Colin Kaepernick played baseball before he came to the San Francisco 49ers. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs, could he have played in the MLB?
Colin Kaepernick is now a star in the NFL after helping lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl, but a few years ago, it looked as if a career in professional football might never happen.
As a high school senior, Kaepernick played baseball at high school in Turlock, California and got the attention of a number of MLB scouts after throwing consistently in the 90s and recording two no-hitters. He looked so good in fact, that many schools offered scholarships, while some major league teams were ready to sign him.
The Chicago Cubs saw some talent in Kaepernick, which is one reason why they decided to take him in the 43rd round of the 2009 amateur draft without even seeing him throw. When he was drafted, Kaepernick was already enrolled at the University in Nevada and was bit by the NFL bug. He wanted to be a professional quarterback.
While in high school at John H. Pitman High, Kaepernick went 11-2 with a 1.27 ERA and hit .313 with 17 RBI and a .407 on-base percentage.
Kaepernick told MLB.com that football had always been his real passion despite playing three sports in high school.
"Out of high school, if I got a football scholarship, that's what I was going to do," Kaepernick said. "That was part of my scholarship deal with Nevada. I told them, 'If I sign here, I won't enter the Major League Draft.' So, I declined it out of high school and actually got drafted three years later when I hadn't picked up a baseball in three years."
According to Yahoo Sports, "Cubs' crosschecker Sam Hughes told ESPN on Wednesday that Kaepernick was shocked and flattered that he had been selected. The Cubs' scouting report on Kaepernick said he was "a big, strong kid who would develop in time if he concentrated on baseball."
"It appears he made the right choice," Hughes said.
At the time, the Cubs felt they had a star in the 6-foot-6 right-hander and gave him a shot to play in the short-season rookie league, but instead Kaepernick said he wanted to keep playing in Reno and "stay the course." The Cubs previously drafted college football players in pitcher Jeff Samardzija and outfielder Matt Szczur and hoped to have another diamond in the rough.
"I was looking at this tall, kind of gangly at the time quarterback that was super athletic and had this really long throwing motion," Hughes said. "I was talking to some of my buddies at Reno and said, 'Boy, I wonder if this kid's ever played baseball, he's got an arm stroke like a pitcher.' "
Hughes told ESPN that he and Kaepernick remain in touch. "He's the same kid he was back then. He hasn't changed a bit," he said.
49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh was not surprised that Kaepernick was skilled at another sport.
"He's a man for all seasons," Harbaugh said. "Tremendous football player, basketball player, baseball player, a tremendous athlete with a lot of gifts of God."
Nevada coach Chris Ault helped develop Kaepernick as a quarterback in college, but it wasn't always easy after he spent time pitching.
"His first two years he was a thrower from his pitching days. It was all sidearm," Ault said. "That was a habit we had to break. You could see his throwing motion, timing and touch was there. His senior year I saw the whole package. He was a guy ready for the NFL who could do all things they'd like him to do plus run. Now I look at him with the Niners and Jim and those guys are doing a super job. He has all the throws. What I really enjoy watching is he really learned to put the touch on the ball when he has to."
Kaepernick has become a true star in the league and it is likely he will cash in on that fame. According to ESPN.com's Darren Rovell, the quarterback has trademarked the term, "Kaepernicking", which went viral following the 49ers' win over the Green Bay Packers, during which Kaepernick showed off his move of kissing his flexed bicep.
According to ESPN.com, the San Francisco Chronicle was first to report the "Kaepernicking" trademark. Kaepernick's marketing agent, Shawn Smith of X-A-M Sports, told ESPN.com that her team intends to file other trademarks on her client's behalf.
The trend of "Kaepernicking" follows the same path as "Tebowing" and "Teoing", both of which went viral over the past year. Tebowing is modeled after Tim Tebow, who was seen multiple times last year bending down on one knee with his head in his hands while on the football field. Teoing is newer, linking to the Manti Te'o hoax story in which he had a fake girlfriend. People online started the trend by taking pictures while motioning towards an invisible person.
San Francisco head coach Jim Harbaugh took a lot of flak from many in the NFL after starting Colin Kaepernick over established veteran Alex Smith, but everyone is calling him a genius now that his team has made it to the Super Bowl.
Kaepernick went 6-2 as a starter and had a passer rating of 98.7 with 13.1 yards per rushing attempt while throwing for 1,184 yards and 10 touchdowns. Against Green Bay two weeks ago, Kaepernick had a coming out party, setting a record with 181 rushing yards to go along with 263 yards and two touchdowns while also adding another two scores on the ground.
He was a big reason the team was able to overcome a 17-point deficit in the NFC championship game and will likely be the main reason the 49ers win or lose the Super Bowl. The switch from Smith was a major story, but since Kaepernick has played so well, it almost is irrelevant.
The biggest notable quarterback change in midseason came for another Super Bowl team as well. In 2001, New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe was hit hard by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis and suffered internal bleeding, forcing backup Tom Brady in the game. Brady led the Patriots to wins in 11 of the 14 games he started as well as the Super Bowl that year and never looked back.
Kaepernick has the chance to make history himself and if the 49ers win the Super Bowl, chances are every team in the NFL will be looking for their Kaepernick.
