Tom Brady finally put rumors about his future to rest and announced his retirement from football, effective immediately: after 22 seasons in the NFL and seven Super Bowl trophies, you would be surprised to know that he was drafted by an MLB team.
Can you guess which was the MLB team who drafted Brady?
The extinct Montreal Expos were the ones who took a chance on Brady in the 1995 MLB Draft.
They picked him in the 18th round, as a catcher.
Impressive that Expos found Tom Brady in 18th round of 1995 draft.
Top of that draft was quite good. Roy Halladay, Todd Helton, Darin Erstad, Kerry Wood and Jose Cruz Jr. all taken in 1st round. Carlos Beltran was a 2nd-round steal. Jarrod Washburn a great 2nd round pick.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) February 1, 2022
A Star In Multiple Sports
Brady went to the Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, where he played football, baseball, and basketball representing the Padres.
He was a backup quarterback initially, but took advantage of an opportunity – the starter got injured – and never relinquished his starting gig.
He started to get attention from football scouts of several college programs and ended up deciding to go to the University of Michigan.
In between, however, he also got attention from baseball organizations.
Brady was a left-handed hitter with some power and, of course, he had a great arm for a catcher.
As it turns out, he was quite promising as young catcher: Expos general manager Kevin Malone had him as a future All-Star, with the potential to be “one of the greatest catchers ever“.
The latter rounds of an MLB Draft are often reserved to less talented players, but there are also some potential gems.
For example, teams aren’t going to spend a high-round pick on a player with a known commitment to a college program.
That’s why Brady lasted until the 18th round, because MLB executives knew he was also good at football and was starting to get attention.
Montreal offered him second-round money with the hope Brady picked them over a college football team, but their attempts were futile.
Who knows if Brady could have developed into the kind of catcher the Expos hoped: it’s an amazing side story about a football legend, arguably the greatest of all time.
He Always Had To Prove His Worth
At Michigan, he often shared time with Drew Henson at the quarterback position.
Oddly enough, Henson was also known for his baseball talent, but was a failed pick by the New York Yankees because he didn’t live up to his lofty prospect status.
Brady wasn’t a highly regarded quarterback prospect entering the 2000 NFL Draft, and to make matters worse, he had an unimpressive combine.
He was taken in the sixth round and spent most of the 2000 season, his first in the NFL, as the backup behind starter Drew Bledsoe.
He was again the second-string quarterback in 2001, but took over after a couple of games.
He won the Super Bowl that year, and the rest is history.
Had he chosen baseball over football, perhaps he would have played in the same time as some other great catchers, like Mike Piazza, Javier Lopez, Jorge Posada, Jason Varitek, and many more.
The Montreal Expos' system produced Hall of Famers Gary Carter, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Randy Johnson, Vlad Guerrero and many other very good major leaguers.
Their most accomplished draft pick ever still was California high-school catcher Tom Brady (Round 18, 1995)— Peter Botte (@PeterBotte) January 29, 2022
Who knows what kind of major league career was in store for him, but he was reportedly very good.
It’s a good thing he didn’t pick baseball, though, because he completed the most amazing career for a professional football player in history.
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