Major League Baseball

Johnny Baseball? Manziel picked by Padres in 28th round of MLB Draft

Published Jun. 7, 2014 4:31 p.m. ET

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Lindsey Foltin

Could Johnny Football ditch the pads and cleats for a future on the diamond as Johnny Baseball?

Probably not. But he might want to consider it.

The Cleveland Browns quarterback was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 28th round (No. 837 overall) of the 2014 MLB Draft Saturday.

Manziel was listed as a shortstop for Texas A&M, although he hasn't stepped foot on the baseball diamond since his junior year of high school. Apparently, he was a pretty decent infielder and even talked to Texas A&M baseball coaches about joining the team in 2012.

But it's a good thing he didn't, because he went on to win the Heisman Trophy that year and had a nice college career with the Aggies before leaving for the NFL.

As a first-round pick (No. 22 overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft, it's probably safe to say that Manziel's baseball career will be limited to throwing out the occasional ceremonial first pitches. In fact, Manziel threw out the first pitch at a Padres game last summer, so the team must have liked what they saw. He was recently scheduled to throw out the first pitch in Cleveland  for an Indians-Red Sox game, but it was scrapped because of weather.

Naturally, the Padres' choice created some buzz on social media, including from Johnny himself. 

Manziel is far from the first NFL player to be drafted by an MLB team. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was acquired by the Texas Rangers in the MLB Rule 5 Draft in December 2013. Having played in college, Wilson says he once gave serious thought to pursing an MLB career and still has a dream of playing professionally.

Among other NFL players selected in past MLB Drafts are: quarterbacks Tom Brady (1995, Expos), Michael Vick (2000, Rockies), Colin Kaepernick ('09, Cubs), Matt Cassel ('04, Athletics) and Jake Locker ('06 and '09, Angels); and wide receivers Golden Tate ('07, D-backs & '10, Giants) and Eric Decker ('08, Brewers & '09, Twins). Locker was the highest drafted of this group, being taken in the 10th round by the Angels in 2009.

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