The Next Bo Jackson?

Bo Jackson did the unthinkable. The talented and superb athlete from Alabama played baseball and football in high school, which is pretty common. He also manage to play both in college, which is far less common. But his decision to play both professioal football and professional baseball was the most uncommon. Even rarer was his ability to succeed at both.
Jackson was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1982, but he decided to head to Auburn University instead. Bo left quite a legacy at Auburn. In football he won the 1985 Heisman Trophy Award after rushing for 1,786 yards and would later have his number retired by the school, one of only three men at Auburn who have had that honor for football. Also during 1985, Bo excelled for the Tigers’ baseball team, hitting .401 with 17 homers and 43 RBIs. Bo took the word "athlete" to a new level by excelling in track as well, and he nearly decided to join the USA team for the Olympics. His running ability was evident when he ran a 4.12 40-yard dash, which is considered the fastest ever at an NFL Combine.
Jackson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1986 NFL Draft, but ended up playing baseball for the Kansas City Royals. He was an All-Star in 1989, a season in which he would finish with 32 homers and 105 RBIs, as well as 172 strikeouts. He is one of only two players in All-Star game history to record a home run and a stolen base. The other was Willie Mays. His strength was constantly exemplified by his mammoth homers as well as his habit of snapping his bats in half in anger after a strikeout. Bo would later play for the Chicago White Sox and the California Angels. He would also be the 1993 Comeback Player of the Year. He tied a major league record by hitting a home run in 4 conescutive at-bats.
After being thrown back into the NFL Draft, Jackson was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 1987 . Playing both baseball and football kept him out of shape (by missing the other sports workouts), but he still ended up rushing for 950 yards in just 11 games in 1989. Jackson set a Monday Night Football record 221-rushing yard performance. He finished his 4-year career with 2,782 yards and 16 touchdowns. Jackson suffered a career-ending hip injury in 1991 that almost ended his baseball career as well. He promised his mother he’d hit a homer for her when he returned to baseball from the injury, but she died before he could get back onto the field. Jackson ended up hitting a home run in his first at-bat after her death and had the ball engraved in her tombstone.
Pat White looks to follow in Jackson’s footsteps. White lacks Bo’s inhuman strength and speed, but is still a tremendous athlete. At West Virginia University, White set the all-time FBS record for rushing yards by a quarterback, he became the only FBS quarterback in history to win 4 bowl games as a starter, and he set a Big East record for touchdowns for any position. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the 2009 NFL Draft. He will compete with Chad Pennington and Chad Henne for quarterback while also getting time playing in the wildcat formation that the Dolphins execute so well. His uncanny ability to throw and run the ball will make him a perfect tool in that tricky offensive package. White, like Jackson, was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2009 MLB Draft. He is an outfielder with great speed and a powerful arm, which his football accomplishments make obvious.
Nevertheless, the way things look right now, Pat White will probably end up focusing just on football. But there have been others before him, like Jackson, who have pulled it off. A commonly known example is Deion Sanders. Sanders, the only player to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series, also played for the Yankees, along with several other teams in both the MLB and NFL. Despite being one of the most feared cornerbacks in football, he too shared Jackson’s fate when it came to injuries. No matter how phenomenal an athlete you are, injuries are simply unavoidable, and playing more than one sport just makes it worse. We still have to root for Pat White to succeed regardless of the risks he’s taking for his health. If he can find a way to pull it off, to master not one but two professional sports, he’ll go down in history with Jackson, Sanders, and a few others as the only people on this earth to achieve two once-in-a-lifetime dreams in one lifetime.

X-Factor

The days before the July 31st trade deadline in baseball are the perfect time for playoff contending teams to pick up key players that could strengthen some of their weaknesses and put them into a good playoff position. These acquisitions can especially help get teams in a tight division race get through the dog days of August as well as the do-or-die games in September. These players that put teams over the top are referred to as X-factors.
The St. Louis Cardinals were struggling a few weeks before the deadline. After winning a game aided by 2 homers from Albert Pujols, who hasn’t homered since, the Cards went 2-4, the low point being a sweep administered to them by the Astros. Then, the Red Birds went out and traded for slumping Oakland slugger Matt Holliday. Holliday was having an off year after being traded to the A’s from Colorado. Nevertheless, Holliday has always been known for his clutch hitting. In his 9 games with the Cardinals, Holliday has an unrealistic .606 batting average with 3 homers, compared to his .286 average with 11 homers in 93 games with Oakland. His presence in the lineup could also aid Pujols, who hadn’t been seeing many good pitches and who easily leads the majors in intentional walks (IBB). In fact, Pujols’ 36 intentional walks are 20 ahead of the next highest total, which is Adrian Gonzalez’ 16. The Cardinals lead baseball with 55 IBBs, and only 2 teams have more total IBBs than Pujols himself. The Cards hope that Holliday can lower those numbers or send those guys on base home. Before picking up Matt, the Cards were caught in a tight four-team race in the NL Central with the Cubs, Astros, and Brewers. After Holliday’s arrival, the Cards separated from most of the pack. The Cubs still sit only a half-game back, but the Brewers and Astros are five and a half games back. Two other July pick-ups that have helped the cards and could help them in the postseason are Julio Lugo, who has hit.371 since his arrival in St. Louis, and Mark DeRosa, who has hit 7 home runs in 18 games with the club. Should the Cardinals hold on and make the playoffs, Holliday could really be a key ingredient in a winning Cardinals’ formula.
The Cardinals weren’t the only team to benefit from trades right before the deadline. The Phillies picked up Cliff Lee, the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner, to bolster their very shaky rotation. Despite struggles earlier this year with Cleveland, Lee threw a gem to win his game with the Phils. The Tigers got Seattle starter Jarrod Washburn, who is having his best year since being the ace of an Angels staff that won the World Series in 2002. The Tigers now have a nearly unstoppable trio of Justin Verlander, a legitimate Cy Young award candidate, Edwin Jackson, who is having a career year, and Washburn. The Tigers are in a tight division race in the AL Central with the White Sox, who picked up ’07 NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy. Peavy, who is about to return to full form after injuring his ankle running on the base paths, completes a strong trio with Mark Buerhle, who threw a perfect game and has 11 wins this year, and Gavin Floyd, who is one of the best young pitchers in the game. The Boston Red Sox drastically improved their offense by adding Victor Marinez, a catcher/first baseman who is always capable of hitting .300 with 20 homers.
By adding these X-factors, these playoff contending teams have put themselves in a position to break away from the teams they share division races with. These players can help add depth to teams in a long and hot August as well as a stressful September. A lot of these X-factors can also bring clutch hitting that the team otherwise lacked. We’ll have to wait and see which pick-ups can make a difference and put their teams over the top. Winners of this late July trading could very well have made themselves winners later on in the season, while the teams that didn’t make moves could be the ones to regret not picking up the phone and making a call for a deal. Well, they’ll have plenty of time to call whomever they want while they watch the playoffs on their flat screen TVs at home.