Cubs tried to lure Kaepernick to baseball
Putting cap on Kap
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| Colin Kaepernick will quarterback the 49ers in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, against the Ravens. The Cubs drafted the big-armed athlete 4-years ago in attempt to lure him to baseball. (Dave Martin) |
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Chicago Cubs scout Sam Hughes watches Colin Kaepernick nowadays and still wonders what the strong-armed NFL quarterback might look like on a pitching mound, as a power arm in the pros.
It's hard not to, seeing the zip and accuracy on each throw, the competitive fire and fierce focus.
The Cubs never even watched Kaepernick throw a baseball before drafting him in the 43rd round almost 4 years ago. They did watch him throw a football for Nevada, and decided that college game told them more than enough.
Ultimately, the Cubs just couldn't lure Kaepernick away from his first love: football. Now, he's headed to the Super Bowl to lead the San Francisco 49ers against Baltimore on Feb. 3.
Hughes, the longtime national cross-checker in the Cubs' scouting department, and several others, including then-general manager Jim Hendry, figured they should give it a shot and hope Kaepernick might reconsider.
"Yeah, that wasn't happening," Kaepernick said with a smile Wednesday, shaking his head.
Hughes tried for 2 weeks to convince Kaepernick, who had made it all but clear he wouldn't sign. He was surprised anybody drafted him at all given he had been so upfront about sticking with football.
But Chicago's NFL sources – Hughes said three different teams – figured Kaepernick would be a late-round pick or even someone who might have to go the route of the Canadian Football League.
That seems so laughable now. The Niners picked Kaepernick in the second round of the 2011 draft, made him the starter midseason this year and now will ask him to carry them all the way to the franchise's sixth championship in what will be just his 10th career NFL start.
"I was looking at this tall, kind of gangly at the time quarterback that was super athletic and had this really long throwing motion," Hughes said. "I was talking to some of my buddies at Reno and said, 'Boy, I wonder if this kid's ever played baseball, he's got an arm stroke like a pitcher.'"
That sent Hughes on a fun little research project. Kaepernick regularly threw 90 mph in high school, but was now some 40 pounds heavier as a college football player.
He certainly would throw harder.
"So, I was definitely intrigued, bigger, stronger, more athletic," Hughes said. "Colin had no idea we were even considering drafting him. I kind of caught him off guard when I called him after we drafted him. He kind of got a kick out of it and said his phone was ringing off the hook that he'd been drafted by the Cubs. He had no idea."
49ers coach Jim Harbaugh can appreciate the Cubs' attempt to recruit Kaepernick to baseball. He would have tried, too, had he been in their position.
"He's a man for all seasons," Harbaugh said. "Tremendous football player, basketball player, baseball player, a tremendous athlete with a lot of gifts of God. And a tremendous competitive fire, readiness and willingness to compete, to be able to make cool-headed decisions under fire. Who wouldn't want a player like that in baseball or football?"
The Cubs figured they had reason to be somewhat optimistic of swaying Kaepernick. They have had success drafting football players, such as pitcher Jeff Samardzija and outfielder Matt Szczur – a pair of former star college wide receivers who picked baseball.
