Eight Athletes Who Played the Wrong Sport

Analyst Written on June 09, 2009

Slide 1 of 10

I was in the stands of a Little League All-Star game last weekend.

I was impressed by the discipline of the eight-year-olds and the quality of the play for their age. Some of these kids are getting good instruction from the time they're very young, and it shows.

I was most impressed, however, by the Hammer.

Hammer wasn't his real last name, but it was part of it—Milhammer or Bohammer, or something like that.

But when the Hammer stepped up to the plate, he got more reaction out of the crowd than the rest of the prepubescent players combined.

No matter what team you're on, it's always good news when the Hammer is going to bat for you.

It made no difference whether he was a good player or not. I can't remember. The important part was that he was playing the right sport—a sport where the Hammer can swing the bat and hammer one deep to left.

It'd be difficult to come up with a cooler baseball nickname.

It brings to mind Prince Fielder, who's definitely playing the right sport by playing baseball. And Gilbert Arenas, who has now played in basketball arenas all over the country. And even T.J. Rushing, who plays safety for the Indianapolis Colts—he gets to rush on every safety blitz.

All too often, though, mistakes are made in this category, and parents are unable to get their children to play the sports their names suggest they should play.

I present eight athletes who played the wrong sports—and the sports they should have played.

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Eight Athletes Who Played the Wrong Sport

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Eight Athletes Who Played the Wrong Sport

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