There’s an alternate universe where Tom Brady saved the Montreal Expos and is chasing records set by Carlton Fisk, Bob Boone and Ivan Rodriguez as the oldest catcher in Major League Baseball history.
Brady famously was drafted by the Expos in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft but ultimately decided to take his talents to Ann Arbor, Mich., and play football.
Brady explained why he chose football over baseball to CNN Asia last month while in Shanghai, and it’s pretty surprising given the reputations of both sports.
“Ironically, baseball was a lot of strain on my body,” Brady said. “I liked to be a catcher, and I was in the middle of all the action, but I was in a crouching stance all day, and my knees would get really sore and my elbow would get sore from throwing. When I started playing football, I didn’t have to do all those things. It was really the pain that I felt from playing high school baseball that was one of the reasons that I fell in love with football.”
Brady was drafted in the same year as long-since-retired MLB players Kerry Wood, Todd Helton, Roy Halladay and Mike Lowell. Future NFL players Ricky Williams, Lawyer Milloy, Chad Hutchinson, Danny Kanell, Daunte Culpepper and Michael Bishop also were drafted the same year.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
