On Tuesday, Charlie Blackmon will take the field in the MLB All-Star game as a starting outfielder representing the Colorado Rockies. As the current league leader in hits and total bases, it's easy to imagine such a talented player was seen by scouts as a surefire pro since his high school-playing days.
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One of the best hitters in baseball almost failed in college until he lied to a summer team about his position
Rockies all-star outfielder Charlie Blackmon started out in college as a pitcher that couldn't cut it, so he lied about being a hitter and made it to the majors
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But for Blackmon, that was most definitely not the case.
As a story by Tyler Kepner of the New York Times details, Blackmon was a pitcher going into college, but developed tendinitis in his elbow after transferring to Georgia Tech, and was never able to get into usable pitching shape for the Yellow Jackets. When it came time for summer league and Blackmon found himself in the new surroundings of the
"He's the last guy I want to see," Blackmon said. "He falls behind, 2-0, and I'm like, 'All right, I'm just gonna let it eat.' He throws it right down the middle, and I hit it, like, way out. So the first swing anybody saw me take, I murdered this ball."
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After that at-bat it was decided that Blackmon would be an outfielder that year and the rest is history. Behind over three million votes from fans, Blackmon will make his second career All-Star game appearance on Tuesday.
You can read the full story from the New York Times here.
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