Chattanooga Lookouts starting pitcher Kohl Stewart was the No. 4 pick in the 2013 baseball draft and is one of the top prospects in the Minnesota Twins organization.SPEAKING FREELY
Lookouts starting pitcher Kohl Stewart discussed a variety of topics:Q: Who was your favorite pitcher growing up?A: “Justin Verlander.”Q: How accurate is “Bull Durham” to your current lifestyle?A: “Not accurate at all.”Q: Is Texas your biggest rival, or is it someone in the SEC?A: “Texas hasn’t been to a bowl in a couple of years, so I don’t know if you can even consider them a rival.”Q: What do you remember most about signing for $4.5 million?A: “I remember getting the check and asking my parents, ‘Where is the other half of this money?’ They said, ‘Welcome to taxes.’”Q: If you could pitched to one guy in baseball history, who would it be?A: “Joe DiMaggio.”
Had Chattanooga Lookouts pitcher Kohl Stewart made a different decision in 2013, he might be preparing for his fifth-year senior season as Texas A&M's starting quarterback.
Stewart might have succeeded Johnny Manziel and outlasted the likes of Kenny Hill, Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray, which in turn could have resulted in Trevor Knight choosing another destination early last year instead of College Station. That scenario never took flight, however, as the two-sport talent from Houston was the No. 4 overall selection of the Major League Baseball draft in June of that year and signed a professional baseball contract with the Minnesota Twins several days later.
"There was a lot of allure to the football side of life, but it was a decision the Twins made very easy for me," the 22-year-old Stewart said. "I had grown up playing baseball my whole life. Football was a fresh thing that I started playing in high school, and it was kind of a shock that I had the success I did.
"It was always my dream to play in the big leagues, and when I got the opportunity with the Twins and got picked really early, everything was just pointing in that direction."
The Twins made things easy by providing Stewart a signing bonus of $4.544 million. Stewart had signed with the Aggies several months earlier as a four-star prospect, joining the four-star Hill, four-star defensive end Daeshon Hall and five-star receiver Ricky Seals-Jones, but Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin knew from the start that keeping Stewart was a long shot.
Stewart had thrown for 2,560 yards and 28 touchdowns in his final fall at St. Pius X High, but his final spring there included 59 strikeouts and an 0.18 earned run average in eight starts.
"I go to most of the A&M home games every year, and it has been a quarterback carousel over there with all the guys coming and leaving," Stewart said. "A lot of them have been really talented, but I really don't look back at all that. I got to know some really nice guys throughout the recruiting process and have enjoyed keeping up with their journeys.
"I guess the best way to put it is that I do wonder a little bit about it, but I don't spend much time on it."
Stewart isn't the first Lookouts pitcher to choose baseball over quarterbacking in the Southeastern Conference. When the Class AA franchise was affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2009-14 seasons, Zach Lee chose baseball over LSU football in 2010.
Lee was a three-star football prospect from McKinney, Texas, and actually took six hours of summer courses in Baton Rouge, but the Dodgers in August 2010 came up with a $5.25 million bonus. He went 14-13 with a 3.55 ERA during the 2012-13 seasons with Chattanooga and now is in the majors with the San Diego Padres.
The decisions that played out for Stewart and Lee played out in Lookouts manager Jake Mauer's house back in 2001. Jake's younger brother, Joe, has played 14 seasons with the Twins, hitting .307 for his career and earning the American League MVP honor in 2009, but he also was the nation's No. 1 quarterback prospect in 2001.
Joe Mauer signed with Florida State but was the top pick in the 2001 draft and signed with the home-state Twins for $5.15 million.
"It's kind of a nice problem to have, especially when you're that age," Jake Mauer said. "It was a pretty easy decision for Joe, because baseball in our family has always been the priority and love. I will say that it was nice to have Bobby Bowden come up to meet the family."
In the cases of Stewart, Lee and Joe Mauer, becoming a multimillionaire with the stroke of a pen was something football could not guarantee. Still, all three had to walk away from a sport that had consumed countless hours and provided great memories.
"Every now and then, there are those athletes who come out and are just extremely athletic and would be great golfers and bowlers if they wanted to do that," Jake Mauer said. "Some people are just gifted that way, and the biggest thing is finding not only something you're good at but something you enjoy doing."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.