A.J. Brown playing in Major League Baseball? According to the Philadelphia Eagles star wideout, it almost happened this year.
Brown was selected in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB Draft as a center fielder by the San Diego Padres, and said he seriously contemplated becoming a two-sport athlete.
In January, Brown tweeted, “Sometimes I think about playing both sports again @Padres all I need is a workout. I still got,” adding an emoji with sunglasses.
To many, this seemed like a joke or a passing thought, but Brown said it was a real possibility.
“I was dead serious,” Brown told DelawareOnline.com. “[The Padres] had reached out to me. They were about to invite me to spring training. They were just waiting on an answer from me.”
He explained that the Padres wanted his full dedication to be with baseball, so for now the MLB dream is put to the side.
“They were telling me if I’m [still] going to play football, then I can’t play baseball,” Brown said. “I can’t just play around with [baseball]. So it kind of killed my chances for the moment.”
This does not mean he is done pursuing his chances in the sport. He says if he does play, he promises that he will do “better than Michael Jordan in baseball.”
“Who knows? Maybe when I’m done playing football, I’ll go play baseball,” the 25-year-old said.
Brown switched his focus to football before college, saying “I just fell in love with football in high school. It was so much more fun scoring touchdowns. … Once I started falling in love with football, baseball took a back seat, and I kind of just played to play.”
He put his baseball career on the back burner, but he says the sport did help him in his football career.
“Playing baseball definitely helps me with hand-eye coordination,” Brown said. “Tracking the ball over the shoulder. I think tracking the football is much easier than tracking a little small baseball. That helps me in the game I play today. The hand-eye coordination with my hands, looking the catch in.”
This offseason, Brown was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles after spending the first three seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans, and signed a four-year, $100 million extension.
The 2-0 Eagles are in Washington to face the 1-1 Commanders on Sept. 25.
