The Shark is happy with his decision to concentrate solely on baseball. Note the stereotyping I've highlighted, adhering to the Caste System rule that a white receiver can only be compared to other white receivers never black ones. At least he didn't mention Ricky Proehl:
Samardzija really liked football, loves baseball
Josh Robbins | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted April 17, 2007
DAYTONA BEACH -- At least one TV in the Daytona Cubs' clubhouse always is tuned to SportsCenter, and at 6:10 one recent night, the show spent a few minutes talking about the New York Jets' needs in the upcoming NFL draft.
Jeff Samardzija didn't even perk up. He was on a leather couch on the opposite end of the clubhouse, surrounded by teammates. He didn't hear the back-and-forth on who the Jets should select with the 25th overall pick.
The Jets could use a wide receiver. They might have wanted to pick Samardzija, who set all kinds of receiving records during a four-year career at Notre Dame.
But he has moved on: Samardzija has given up football to play baseball. Now a full-time pitcher, he's scheduled to start his third game this season Wednesday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
"There's something more to baseball than any other sport that brings something special out when people go to watch games and go to play games," Samardzija said. "It's just like being a kid. That's baseball. You're just being a kid every day of your life, and I think that's what everyone loves about it."
Samardzija, 22, says he feels at peace with his choice. It's other people who won't let it go.
In January, he and the Cubs agreed to a five-year $10 million deal. The team holds options for sixth and seventh seasons in 2012 and '13 that could give Samardzija an additional $6.5 million.
Ever since, instead of saying, "Congratulations," people have asked him why he'd leave football for baseball. His fans know him most for his football exploits, not his 21-6 record in three seasons as a Notre Dame baseball player.
In each of the two games he's pitched this year, fans have come to the games wearing his No. 83 Notre Dame football jersey.
"It just came down eventually to what I wanted to do more, what I wanted to do every day for the rest of my life," he said.
At 6 feet 5 and with a fastball that has topped out around 98 mph, Samardzija looks fearsome when he pitches. Cubs officials think he could become a front-of-the-rotation starter in the majors.
"His stuff's electric," said Daytona Cubs Manager Jody Davis, a former all-star catcher with the Cubs.
Baseball America ranks him as the fourth-best prospect in the Cubs' organization. The Cubs like Samardzija so much they gave him a long look in the big-league camp during spring training and granted him a no-trade clause in his contract.
"I think the guy is the most self-confident, fearless competitor that I've ever coached in my life," said former Notre Dame baseball coach Paul Mainieri, now in his first season as coach at LSU. "Whether or not that comes from his experiences in football, I don't know"
For Mainieri, one moment stands out. When Samardzija started against Michigan as a freshman, he loaded the bases with no outs on three consecutive walks. Mainieri thought he'd have to bring in a reliever but decided against it after a visit to the mound.
"I could just tell after talking to him that he was in total control, that he was going to find a way to get out of it," Mainieri said.
Samardzija allowed one run, and the Fighting Irish went on to win 7-3.
When Notre Dame hired Charlie Weis as its football coach after the 2004 season, Mainieri told Weis the story. Samardzija went on to catch 155 passes and score 28 touchdowns his final two seasons.
"When it was a crucial time, Jeff wanted the ball and Jeff would go get the ball," said Peter Vaas, Notre Dame's quarterbacks coach in 2005 and '06 and now Duke's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Vaas, also a former head coach in NFL Europe, compares Samardzija to wide receivers Ed McCaffrey and Brian Finneran -- tall players with outstanding hands, great body control and good, but not outstanding, speed.
Vaas said Samardzija had enough ability to be a first-round NFL draft pick and, at the minimum, would have been picked on the first day.
"He had a choice to make between a sport he loved since he was 2 and another one where he established a lot of notoriety for himself," Vaas said. "If the most difficult thing in your life is making a choice to get a lot of money to play baseball or a lot of money to play football, you've got a pretty good life."
The most recent college football star to give up the sport and play baseball full time was Michigan quarterback Drew Henson. In 2001 he signed a six-year $17 million contract with the New York Yankees, but the third baseman struggled during his time in the minors and eventually returned to football in 2004.
Cubs officials feel far more optimistic about Samardzija, though they won't put a timetable on how fast Samardzija will move up through their system. They want him to improve his control, his slider and, in particular, his changeup.
In a few of his seven minor-league starts last season, and in one of his two starts already this season, he has been too hyped-up in the first inning. Sometimes that's led to early walks.
"When the time is right, he'll dominate," said Oneri Fleita, the Cubs' director of player development. "He'll make it known when he should move. . . . He just needs to go out and pitch and he just needs to make sure that little kid in him stays with him."
Samardzija does look like he's having a good time.
When the clubhouse boom box belted out hip-hop music last Friday, he did a little dance. When a new shipment of wooden bats arrived, he peered inside the box, looking like a little kid opening a Christmas present.
"I just love coming to the park every day," he said. "To me, that's what it's all about. It's not a job to me. It's not a career. To me, it's about having fun and enjoying what I've been doing for a long time."
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