Before he became a star wide receiver in the NFL, A.J. Brown was a good enough baseball prospect that the San Diego Padres selected him in the 19th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft. And he says he still gives thought to giving baseball a try.
In fact, Brown says he strongly considered doing it this year> When Brown tweeted in January that he was considering trying to play both sports, most people thought he was just having some fun, but Brown said this week that he meant it.
“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.”
That was before the Titans traded Brown to the Eagles, and he now has both a team and a contract he’s happy with. And Brown says he couldn’t have just dabbled in baseball, because the Padres only want him to do it if he’s willing to devote his full energy to being the best baseball player he can be.
“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.”
Brown says he’s not certain that he’s done with baseball for good.
“Who knows?” Brown said. “Maybe when I’m done playing football, I’ll go play baseball.”