On Saturday December 8th, Quarterback Kyler Murray from Oklahoma won the 2018 Heisman trophy, which recognizes the best player in college football. Murray has become a household name among many college football fans throughout this past season.
However, what is surprising to many is that Kyler Murray is choosing to forgo the 2019 NFL draft to play professional baseball with the Oakland Athletics. The A's drafted Murray with the 9th overall pick in 2018 MLB draft before his breakout season with Oklahoma. He signed a contract with Oakland and is guaranteed $4.66 million. Murray's agent is Scott Boras who is the "Most Powerful Sports Agent in the World" since 2013 according to Forbes Magazine. Currently his clientele includes Bryce Harper, José Altuve, Kris Bryant, J.D. Martinez, among many others. Considering his agent Murray has the potential to make more money in the MLB than in the NFL, especially with some of the massive contracts we have seen big name players in baseball sign within the past few years.
A Heisman winner has not played in the MLB since Bo Jackson back in 1985 who was a two-sport professional athlete (both baseball and football). While Murray expressed that he would like to try and play both sports the reality of him playing both sports at the same time, like Bo did, is highly unlikely. Professional sports have grown and changed a lot in the past 30 years and have grown a lot more competitive, it would benefit Murray to specialize and focus on one sport rather than trying to juggle two and not being able to reach his full potential in either. His Oklahoma baseball coaches stated that Kyler didn't take infield/outfield at all with them last year.
Another scouting report on Murray states that he needs to take more reps at center field and practice throwing the baseball more to develop a better arm. He was rated as having a 30 arm by a MLB scout which is on the lower end of a 20-80 scale. The reason for this is because his arm was always muscled up for football. This further support why Murray should try to focus and specialize in one sport rather than take on the challenge of balancing both.
Even with his success on the football field, Murray is listed at 5 foot 9 inches and 195 pounds according to NFL Draft Scout. This size for an NFL level Quarterback is short to say the least, which could cause problems for him being able to see over the lineman while in the pocket. Murray does have exceptional athleticism, being able to fire the ball downfield with precise accuracy, and the ability to scramble out of the pocket and use his legs. That being said, him being a mobile quarterback can lead to him taking a lot of punishing hits, and in some cases dual threat quarterbacks in college struggle to find the same success in the pros where everyone is quicker and more athletic on the defensive side of the ball.
Murray has been able to make improvements to his swing by adding in a leg kick to generate more power. His speed which contributed to his success on the football field translates to his position at center field, it will give him an advantage for being able to stretch his range for those balls hit into the gap. It seems that all signs for the future of Kyler Murray point to the diamond, and he will definitely be a fun player to watch in the seasons to come.
