While most college football prospects would be working overtime alongside their coaches to dissect every throw and drill before their respective Pro Days, Shedeur Sanders is hitting the batting cage after workouts.
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Being a projected first-round pick certainly gives the Buffs star the freedom to trade spirals for swings, but for Shedeur, it’s more than just a casual hobby. It’s a nod to his roots, a way to see if he still has the swing his father, Deion Sanders, instilled in him as a kid.
In the latest episode of 2Legendary with Shedeur Sanders, Coach Prime’s son reminisced about how excited he was as a child to participate in the Little League World Series.
“Dad definitely instilled baseball in us when we were younger,” Shedeur said, recalling his early years in the sport. “I went to the Little League World Series. I did all that stuff, so I lived in full, you know, youth. So I was excited about it.”
But then, why didn’t Shedeur Sanders pursue baseball and follow his father’s footsteps? The young QB answered this question by citing one key skill that he doesn’t possess to be a professional baseball player—a good eye.
The average fastball velocity in the MLB today is a whopping 94 mph. As per Sanders, one can practice swings and maintain fitness, but to tackle fiery pitches, one needs a great eye—which Shedeur is unsure if he has.
“Nah, I think—I don’t know if I could have went pro in baseball because it’s like, you can put in the work, but your eye… You gotta have a good eye for those fast, fast pitches.”
Shedeur Sanders’ uncertainty around hitting the baseball stems from his recent batting cage sessions, where he found himself massively struggling against 60+ mph deliveries.
“I just feel like going to a batting cage and practicing my skills, seeing what I still have. And I don’t know… It’s like when you get to that 60 (mph) and up range, then it gets really, really, really fast.”
Hearing Sanders’ relative fear of facing fast pitches may make one wonder how the quarterback is okay with the fair share of physical punishment that comes with playing football. Shedeur Sanders, however, is clear about this topic—he’d rather take a 260-pound linebacker’s hit than face a 94 mph fastball.
“I’d rather get hit on a football field than get hit with a baseball.”
All said and done, it’d have been some sight to see Shedeur be equally good at baseball like his father Prime Time was. But as the Buffs star proved, not even Deion Sanders’ son can play nine seasons in Major League Baseball, suit up for teams like the Yankees, Braves, and Reds while simultaneously dominate the NFL.
Neon Deion was simply cut from a different cloth.
