There are not many champions who can make a career in two different sports, and those who have tried, like Michael Jordan or Usain Bolt, have failed. Among the younger generation, Brandin Podziemski could be next, and the young Warriors guard could, like Jordan, make a detour to baseball.
“I will definitely do it”he replied on the sidelines of a Giants meeting. “Later on in my career, if I’m lucky enough to still be playing in my late 30s, I’d like to play baseball. I know my family, my dad especially, would love to see me play. It’s definitely something I’ve thought about: doing both.”
He impresses a Giants coach
He will still have to get back into shape since he has not played seriously for two years, but he has impressed Pat Burrell, one of the coaches of the San Francisco team.
“I'm impressed! I've been doing this job for a long time, and to see a guy who comes from another sport, who doesn't miss a shot, while hitting it far, it's impressive. It's pretty impressive. It's obvious that he's played a lot in the past.”
For Brandin Podziemski, this transition from baseball to basketball remains a moment as significant as it is painful. In early August, he recounted the moment he told his father. “I remember him almost crying because he was like, ‘This is not possible. You’re so talented, you’re so good, you’re meant to play baseball.’ But I stuck with it. I was like, ‘If you let me play, I’m going to be a good basketball player.’ Five or six years later, I got drafted, so I just stuck with what I told him.”
Naturally gifted at baseball
This weekend, he explained that baseball was too easy for him, almost natural, and that he wanted, at the time, to challenge himself. “I just told him that baseball was too easy, that it was something I was naturally good at and that I didn’t have to work as hard as I did on the basketball court. Being a competitor with a work ethic, I wanted something that would always be a challenge for me, where if I took a few days off, I needed to get back to work, and baseball wasn’t like that. Basketball pushes me to get better every day. It’s tough, and I rise to the challenge every day. I told my dad that if he let me do it, I would make him proud, and I did today.”
