Colin Kaepernick taking over the reigns from injured and ineffective incumbent quarterback Alex Smith and leading the San Francisco 49ers to within one completed pass of a Super Bowl Championship is undoubtedly one of the best sports stories of the past 12 months. But here's something you may not have known or have possible forgotten about the Bay Area native, who now doubles as the NFL's newest hot shot QB.
In 2009, the Chicago Cubs selected Kaepernick in the 43rd round of the MLB draft despite the fact that he hadn't pitched competitively in over three years, just on the outside chance that the career he was committed to in football didn't pan out. He was that well thought of as a pitching prospect coming out of high school.
Now, with that in mind, I guess it shouldn't come as any great surprise that when given the opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the San Francisco Giants home game against the Miami Marlins on Friday night, he blew everyone away with his presence on the mound and his velocity.
Kap's first pitch clocked at 87mph. #Niners365 pic.twitter.com/2WbA1DKFaq
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) June 22, 2013
I say that figuratively, of course, but Giants closer Sergio Romo was almost literally blown away by the force of the 87 mph fastball, which came from 60 feet 6 inches away. Romo's not a catcher, folks, and even if Kaepernick warned him what was coming, I doubt he was really prepared for it. Also, had the Giants known what was coming, I doubt Romo would have been back there to begin with. The pitch was sizzling, and he had some nice tail to it as well.
87 on the first pitch.... Not too bad next year I'm goin to spring training to get ready! #sfgiants http://t.co/LJCqw81dXF
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) June 22, 2013
Not a bad idea. I can think of 30 teams that would be willing to take their chances on a 6-foot-4, 230 pound, freakishly athletic human being with a successful background in pitching. And I believe the Cubs would be right at the top of that list.
Of course we know 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is somewhere cringing at the very thought of Kaepernick throwing a baseball, let alone joking about a dual sports career. You know, as an unfortunate Michael Vick owner who picked up Kaepernick in fantasy football last season, I'm cringing, too. Granted, it would be fun to see him test his skills in baseball, but I'm really looking forward to watching Colin Kaepernick throw lasers around NFL stadiums and barrel through linebackers in September.
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