KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Some of Patrick Mahomes’ earliest memories are from baseball clubhouses, where he accompanied his father, Pat, a pitcher for six major league teams. Mahomes, then 5, recalls seeing his father’s Texas Rangers teammate Alex Rodriguez trying to perfect his swing by hitting off a tee before games in 2001.
The frequent sight made an impression on Mahomes that he carries with him now that he’s the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. The lesson: Athletic ability alone is not enough to carry a player to greatness.
“My favorite player growing up was Alex Rodriguez,” Mahomes said. “I remember … how hard Alex worked. That really stuck with me. You see him hitting off the tee for hours, and you’re like, ‘Man, you’re hitting home runs every single game. Why are you hitting on the tee for two or three hours?’ That’s just stuff you see and you remember as a kid, and it sticks with you.”
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“He wanted to be a shortstop,” Mahomes Sr. said. “He studied every move that Alex made. Alex would take him down underneath the stadium to the batting cages, and he’d let Patrick hit off the tee and show him different drills. He would videotape all of that and show him what he was doing wrong.
“I pretty much knew he was going to be a professional athlete from the time he was about 6 years old. I thought he would be a baseball player. I actually remember betting some of my teammates that he was going to be drafted by a baseball team when he was old enough. I tried to get him to quit football when he was a junior in high school. I thought that was the last sport he would go pro in. The quarterback thing came late, but once he got into it, he was all into it.”
Much has been made about Mahomes’ physical football skills. He can make some difficult throws that many other quarterbacks can’t, and without that ability, the Chiefs wouldn’t have drafted him in the first round last year.
But the Chiefs have been as impressed with how Mahomes has handled himself and his work habits. He’s beyond the typical 22-year-old in those areas. He by all accounts deftly assumed command in the locker room this offseason, which is no small feat on a team that features veterans such as tight end Travis Kelce and safety Eric Berry.
“You can’t overestimate the effect that growing up in that environment had on him,” said Mahomes’ agent, Leigh Steinberg. “From the day he was born, he’s been around professional athletes. You can’t overemphasize what sitting around with Alex Rodriguez or standing around him in batting practice and being around ballplayers does for someone. You can say he’s been groomed for leadership.”
Running back Kareem Hunt recently said that Mahomes is the most competitive person he has ever met, with that competitiveness extending everywhere from video games to the football field. Asked where that love of competition comes from, Mahomes said, “Definitely growing up in a locker room. If you watch those guys, they compete at everything. My dad is the same exact way. He still competes with me to this day. He thinks he can beat me in a foot race.”
