Written by Joe Schad at PalmBeachPost.com
With quarterback Matt Moore on the verge of leading the Miami Dolphins into only its second playoff appearance in 15 seasons, it’s interesting to note the time he almost quit football for baseball.
“It was serious,” Moore said Tuesday. “Real serious.”
The year was 2004.
Moore, now 32, was 20.
After starting at quarterback as a true freshman for UCLA and playing some as a sophomore, Moore left. He enrolled at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California and contemplated his future.
“At that time, college football to me had been pretty sour,” Moore recalled. “So I’m like, man, I’m over this. At that time in my life I was done with school, done with college football.”
So Moore played in some recreational baseball league and was spotted by a Los Angeles Angels scout.
In 2004, the Angels drafted Moore, a shortstop, in the 22nd round.
A signing bonus offer quickly came and Moore was leaning towards taking it.
“At the time I didn’t have a place to go play college football,” Moore said. “I want to go play baseball. My Dad had played baseball (in the Cardinals organization). My grandfather had played baseball (in the Yankees and Cubs organizations). So I thought about it hard. And both my parents really pushed me toward school.”
Before he accepted the offer, a call came from then-Oregon State coach Mike Riley.
“I got an offer to go to Oregon State, so now I have options,” Moore said. “Thankfully. Baseball is a hard road. But and, thankfully, I remember a long conversation with both my parents, saying, ‘Look, this is what we think you should do.’ Going to Oregon State ended up to be the best thing that ever happened to me.”
So much has been made, and rightfully, about how Moore almost didn’t re-sign with the Dolphins this offseason. And about how Moore has been a Dolphin for six seasons, but hadn’t started a game for four seasons.
So much has been made about how confident Moore is in himself, and his ability to win without having played much at all.
But Moore might not have even played in the NFL is he’d chosen the baseball path in 2004.
Would he have made it to the major leagues as a shortstop?
“I don’t know,” Moore said with a smile. “That’s a hard road, man. Those guys are the best in the world. Who knows. But I have no complaints on how my path worked out.”
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