.
Mahomes' baseball past is the foundation for all of the amazing throws he is able to make that other quarterbacks in the NFL simply cannot. His time on the diamond bolstered the man we call "showtime" into the electric play-extender that he is today.
