Jordan Love was just 14 years old when his father died. But the Bakersfield PD sergeant Orbin had already passed on the one pipedream to his son—playing the quarterback position in the NFL. And boy, did he conquer! But before the bright lights of the gridiron shone, for Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, the crack of the bat initially captured his youthful passion before the pigskin stole his heart, even though that meant his parents cussing him out.

During a mic’d-up segment at a Dodgers game in collaboration with the Bleacher Report, Love said, “I played baseball till middle school and I stopped playing.. once the pitches started getting faster. I was like, shoot.” His reaction to a ball nearly nailing in the stands showed a baseball fanboy, “I ain’t going to lie, I froze up. I seen that coming. I said that better not be coming over here cuz I’m not catching that.”

Love’s baseball nostalgia was on full display. Whether it was admiring a stolen base with glee, “That’s what I like, stealing bases right there. That’s my stuff, that’s excited! Imma get up in it” or missing Mookie Betts’ home run despite his plea, “I need to see a home run, I got to see one!” The QB couldn’t help but get wrapped up in the drama of the diamond until the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory over Giants.

Love’s baseball journey didn’t just end in middle school. His talent on the diamond carried over to high school, where he excelled as a dual-sport athlete. “Believe it or not, in college in the summertime, I used to be umpiring baseball games. I’d literally be umpiring baseball games. I’d be getting cussed out by parents,” Love revealed. When asked what age level, “It was like 8 to 12 year olds, hey really.”

This path from base paths to end zones is a well-trodden one in the sports world. Legends like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders have shown that elite athleticism often transcends a single playing field. As Love etches his name into Packers lore, his baseball roots serve as a reminder that greatness can bloom from unexpected soil. That seamless transition echoes the journey of a fellow quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, who navigated a similar fork in the road.

Mahomes played with the bat and the ball, just like Jordan Love

Before etching his name in NFL lore, Mahomes was a multi-sport phenom, with baseball scouts drooling over his cannon of an arm and pure athleticism. In true gunslinger fashion, he even tossed a 16-strikeout no-hitter in high school, leaving opposing batters buckled at the knees.

Read More: Pro MLB Players Asked Mom Randi About Patrick Mahomes’ Unwavering Love for Baseball in His Childhood

Mahomes’ baseball pedigree runs deep, with his father, Pat, carving out an 11-year Major League career as a reliever. The younger Mahomes seemed destined to follow in those cleat prints, garnering comparisons to flamethrowers like Michael Kopech and earning a 37th-round selection by the Detroit Tigers in 2014. However, the allure of launching bombs on the gridiron proved too captivating for the Texas native to resist.

While their journeys diverged, with Love embracing football and Mahomes pursuing his NFL dreams post-high school, both quarterbacks share a common thread: the ability to excel at America’s pastimes.

Read More: Patrick Mahomes Had His “Heart and Soul” Set on Texas Tech Despite Mom Randi Not Finding It “Good Enough”