There was always a small chance of losing Patrick Mahomes to baseball. His father, Pat Mahomes Sr, was a baseball legend. And many thought that his son would follow in his footsteps. After all, for a coach, he would have his father. And he did start his foray into sports with baseball. Then he began experimenting with football. For a brief period, he was even a two-sports star. But then something in him screamed “football”. And that’s how we got our 2x Super Bowl Champion.
It’s not every day that one gets to speak to Stephen Phillips. Now, he may be relatively unknown in the football world. But in the baseball world, he’s about as famous as a general manager can get. He worked with the New York Mets from 1997 to 2003. What unknown facts did he reveal about the Junior Mahomes?
Apparently, Mahomes would accompany his father to practice as a child. “He would show up with his baseball hat and a jersey and a club with him.” Phillips remarked that the little boy was very athletic. So, it seems that his agility on the gridiron was in him from the start. And who else but Mahomes Sr. to thank for this?
Not only that, but he also got his dynamism from his dad. But it’s not just physical qualities that make up an athlete. Did he inherit any mental or emotional qualities from Pat Mahomes as well?
Mahomes’ ability to deal with failure
We know talent may get passed down from one generation to the next. But what about a mindset? Patrick sure did inherit his attitude toward failure from his dad. “In a baseball game, you can fail 7 out of 10 times, and still be good,” said Phillips. Mahomes picked that up. You threw an interception during a game? Move on. You threw an incomplete pass? Don’t overthink it and move on to the next play. That’s what he learnt from baseball.
This year might not have been his best so far. But there’s still the playoffs left. Can he manage to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to their second straight Super Bowl victory? Only January 14 will tell if the Chiefs will move beyond the Wild Card round or not. If they do, they will establish a franchise record. Two Super Bowls in a row for the first time.
He has come a long way from the little boy “with the baseball hat“. He’s firmly on track to Hall of Fame Canton. Now, with Phillips’ revelations, we know where he gets these superhuman qualities from.
