Kyler Murray has chosen football over baseball Will Grier Jersey , at least for now. It is anyone’s guess when the world will see another athlete with the skills and opportunity to have such a choice.The Oakland Athletics selected Murray ninth overall in the Major League Baseball draft last June. He then went out and won the Heisman Trophy in his only year as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback, declared for the NFL draft last month and picked the NFL over MLB on Monday.Few athletes have positioned themselves to have such dynamic options. And in this age of youth sports specialization, it may become rarer still.Deion Sanders played pro football and baseball, and “Prime Time” has a special place in his heart for athletes who excel at a high level in both sports. He wishes more young men had the same opportunities as Murray, but laments that youth sports coaches often encourage kids to pick one main sport at an early age.“You’ve got some idiot in a youth league telling a kid, ‘If you just focus on this one thing, you’re going to be great,'” Sanders said. “Then, you’ve got the same (kind of) idiot in high school — ‘You’re not going to play this other sport because I’m not going to let you start until you dedicate yourself.'”Sports specialization has drawn a lot of attention in recent years, with baseball greats such as John Smoltz suggesting it can hurt young players simply because of the wear and tear. Still, many believe it has its place.After all, most athletes don’t have the gifts of Murray http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-christian-miller-jersey , Sanders or Bo Jackson, the 1986 Heisman winner for Auburn who was an All-Star for the Kansas City Royals in 1989 and made the Pro Bowl for the Los Angeles Raiders in 1990. Tom Westerberg, Murray’s football coach at Allen (Texas) High School who now coaches at Barbers Hill (Texas) High, said even the really good ones often are best served honing their skills in one sport.“Athletes like him (Murray) come around once in a long time, with that athletic ability and been doing it for that long,” Westerberg said. “How many Deion Sanderses have there been? You can name the Bo Jacksons, the Deion Sanderses — you can name those guys on one hand. So it’s not that all of a sudden you tell a kid to play multiple sports and you’re going to get a ton of Kyler Murrays and Deion Sanderses.'”And having options comes with complications and questions.Back in 1992, Sanders played cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons during the day in Miami, then flew to Pittsburgh to join his Atlanta Braves teammates for a National League Championship Series game. Sanders looked back at that day during a recent ESPN documentary called “Deion’s Double Play.”Sanders’ true love was football, and it was his focus. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and had a productive baseball career, but he offered a glimpse of what might have been during the 1992 World Series, when he hit .533 with four runs Jordan Scarlett Jersey , eight hits and two doubles in four games.“I regret often that I didn’t put a lot more into the game of baseball,” Sanders said. “I really do. I have those thoughts often.”Oklahoma baseball coach Skip Johnson said being special in both sports requires brains, too. Murray said he has been clocked at 4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash, yet Johnson said his unusually high intellect is what allowed him to progress in both sports.“To have the thought process that Kyler has, to go through the things that he has, to learn (Oklahoma football coach) Lincoln Riley’s system, to learn our system in baseball — it just goes to show you what kind of aptitude that guy has as an athlete,” Johnson said.Dr. Mininder Kocher, a professor at Harvard Medical School and associate director of the Division of Sports Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, has contributed to research that shows youth sports specialization is on the rise. He said the fact that Murray played both football and baseball for so long might have helped him excel in both.“On one hand, he clearly is sort of a unique athlete — maybe genetically or maybe just intrinsic athleticism that he can be so good at two different sports,” Kocher said. “Some of that might just be a blip David Montgomery Jersey , that he’s that good of an athlete. Part of it is that there are transferrable skills. It’s good for the body to be doing different sports because you’re not doing the same movement patterns over and over and over again.”Murray’s success makes Johnson more than willing to look for more multi-sport superstars. Last season, Murray hit .296, had a .556 slugging percentage and hit 10 home runs in 189 at bats for the Sooners.“There’s more athletes out there that can do the same thing,” Johnson said.____ When Brewers pitchers went over the strengths and weaknesses of Cincinnati’s hitters to prepare for their series, they included reliever Michael Lorenzen in the mix.
They need to do more studying.
