Samardzija to be Fulltime Baseball Player

Don Wassall

Don Wassall

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I think this move actually shows a lot of intelligence and shrewdness on Jeff's part, disappointing though it may be to those of us who wanted to see him be a Caste-breaker in the NFL. He has a far better chance of being a star in baseball than he does in football given the NFL's virulent discrimination against whites.
<H1>Cubs sign Samardzija five-year, $10 million deal</H1>


Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija has decided to forego a pro football career for that of a baseball pitcher -- and he'll be well-compensated for it.


Samardzija signed a five-year deal Friday to play baseball full-time, starting in the Chicago Cubs' minor league system, with the team holding options for 2012 and 2013.


A news conference was scheduled for Friday afternoon.





When the Cubs drafted Samardzija in the fifth round last June, giving him a $250,000 signing bonus, he intended to play both football and baseball professionally.


Last season, Samardzija pitched for Class A Boise and Peoria, where he finished a combined 1-2 with a 2.70 earned run average. He struck out 17 and walked 12 in 30 innings.


He is expected to start the season in Class A Peoria, where Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg will be the manager.





A two-sport athlete at Notre Dame, Samardzija had 78 receptions for 1,017 receiving yards in 2006. In 2005, he set Fighting Irish team records for yards receiving with 1,249 abd touchdown catches with 15. In baseball, he went 21-6 with a 3.82 ERA in 50 career appearances for Notre Dame.





ESPN.com senior writer Wayne Drehs contributed to this story.



http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2736354
 
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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Does seem like the smart choice but I would have liked to see him in the NFL.

He was a bit before my time, but does anyone remember how good Kurt Gibson was as a wide receiver in college? He certainly had a very good career as a baseball player, but I remember reading that he was an All American wide receiver at Michigan who ran a 4.3 40.....pretty amazing for a guy his size, especially over 25 years ago.
 
He was a first-team All-American and the Big Ten's leading receiver as a
senior. He's fourth all-time in yardage at MSU, but first in YPC at 21 yards
per. He is second in receiving TDs.

The urban legend is he was playing basketball at Jenison Fieldhouse
(where he was renowned for his reverse dunk, among other things), and
came over to run the 40 for some pro scouts in his sneakers ... and pulled
off a 4.2.
 
I think Samardjiza took a look at what happened to Haas and said 'No thanks!' Haas was the Biletnikoff award winner and still fell the 6th round.. and is now on the practice squad of the Bears. Haas had more catches and more yards than Samardjiza, so where could he have expected to have been drafted, if at all? There's only one round left after the 6th, and pitching in the minors is probably better than being on the practice squad of an NFL team. At least in baseball Samardjiza knows that if he performs, he'll play, unlike in the NFL (see also Brock Forsey.)

I'd like to have seen him in the NFL, too, but the way things are going I don't think we'd have seen him in the NFL even if he did choose to play football.
 
I think he decided to play the safer sport. He would have been a first day pick. I think he was slipping in the draft as underclassmen were coming out and his waffling on playing what sport professionally. If he fails as a pitcher he could try football again(if he retains his speed).
 
Thanks, GLS. Do you think that with those kinds of numbers and natural ability Gibson would have been an even better football player than a baseball player?
 
$10 million in the ML's or NFL practice squad receiver. After seeing how Haas, Jones, and even Bennett are treated it was a no brainer.

I'd much rather watch him catch footballs than throw baseballs, but Samardzija made a smart decision.
 
I am disappointed by this, but he is being smart about it. I had no idea Kirk Gibson was such an awesome football and basketball player. I liked him a lot with the Dodgers. I'll never forget his shadow boxing.
 
i agree with Col and Triad. it was a smart decision although it hurts us football fans to no end.
 
I am the last white guy on earth that hates baseball. I will say this you can last longer because you don't need to work out or stay in shape to play it, look at David Well, or John Kruk. Even with Samardzija I still won't watch baseball. I am officially done with football. thank god for boxing and MMA otherwise I would have to take up knitting.
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This is disappointing. As a rule I tend to prefer a real athletic guy succeed in baseball. Look at Kirk Gibson--he made the right choice and was able to exhibit his awesome athleticism on the baseball field. Jeff Francouer could have been a football star but I am sure most everyone here at caste is happy watching him play baseball where his athleticsm is duly noted.
On the flip side a lot of fast and athletic white guys who might excell in football choose baseball and get mired in the minors.
As for JS if he was an outfielder I would be fine with it but he is a pitcher--just what we need more white pitchers--plus the guy was projected as a first round WR pick given the lack of white skill players in the NFL. Man that combo makes his choice a disappoinment. And with baseball--uh--nothing is certain. The Cubs are taking a big chance on this guy. What I can't figure then is why was he playing football at ND? Financial leverage I think.
 
i too am a baseball hater, but i think samardzija made the right choice here. His talent will be more appreciated in baseball than it would in the anti-white environment of the NFL. I think I am officially done with pro football. With my Raiders looking more and more likely to pass on Brady Quinn and go with DuhMarcus, this just confirms my belief that the owners dont care anymore about winning, nor does the league care about how the quality of play has declined tremendously ever since they opened the flood gates allowing more and more blacks into the league. Dropped passes everywhere, fumbles aplenty, poor tackling, quarterbacks (mainly black) that cant even make the simplest reads that even a high school QB could make. Its just simply embarrassing to watch. Sorry for the rant, but its becoming ever more clear how this league is simply crumbling and falling apart. Someone needs to start a rival league (much like the AFL in the 60's) that will play more whites and could possibly take the average NFL player to school and show them how the game is really SUPPOSED to be played
 
God that sucks. Such a fun guy to watch. Not gonna watch him throwing a baseball around.
 
One thing is certain. At two million a year, he will go straight to the majors. A shame to see all the speed go to waste though.

He would have made the league minimum for a year and that would be it.
 
Jeff may well realize that baseball suffers from much of the "love of multi-culturalism",that yokes most sporting careers.With baseball scouts everywhere searching for Latin and Japanese talent,I'm not sure that any White American baseball player can escape the caste system that has so much changed the "once" wonderful game of baseball.
 
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