Prospect Samardzija won't second-guess his diamond decision

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The football stadium, the one that houses the Jacksonville Jaguars, is just a really long home run away from where Jeff Samardzija stood in a batter's box last week taking his cuts at batting-practice pitching.

Former Notre Dame star Samardzija could have been a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, scouts say. (US Presswire)

The short porch in right field of the cozy, minor-league park here is enticing for any hitter, even a bonus-baby pitcher who isn't known for swinging the bat. But for Samardzija, the view down the right field line was more than just a test of swinging the bat -- he never got one out, by the way -- but a reminder of the agonizing professional decision he made over a year ago, giving up a possible NFL career for the long-and-winding road that is the path to baseball's big leagues.

"Hey," a visitor said to him as he exited the batting cage. "You do see that there's a football stadium out there."

"Really," Samardzija said smiling. "I hadn't noticed."

He was kidding, of course. Baseball is how Samardzija makes his living now, pitching for the Double-A Tennessee Smokies in the Chicago Cubs organization. Football is what keeps him in the spotlight and keeps his tough-to-spell name in the news.

Were it not for his successful career as a receiver for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he caught 179 passes, Samardzija would just be another big-ticket, minor-league prospect trying to get to the show.

As it is, he's much more. It's too much to say he has a cult following, but let's just say a lot of fans show up in his old Notre Dame jerseys to cheer him on when he pitches. There weren't any in the stands the day I watched him pitch, but this is severe Florida Gators country.

"The Notre Dame fans travel well," Samardzija said. "Even in UT (Tennessee) country, they show up. I see them in my jerseys."

Samardzija is no dummy. He knows that football has placed him in the spotlight -- and helps keep him there. It might not be his meal ticket anymore, but the reason I am doing a column on him is because of his football background. Fans know his name because of Notre Dame, not some minor-league team that plays minutes away from Neyland Stadium and that sweet southern melody known as Rocky Top.

Knoxville, Tenn., the home of the Smokies, is dead smack in the middle of football country. That helps bring out the curious to see what that boy from Notre Dame is doing on the mound, to find out if he's any good at baseball.

The answer is a resounding yes.

"The guy has never pitched a whole lot in his career," Smokies manager Buddy Bailey said. "To be here and to do what he's done so far is an amazing feat and a compliment to his athletic ability, aptitude and desire to be a great player."

It has been over a year since Samardzija made his decision to choose baseball over the NFL. The football scouts said he could have been a late first-round pick if he had elected the catch balls instead of throw them. But the Chicago Cubs offered him a five-year contract -- $10 million in guaranteed money -- with a chance for $6 million more in option-year money ... if he gave up football to concentrate on pitching.