Former New York Mets Remember Super Bowl QB As Kid
Before Patrick Mahomes II was winning Super Bowls and serving as a minority owner of the Kansas City Royals, he was patrolling the outfield at Shea Stadium as a four-year-old.
His father, Pat Mahomes Sr., played two seasons for the New York Mets in 1999 and 2000. Mahomes Sr. made sure that his son got to tag along and hang out with him and the team.
Four years old is a little on the young side for the son of a relief pitcher to bring his kid to work and let him shag fly balls, but the elder Mahomes made it happen.
By 2000, as the Mets were preparing to make a push for the World Series, the future Kansas City Chiefs quarterback was not only working the outfield but he was swinging the bat in the cage, too.
He was also making friends with his father’s teammates, according to a recent piece at MLB.com.
Among the players that took to the youngster were outfielders Benny Agbayani and Rickey Henderson, pitcher Mike Hampton, along with first basemen John Olerud and Todd Zeile.
Even then, Agbayani said, he could tell that the younger Mahomes was on his way to something special.
He was right. Before Mahomes went to Texas Tech to play quarterback, he was drafted late by the Detroit Tigers. But he stuck with football, became a first-round NFL pick and was picked an NFL Most Valuable Player. He’ll play in the Super Bowl on Sunday, looking for his third championship.
“When Little Pat was coming through the stadium shagging fly balls and wanting to be on the field, I thought he was going to be an MLB superstar,” Agbayani said. “Come to find out, he is an NFL quarterback that is a superstar. That’s an amazing story. He went to another sport. I always pinch myself because this is the kid that actually stood by me. I watch him on TV all the time. He is going to the Hall of Fame. He is always in the Super Bowl. He is one of those kids that knows how to win.”
Mahomes Sr. played for the Mets for two seasons, joining them in 1999. That season he had perhaps the best season of his career, as he went 8-0 with a 3.68 ERA in 39 relief appearances, one year after he didn’t even play in the Majors. The Mets made the postseason and he pitched in four games and finished with a 2.25 ERA.
The following season he and the Mets went all the way to the World Series before losing to the New York Yankees. He went 5-3 with a 5.46 ERA in 53 games, five of which were starts. Mahomes Sr. did not pitch in that postseason.
