Why is Jameis Winston playing baseball? Seriously.
Winston, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner who carried Florida State to the BCS National Title in football, is playing baseball today. He’s playing baseball against the New York Yankees.
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He might even pitch when FSU faces the Yankees on Tuesday. Does anyone else realize pitchers suffer arm injuries all the time? I feel like I'm dealing with crazy people.
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The projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft is playing baseball, for fun. One injury could cost him millions. One jealous pitcher throwing at Winston’s head could jeopardize his future. He could step on a sprinkler head in the outfield, ala Mickey Mantle, for all we know. Cole Hamels famously hit Bryce Harper to "welcome him to the majors." Don't you think beaning the Heisman winner would be tempting?
Yes, Winston loves baseball. He’s also very good at it, being named to Baseball America’s preseason All-American third team. As a true freshman last year, he made 22 starts in the outfield, hit .235 with nine RBIs and had a 3.00 ERA in 17 relief appearances. Coincidently, Winston is from Bessemer, Alabama, which happens to be the hometown of another two-sport star named Bo Jackson. I don’t care.
Purists will say, “he’s a kid, let him play” or, “that’s what athletes do.” But I don’t care. If Winston were my son, he’d drop out of school and sign with Drew Rosenhaus. Then, Team Rosenhaus would hire a QB guru with similar skills to watch film and workout with Winston, nonstop, until next year’s NFL Draft. He wouldn’t even play football his sophomore year. He’s proven everything he can at the college level.
The whole point of college is to prepare you to succeed in the “real world.” It would have been a no-brainer if someone offered me million of dollars to drop out of Northeastern back when I was a freshman in 1999. Winston is set up to succeed in the real world. All he has to do is not screw it up. A major injury would do just that… screw it up.
When millions of dollars and a chance to be the No. 1 overall pick are on the line, risking it all to play a game is just silly. Every precaution possible should be made to protect his future. Maybe I’m crazy and he will follow in Bo Jackson’s footsteps as a two-sport star. The risky simply isn't worth the reward.
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