MarlinsMS_35 Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-c...ov=ap&type=lgns CHICAGO (AP) -- Jeff Samardzija decided to give up football and stay with baseball. The former Notre Dame receiver, projected as a first-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft, agreed Friday to a $10 million, five-year contract to pitch for the Chicago Cubs. "Baseball is my first love. I played it my whole life," Samardzija said. A 21-year-old right-hander, Samardzija was the Cubs' fifth-round pick in last year's amateur draft and had a 2.70 ERA in seven starts for their Class A teams at Boise and Peoria. He returned to Notre Dame and helped the Irish make the Sugar Bowl, catching 78 passes for 1,017 yards as a senior. The Irish lost the game to LSU 41-14, but Samardzija did catch a TD pass. His deal includes a $2.5 million signing bonus and the Cubs hold options for a sixth and seventh seasons in 2012 and 2013. If the options are exercised, the deal would be worth $16.5 million over seven years. Samardzija said there would be no returning to football, even though he's headed for a stint in the minor leagues, probably starting at Class A Daytona after spring training. The deal also includes a no-trade clause. "He has offered at any time in the five-year period to give the (signing bonus) money back. He wanted to make everything clear that there wasn't any turning back," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. "That was something I wanted in there to show my commitment to this organization, along with the no-trade clause," Samardzija said. Samardzija's fastball was clocked at 97 mph last summer and Hendry said the Cubs project him one day to a be "high end starter." Samardzija, 21-6 in 50 college baseball games, said he spent 10 to 12 hours a day weighing the decision on which sport to pursue. His familiarity with the Cubs after his experience last summer was a major factor. Hendry said he never pressured Samardzija after he returned to school last fall following his brief minor league stint. "I felt the best thing to do was let him go back and play football. I went to see him play football, we talked regularly but it never came up, `What are you going to do?"' Hendry said. "He was going to do what he wanted to do and that's what he should do and that's what I told him." Samardzija said longevity and the chance of injury were not major factors in his decision to go with baseball over football. And he said there is no sadness about giving up football after a great career with Notre Dame. In 2005 he set the school's single-season records for yards receiving with 1,249 and TD catches with 15. "It's an excitement for baseball. If there is a sadness for leaving football, I'm making the decision at the wrong time or just the wrong decision in general," he said. He said Irish coach Charlie Weis was supportive when he told him he was turning to baseball. "He was excited. He wished me the best and he asked for Cubs tickets," Samardzija said. I've never seen him play baseball before, but he must be pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidCavalier23 Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 it sure sounds like it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pstraub Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 i've seen clips of him before. he's a good college baseball pitcher. whether that will translate to the minors/majors i don't know. the move has been looked at as a publicity kind of thing. they drafted him back when the cubs were being bashed all around town and the whitesox was the city's team. chicago has a huge notre dame follwing (since its about an hour away) and people say the cubs did this just please the chicago/notre dame fans. sure, he's still a good draft choice, but they gave him way too much money. the flip side of that is that they probably had to throw some serious cash his way or he'd probably think of going back to football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidCavalier23 Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 its gotta be tough though playing 2 major sports in college, I think it was the smart decision for him to go pro in baseball, I dont think he would fit in right w/ the NFL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felmlyd Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 He Was rated in the top top of pitchers in his draft he coulda been a top ten pick but signing him was questionable because of his football skills but he can pitch like a first rounder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwentySeven Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 His pitching numbers weren't all that good, I don't see why people were so excited about him. I guess we'll just have to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgbaseball Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 He should've stuck to football. He'd cause huge fits for linebackers because he's faster than any of them in the NFL. Plus, he would've been a high draft pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeexDev Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Sounds like he will be another Drew Henson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_jefe061 Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 From everything I've heard, he was a first round draft pick without the football concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidCavalier23 Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 if hes a pitcher, then he musta been a decent quarterback I'm guessing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SESbb30 Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 ive seen him on tv before. he has great stuff. i know he can make it fine in the minors, but my only question is, can he make it in the pro's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All_Star Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 ive seen him on tv before. he has great stuff. i know he can make it fine in the minors, but my only question is, can he make it in the pro's? The Minors are the pros though...... you contradicted yourself My question is how was he still eligible to play college football after signing a pro contract? The NCAA seems to be really tough with those rules, with the NFL draft once you hire an agent there's no going back........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tycobb79 Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Hello, This is quoted from cubs.com. "His fastball was clocked at 94-98 mph, and averaged 97 mph." He pitched yesterday and got thru a 1/2 inning with 8 pitches total. Not that this means a whole lot, just trying to add to the speculation. He must be a pretty smart kid, so hopefully brains to go along with that kind of an arm will help him make the transition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SESbb30 Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 i meant, he can make it in the minors, but can he make it in the top level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djmakaveli Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 the guy has one heck of an arm and is a great overall assett.... cubs...NL when/if he gets called up they can use him for pitch running also.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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