Best athlete on the board… #JohnnyBaseball pic.twitter.com/yqOYmgLPr2
— Mike Dee (@PadresMikeDee) June 7, 2014
Big thank you to the @Padres and @padresmikedee for selecting me in the MLB draft. What a great day! pic.twitter.com/MaTKVZ5JqY
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) June 7, 2014
Johnny Manziel has a new nickname: Johnny Baseball.
The Browns quarterback and former Texas A&M star was selected by the Padres in the 28th round (837th overall) in MLB’s First-Year Player Draft. He was listed as a shortstop.
Manziel hasn’t played baseball since he was a middle infielder in high school. He didn’t play his senior year to focus on football and graduating early. Manziel said he spoke to Texas A&M baseball coaches about joining the team, but then he won the starting quarterback job as a redshirt freshman and went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012 as part of a record-breaking season.
Manziel, the 21st overall pick in last month’s NFL Draft, retweeted a tweet from “SportsCenter” about him getting picked. He also tweeted: “Big thank you to the @Padres and @padresmikedee for selecting me in the MLB draft. What a great day!”
Manziel has thrown out ceremonial first pitches, including one this past week before an Indians-Red Sox game. He also threw out a pitch at a Padres game last season and took batting practice. Apparently they were impressed.
Padres president and CEO Mike Dee tweeted: “Best athlete on the board… #JohnnyBaseball” with a photo of Manziel in a Padres jersey and hat holding a baseball.
St. Raymond right-hander Gio Abreu was taken in the 14th round by the Rangers, the only high school player from New York City taken. St. John’s pitcher James Lomangino was selected by the Rockies in the 18th round (533), Stony Brook righty Brandon McNitt went to the Astros in the 27th round (796) and Columbia ace left-hander David Speer went to the Cubs in the 27th round (818) as well.
Brown University infielder J.J. Franco, the son of former Mets closer John Franco, was taken by the Braves in the 38th round (1153).