Written by Ian Browne at MLB.com
Shaq Thompson, a lightning-quick and hard-hitting rookie linebacker for the Carolina Panthers, will be on display for the world to see in Super Bowl 50 on Sunday. But it wasn’t that long ago that he briefly pursued a professional baseball career with the Boston Red Sox.
In 2012, the Red Sox were trying to think outside the box with some of their later-round picks in the MLB Draft. Amiel Sawdaye, at the time the club’s director of amateur scouting, told his scouts to find some standout athletes who might have fallen through the cracks due to limited exposure in baseball.
So in the 18th round — at pick No. 571 overall — the Red Sox called Thompson’s name. Football had always come first for him, but at Grant Union High School in Sacramento, Calif., Thompson had also played varsity baseball in his sophomore and senior years. Red Sox area scout Demond Smith reported back to Sawdaye that Thompson — an outfielder — had freakish athleticism and perhaps could grow into a baseball player if he had enough reps and instruction.
When Thompson — named after basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal — was called, his mother, Patty, thought her own dream might come true of seeing her son avoid the sometimes harsh and brutal contact that comes with a career in the National Football League. Shaq’s older brother Syd’Quan had his NFL career halted for good by an Achilles injury in just his second pro season with the Broncos.
“Shaq was obviously an elite athlete,” said Sawdaye, now vice president of international and amateur scouting for the Red Sox. “His mom really wanted him to play baseball. His brother was in the NFL briefly and got injured, and I think his mom was really concerned — the typical injury concerns that go along with football.”
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