Two Talents Not Enough

Spring 1963 saw a six-foot-one, 190 pound athlete don a Washington Senators uniform. He was a 22 year-old walk-on talent playing for a team that would have finished last during any era of baseball. Yet, when Tom Brown took the field for the first time, he was on his way to setting a trend that few would achieve. Brown's only year playing big league baseball did not result in stellar statistics. In 61 games, Brown had 128 plate appearances, 17 hits, 1 home run, 4 RBI, and a .147 batting average. Fortunately for Brown, his career as a Green Bay Packer was much better.

Many consider Tom Brown as the first player in modern athletics to play in two different professional sports. Yes, it is true that athletes such as Jim Thorpe preceded Brown in playing both football and baseball, but not at a time when sports where considered careers. The precedent set by Brown on the 56-106 Senators did not provide great evidence that athletes could be successful at two different professional sports. Maybe that is the reason why this topic would not be revisited in force until the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1987, Bo Jackson played in the outfield for the Kansas City Royals and as full back for the LA Raiders. In 1989, Jackson rushed for 950 yards and was the MLB All-Star Game MVP. While his talent amazed many, Jackson was often prone to injury. He had to leave the NFL after the 1990 season. His luck in baseball wasn't much better. From 1991 to 1994, Jackson only played 183 games and had to quietly exit the league at age 31. As Jackson was fading away, another player was gaining more attention.

Deion Sanders played in 9 baseball seasons between 1989 and 2001. Never did Sanders play more than 100 baseball games in a season, but he did lead the NL in triples in 1992 and was second in stolen bases in 1994 and 1997. In 641 regular season games, Sanders batted .263 with 39 home runs and 168 RBI. To this day, he is the only player to have competed in the World Series and the Super Bowl. He is by far the best two talent athlete in the modern era. However, was his talent that good?

Nearly 70 athletes have competed in baseball and football simultaneously. All of those players were better than Michael Jordan. Yet, if Deion Sanders is considered the best of those players, the impact of two talent athletes has been minimal. Never was Sanders considered a major threat. Most of his statistics were generated on a talented and well managed Atlanta Braves team. He limited his playing time to avoid injuries (a lesson Jackson should have learned) and his usefulness was minimal from August to October. While many may complain about some of the talent within MLB today, it is at least better than the time and effort that Sanders, Jackson and Brown could offer.