When thinking about multi-sport athletes, such as Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson, their ability to play at the highest level in both football and baseball is almost incomprehensible.
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With this in mind, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons recently claimed that he can also play in the MLB and find success, without having any prior baseball experience.
When asked the theoretical question of how many hits he could get in one MLB season (162 games), with four to five at-bats per game, Parsons confidently said what he believes his batting average would be, "I think I could average .200, .180 to .200."
Micah thinks he’d hit .200 in an MLB season 😅
C.J. wasn’t having it pic.twitter.com/SQnJBMQmD4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 4, 2024
Almost every person that has played baseball on any level realizes how much hand-eye coordination, hitting mechanics, and practice it takes to be able to hit a baseball.
Not to mention, on the Major League level, the ball is traveling up to 100 mph, but you also have to take into account off-speed pitches with movement, such as a curve ball, slider, or changeup.
Keeping in mind, with the mound being exactly 60.5 feet away from home plate, the hitter has an average of 125-150 milliseconds (0.15) to decide if a pitch is even a strike or a ball.
To get a pitcher's perspective on this debate, Chris Rose on his podcast, recently asked Dodgers' Tyler Glasnow to give his best guess on how many hits Parsons would have out of 500 chances.
Glasnow stated, "If he had 500 at-bats, five hits maybe. Once he steps in and sees a big league [pitch], he would be like 'oh nevermind.'"
Tyler Glasnow reacts to Micah Parsons saying he could hit .200 in MLB pic.twitter.com/Ibh1BfCGEA
— Chris Rose Sports (@ChrisRoseSports) June 10, 2024
"Micah, you are a phenomenal athlete, top tier," Betts said in regards to the NFL player's outlandish claims. "No chance you can hit between .180 and .200. You can do a lot of things, and a lot of things successfully. But hitting a baseball is not one of them."
Betts knows a thing or two about hitting, as he has a career .295 batting average, and has won multiple Silver Slugger awards (2016, 2018-20, 2022-23) throughout his career.
Micah Parsons said he could hit between .180 and .200 in MLB season.
Mookie said he'd get 0 hits in 500 at-bats 🤣 pic.twitter.com/zGZRA5gZ3T
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 12, 2024
Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien, who joined Betts on the show, gave Parsons the benefit of the doubt, and said he thinks the NFL player could get more than five. He mentioned the fact that the pass rusher may have speed on the bases, which grants him the opportunity to play "small ball."
"Somebody will tell him to drop down a bunt at least six times out of 500." Semien said.
All in all, almost everyone that has played baseball a day in their lives, knows that hitting .200 in the Major Leagues is an almost impossible task for an average person, especially someone with no baseball experience.
Parsons with Yankees manager Aaron Boone
To put everything into perspective, Semien, who is a 2x All-Star/Silver Slugger award winner (2021, 2023), and has a career .258 batting average, pointed out that there are great hitters in the MLB currently hitting under .200.
For example, when looking at some notable stars, Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena, who was a 2023 All-Star, is currently batting .174 this season. Also, Baltimore Orioles outfielder, Cedric Mullins, who won a Silver Slugger award in 2021 is batting .182. Then to point out, Luis Robert Jr., a star player for the Chicago White Sox, is currently hitting .196. And the list can go on...
Ultimately, in regards to Parson's playing ability, there is no doubt that the 3x NFL Pro-Bowler (2021-23) is one of the best at his craft. Furthermore, he is a multi-sport athlete, as Parsons scored 37 points and won the MVP at the 2024 Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
Nevertheless, even considering all of that, for him to truly believe that he can have a better batting average than some MLB stars is delusional.
