Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes made the right decision.
More than 20 years after former MLB slugger Alex Rodriguez tried to persuade him to stick to baseball, Mahomes has won three Super Bowls and could clinch a third in a row with a win Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. Oh, yeah, and at age 29, he’s also a Hall of Fame lock.
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But Rodriguez, as a teammate of Mahomes’ dad with the Texas Rangers in 2001, is happy the younger Mahomes never listened to him — and now he’s a big fan.
“I’m so glad @patrickmahomes didn’t listen to me!” Rodriguez, the former New York Yankees great, wrote to Instagram on Monday. “But in all seriousness, this story still gives me goosebumps. From watching Pat as a little kid at batting practice to seeing him go for the 3-peat on Sunday, it has been incredible to watch his journey and see him grow into one of the best athletes of this generation. Good luck out there this weekend Pat!”
Mahomes responded to the post with two flexed biceps emojis.
In eight NFL seasons — he started once in 2017, his rookie year — Mahomes has become the NFL’s best quarterback. He has an 89-23 record in the regular season with 32,352 yards passing, 245 passing touchdowns and 74 interceptions.
While the connection between the two is not new, Rodriguez felt compelled to share it again while wishing his friend good luck. Rodriguez’s Instagram post consisted of a photo and two videos.
The first video had Mahomes and Rodriguez talking about their connection
Mahomes: “(When) my dad was with the Rangers, I would hit with A-Rod, take a little batting lessons off the tee.”
Rodriguez: “He always was interested, ‘How do you hit the ball like that to right center field.’ So a lot of my lessons for him was driving the ball to right center field. Patrick was there every day with a great attitude. And I remember, there’s about three or four games where I hit about six or seven home runs. I was on fire. And on that Friday, I came back working even harder, and I remember Patrick saying, ‘Alex, why are you working so hard today if you hit all these home runs.’ And I said, ”You’re only as good as what you do after greatness.”
Mahomes: “It was my first love. But as I started playing football, I quickly figured out that I didn’t know what love was because I love football more than I love baseball.
Rodriguez: “I remember saying, ‘Patrick, there is no future in football. You are a baseball player. Man, I’m glad he didn’t listen to me!”
The second video included Mahomes at a podium.
“I grew up watching players,” Mahomes said “When I would grow up, I loved Alex Rodriguez play shortstop, and try to make plays just like him and do stuff like that. It helped me become the athlete that I am. We have these guys that are coming up and doing some of the side-arm stuff.”
The video concluded with Rodriguez and Mahomes making various incredible throws on their respective fields.
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