Lorenzen hit the second grand slam by a Reds pitcher in a week – and his third homer in his last three at-bats – as Cincinnati pulled away to a 12-3 victory Saturday, ending a seven-game losing streak against Milwaukee.
Lorenzen’s pinch-hit grand slam off Jacob Barnes in the seventh inning completed an eight-run rally, Cincinnati’s biggest of the season. Lorenzen’s fifth career homer drew a curtain call from the crowd of 24,640.
”It was a surreal feeling, for sure,” Lorenzen said. ”I love this game and everything about it.”
It was the reliever’s second homer in the series. He also had a solo shot Friday during Milwaukee’s 8-2 win.
”The guy’s swinging the bat really well, that’s for sure,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. ”We treat him as a position player. We covered him in scouting meetings. We’re going to have to make some adjustments.”
Lorenzen avoided the temptation to swing at a slider, and then hit a fastball deep to left field.
”The Reds have always put together some good-hitting pitchers, going back to Travis Wood and those guys,” Brewers catcher Erik Kratz said. ”You have to know who those guys are and where they want the ball and not throw it there.”
Tyler Mahle struck out a career-high 12 batters in 5 2/3 innings, three shy of the Reds’ rookie record. David Hernandez (3-0) pitched the top of the seventh.
The Reds fanned 18 batters, a club record for a nine-inning game.
The Brewers’ depleted bullpen couldn’t hold a one-run lead in the seventh. Cincinnati’s first eight batters reached safely against three relievers, with left-hander Mike Zagurski (0-1) taking the loss in his first major league appearance since 2013.
The NL Central leaders also were missing two starting position players. Christian Yelich left Thursday’s game with back tightness, and Ryan Braun came out of Friday’s game with the same issue. Counsell said Braun could be available on Sunday.
Eric Thames homered off Mahle, his 14th home run in 22 career games against Cincinnati. Thames hit 10 last year, the most by a Brewers player against the Reds in one season.
LORENZEN LORE
The last pinch-hit grand slam by a Reds player came from Chris Heisey on April 13, 2014, against Tampa Bay. Lorenzen’s three homers this season are the most by a Reds pitcher since Micah Owings had three in 2009. The last major league pitcher to homer in three straight at-bats was Colorado’s Mike Hampton in 2001.
POWER SURGE
In the last eight days Jonah Williams Jersey , Reds pitchers have produced four homers – three by Lorenzen, one by DeSclafani. For the season, Lorenzen is 4 for 6 with three homers and six RBIs.
MAHLE’S STRIKEOUTS
Mahle’s 12 strikeouts were the most by a Reds pitcher since Amir Garrett also fanned 12 Orioles on April 19, 2017. The club record for strikeouts by a rookie is 15 by Gary Nolan on June 7, 1967, against the Giants.
TRADING PLACES
With the game out of hand, Kratz moved to the mound for the eighth inning – his third career pitching appearance – and gave up a pair of runs.
”I’d rather catch nine innings and do high-fives,” he said.
REDS DEAL
The Reds sent minor league catcher Joe Hudson to the Angels for cash. The 27-year-old Hudson has never played in the majors. He batted .235 with no homers and three RBIs in 16 games for Triple-A Louisville this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: RHP Zach Davies had a setback in what was expected to be his final minor league rehab assignment as he recovers from a sore shoulder. He lasted only three innings and gave up 10 runs and three hits for Class A Wisconsin on Friday night, leaving after just 48 pitches because of a sore back.
Reds: RHP Homer Bailey will make his fourth rehab start Tuesday for Triple-A Louisville. He’s been sidelined since June 2 because of a sore right knee. Bailey is 1-7 with a 6.68 ERA.
UP NEXT
Brewers: Freddy Peralta (3-0) makes his fifth start. The Brewers are 4-0 in his starts. Opponents are batting .093 against the right-hander.
Reds: Matt Harvey (3-5) makes his 10th start for the Reds, who got him from the Mets in a trade for catcher Devin Mesoraco on May 8. Harvey has allowed six runs in his last three starts spanning 17 2/3 innings.
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