Two of the four major North American professional sports leagues recently engaged in heated debates regarding which athletes could transition to the opposing league. Now, a third league may be joining the fray.
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons has established himself as one of the brightest defensive stars in the NFL, but he believes his talents could spill over onto the diamond as well. The 25-year-old recently claimed that he could hit a .200 batting average in Major League Baseball.
Parsons was recently asked how many balls he could hit in 162 Major League Baseball games with five at-bats per game. The 25-year-old linebacker claimed he could hit “about 200” of the 810 total pitches. When his response was quickly dismissed by Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, Parsons amended his answer to a batting average of .200, which would come out to 162 hits.
Dodgers Tyler Glasnow laughs off Micah Parsons’ batting confidence
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow reacted to Parsons’ comments on “The Chris Rotation.”
“If he had 500 at-bats, five hits, maybe,” Glasnow said. “Yeah, five hits, for sure. I think once he steps in and sees a big-league [pitcher], he’d be like ‘Ah, nevermind.’ I think it’s good to have the confidence, I appreciate the confidence. But five hits, maybe.”
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons is not short on confidence, and deservedly so. Through the first three seasons of his professional career, Parsons has notched two first-team All-Pro seasons and three Pro Bowl selections.
Still, he may be overconfident about his ability on the plate.
Deion Sanders, the greatest two-sport athlete to play in both the MLB and NFL, finished his baseball career with a .263 batting average.
Michael Jordan, who is considered to be one of the greatest athletes in United States history, took a foray into baseball in 1994. He finished with a .202 batting average on 497 plate appearances — in the minor league. Jordan also had more baseball experience than Parsons does.
If Parsons could match those figures in the Majors with no experience, then perhaps he picked the wrong sport to play.