<p>Prob could have gotten more money for football.... but chose his love, baseball</p>
<p>Even though I'm sad we won't be able to see him play in the NFL, I'm glad he is going with what he loves instead of following the money...not that $10-16 million isn't gonna be enough.</p>
<p>As an avid baseball fan and MLB follower Im excited to see him take the baseball route... however we wont see him in a real chicago uniform for atleast 2 years</p>
<p>Do you think that part of the decision hinges on the fact that serious injury is much more likely in a football career than a baseball career? I am sure that if I were his mother, I would prefer the baseball route...(if it made him happy, of course.)</p>
<p>ummm....</p>
<p>no I dont</p>
<p>As a pitcher, one injury can ruin your entire career. Many minor league pitchers develop shoulder and elbow problems before they can even get a chance at the minor leagues. So to say that football is less dangerous than baseball is just not true. I would say that a helmet to a helmet hit while coming across the middle in an NFL game will hurt less than your elbow ligaments tearing as you throw a curve ball in the 4th inning of a game(happened to me..... not fun)</p>
<p>Im not saying that football is not dangerous... broken necks have happened............ but what I am sayins is that baseball players are just as prone to serious injury as football players are</p>
<p>As someone who plays both sports, I would much rather rake in my millions on the diamond. Football requires everything out of you everyday while at baseball (especially as a starting pitcher every five days) you can take days off and screw around with your buds at practice. Football practice demands everything while baseball is a lot of repetition.</p>
<p>Injury-wise, chillin, I will agree that you can get injured in both sports. I been injured worse in baseball than any other sport (bad shoulder) but football injuries can affect your entire body. Jeff Samardzija will look back on this decision when he's forty and can still walk without a severe limp and play sports with his kids and realize he made a good choice. Good luck to him, except when he pitches against the Reds or any of their affiliates (haha).</p>
<p>In the end, it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>You make money playing either sport.</p>
<p>You also get injuries playing either sport.</p>
<p>There are many baseball and football players who've retired and are doing well with their health. There are those who live with lifelong injuries as well.</p>
<p>You just have to pick one that you love more.</p>
<p>ya,,,,,, its true</p>
<p>his lucky to be able to make that decision</p>
<p>people dream about making it pro in one sport..... and this guy has his pick on which one!...</p>
<p>i think he made the right choice, hopefully hes not the next kerry wood or mark prior though</p>
<p>I think the injury risk factor definitely plays a part, sunshadow. The average career span is considerably shorter in the NFL than MLB.</p>
<p>Plus, baseball is Samardijza (sp?)'s primary sport.</p>
<p>DD is right.... again</p>
<p>the average length for a mlb player is 5-7 years while football is 3.5 to 4 years</p>
<p>and you see may more 37+ year old players playing baseball</p>
<p>but I still think that injuries are still as possible in mlb than they are in nfl</p>
<p>imo</p>
<p>good luck to him thoug... im shure hell do well</p>
<p>I know from a mom's perspective, I sincerely hope my youngest doesn't play football. He's a very good athlete with a real love and ability for soccer. Apparently, his skill sets would be good for football, too. I love to watch football, but I don't want the kid at the bottom of the pile of bodies to be mine...</p>
<p>It's tough in a household with one Domer, one Domer-to-be, and heavy doses of testosterone whenever the TV is tuned into bowl games and NFL playoffs.</p>
<p>hahha... I understand that</p>
<p>my body is a magnet to sports injuries... most of which can be categorized as "overworked" injuries, but mostly baseball related</p>
<p>at 11 years old I tore 2 ligaments in my elbow from baseball
at 14 I tore my quad muscle in Freshman football ( surgery )
at 15 I retore one of the 2 ligaments in my elbow
at 15 I broke 2 bones in my right foot twice during jv football
then last summer my nerve in my right elbow was out of place and i needed surgery to fix it
16- present tendonitis in right elbow....... I still dont know whats wrong with it</p>
<p>so for me baseball has had its effect on me.... so I think whatever sport your son plays , DD, he will probably get hurt in some way</p>
<p>though baseball might have its share of injuries... look at the life span of fball players compared to baseball players... im not sure exactly but i know that pro football players actually die far quicker than the average human and im sure average baseball player as well...</p>
<p>dd, you gotta let him play football! i played soccer then switched to football and theres no comparison! our kicked senior year was a soccer player junior year and he told me how unbelievable the difference is just in team unity... football has taught me so much its so amazing how so many different people can come together for one purpose... ill never forget the intensity of fball... im in basketball right now getting ready for the state tournament and i love bball but NOTHING compares to the goosegumps before every football game under the lights! ahhh i miss it so much! im tempted to try to go to washington at st. louis to play D3 but i could never pass up ND if i got in</p>
<p>jvon is right... theres no experience like high school football</p>
<p>and jvon my brother had to make the same decision between a D3 school with football or just going to a regular university with his friends </p>
<p>he chose the state U with all his friends instead of going to the D3 schools.... before he got into his transfer school he said that he regretted his decision no to ply football</p>
<p>hahha but the University of Arizona doesn't compare to ND</p>
<p>Don't you think, though, that some of that has to do with the tradition, the program and the coach? Soccer is huge in the St. Louis area--not to say that football isn't--but it was big here way before it was nearly anywhere else in the country. A great coach in any sport can make the team unity experience amazing.</p>
<p>Believe me, I'm outnumbered on this one.</p>
<p>Yeah i guess it's what you make of it but in the chicago area there is nothing like the high school football atmosphere... but a good coach at any sport can do wonders... and i dont mean good coach as in for their sport but the 2 coaches i have were good coaches at life if that makes sense... i have had the fortune of playing for 2 of the best coaches... my basketball coach was actually named national coach of the year by a magazine a few years back... but it is what you make of it, as long as you compete at something... high school sports has so many lessons to offer and a good coach can really change a person... i have changed unbelievably for the better b/c of h.s. sports</p>
<p>jvon.. </p>
<p>im noticing that you and I share many similarities</p>
<p>sports is such a big aspect in my life, and its one of the most rewarding things kids our age can do</p>
<p>DD, it doenst really matter what sport he plays.. just as long as he is doing what he wants to do and he works hard at it</p>
<p>yeah deff, chillin!! hopefully we both get to ND and in 2 years we can run some intramural bball and padded fball league!!! although if ur not in my dorm then theres gonna be some hell to pay in the fball league lol... i think u said u play fball and bball... what positions?</p>
<p>wide receiver and middle infield</p>