Why isn’t Cam Newton playing baseball? – Sporting News

Cam Newton’s career path has worked out pretty well. The 2010 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback was the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft, became Sporting News’ 2015 Offensive Player of the Year and is leading the Panthers to the Super Bowl.

It may seem that Newton was destined for the gridiron. He’s the son of a football player and is everything you would want a football player to be, from physical attributes to mentality. Nothing, though, is predetermined.

“Around age 9, I played baseball too,” Newton told ESPN magazine in 2013 . “I played center field because I loved Ken Griffey Jr. I really admired him. I was always a pretty good athlete, so my coach would shuffle me around to third base or shortstop, which was fine with me. This was when the Braves were good, and they had Chipper Jones, and I was also a big fan of Derek Jeter’s. Those pickup, backyard games were the most fun — just those warms (sic) nights in the South where you smell the fresh-cut grass and walk home exhausted. Those nights were the best.”

Good luck today, @CameronNewton ! Go @Panthers ! #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/gc7Ab8ZHV3

— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) November 8, 2015

CAM NEWTON CELEBRATIONS: From dabbing to Superman

The best. Baseball was the best. So, what happened?

“I quit baseball at 14 because I was afraid of the pitches,” Newton said. “The kids started getting better and throwing faster, and it would’ve hurt getting hit by that ball, so I stopped playing. … My mom always wondered how I could be afraid of a little baseball when I always had these huge guys chasing me. It’s a good question.”

Here’s another question. Why didn’t Newton wind up pitching? He obviously has a strong arm and strong legs, and at 6-5, 245 pounds — though he’d probably weigh less now had he stuck with baseball because of the different demands of physical training — Newton would cut an imposing figure on the mound. It would be a pity not to have his speed in the outfield, but if you don’t like the idea of getting hit by pitches, the mound is the place to be.

Maybe Newton’s arm strength wasn’t as evident at the time. After all, he started in football as a linebacker, but it’s still intriguing to think about the alternate universe where someone suggests to Newton that if he doesn’t like getting hit by pitches (and even at 14, it does stink), maybe he should try being the guy throwing the pitches. Maybe today he’s the ace of the staff for his hometown Braves, lighting up Atlanta with his electric fastball and flashy smile. Or maybe he doesn’t make it beyond high school, because pitching is really difficult and requires a totally different skill set from being a quarterback.

The real question is for baseball: what can the sport do not only to get more elite athletes like Newton, but keep them? It’s obvious that the diamond had appeal for Newton, but baseball lost him to football. Baseball did keep Jeff Samardzija, and the pitcher’s five-year, $90 million deal with the Giants represents higher earnings on one contract than the former Notre Dame star’s wide receiver peers will make in their careers. There’s also far less risk of long-term ill health effects from baseball than football.

What football does provide is not only more than twice as many total roster spots at the highest professional level, but a much easier path to higher education with far more available college scholarships — and a lot less international competition than baseball.

The answers for baseball aren’t easy. It’s not like people at the sport’s highest levels aren’t aware of the challenge of keeping kids playing, not to mention the long-term declining rates of black American players in the major leagues. It’s just that Newton, who loved to play the game, is another example of someone who walked away from the diamond. Baseball’s loss, football’s gain.