Before he became one of the most dominant wide receivers in the NFL, Philadelphia Eagles star AJ Brown had an opportunity to play professional baseball. He had a very simple reason for not choosing that career path.
During a recent appearance on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast, Brown explained why he chose to pursue football after he was a two-sport star in high school. The three-time Pro Bowl wideout took part in the Under Armour High School All-America Baseball Game in 2015, and he was apparently intimidated by the competition.
Brown said he could not believe how fast some of his fellow high school players were throwing at the All-America game. That’s why he decided he would be better off playing football.
“I’ll tell you when I made the decision to play football. I’m in right field, I’m in the All-America game in Chicago. The first was like 97 (mph) — 97 off the rip? I’m usually facing like 85,” Brown explained. “We still in high school, though, so these are all high school players and these guys are probably gonna go first round. I see him throwing an off-speed pitch and it’s like a 90-mph breaking ball. I’m gonna see if I can go over here and hit this.
“I end up hitting it and actually hitting it to third base, like a little dribble to third base. I end up beating it out. I’m on base and I’m like, ‘These boys throwing this ball hard as hell. We in high school. What’s it gonna be like when I get to the league?’ Na, I’ll go catch that football.”
Brown was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. That prevented him from being able to play baseball in college, but he became a star wide receiver for Ole Miss. He was a two-time First-time All-SEC selection with the Rebels and then drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round in 2019, so he obviously made the right choice.
Though Brown does not need to have any regrets about the sport he chose, the fact that he is intimidated by a 97-mph fastball but not a 250-pound defender running full-speed at him is pretty ironic.
