‘Hard Not to Laugh’: When a Younger Phil Mickelson Got the Reality Check in a Hard Way, Courtesy of a Baseball Legend

Most sportspersons in the world are good at more than one sport. For keeping fit or as a hobby, athletes often take up sports other than the one in which they compete professionally. They may also wonder at times if they would have been better at the other sport. Golfing great Phil Mickelson is one such player.

Baseball player Tom Candiotti has narrated a funny incident about the golfer’s baseball dreams. This anecdote is a part of the Phil Mickelson biography by Alan Shipnuck, titled ‘Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar’.

‘Phil Mickelson never hit a home run’

In Chapter One of the biography, Tom Candiotti has shared a story of some time he spent with Phil Mickelson. Post his retirement, Candiotti was playing a game of golf at Whisper Rock [Golf Club] with Phil Mickelson and basketball player Jason Kidd. Post their friendly game, the trio was sitting around chatting. 

That’s when Phil Mickelson, for the umpteenth time, said that if he hadn’t been a golfer, “he could have played Major League Baseball”. Candiotti challenged him then and there, and the three went to the baseball field at Horizon High School to test him. 

“I start throwing batting practice and Jason pops a few home runs right away. He’s a great athlete. Now it’s Phil’s turn,” recalled Tom. “Imagine driving by and seeing a Hall of Fame basketball player shagging fly balls and a Hall of Fame golfer at the plate…wearing golf spikes, a Titleist glove, and a right-handed batting helmet, with the flap on the wrong side.”

Candiotti, a great pitcher of his time, was “throwing easy fastballs” at Phil, he said. And yet, the golfer could not hit the ball even to the warning track.

“He’s so determined to hit one over the fence, but he can’t even get it to the warning track. He’s getting more and more pissed off and me and Jason are trying really, really hard not to laugh,” revealed Tom. He said that eventually “Jason got so bored he just laid down in the grass in centerfield. Phil never did hit a home run”.

Pitcher dreams but again nothing came of it

Last year, Golf Digest had revealed another story about Phil Mickelson and baseball. Before Phil won his first major golf championship, he had attempted to enter professional baseball. However, this was as a pitcher and not a batter. Phil had tried his hand at pitching but failed.

ALSO READ: ‘P**nbots’: Controversial Golf Author Calls Out Elon Musk’s NSFW Approach, Leaving the Golf World in Chaos

It must have been tough for the six-time major champion to not be able to perform, even if it was baseball. After all, Phil Mickelson is known to play to win. He is not there for fame or money, but to simply win. So, it doesn’t matter if it is golf or baseball, an athlete will always strive for perfection.

These incidents of Phil Mickelson show an unfulfilled dream of becoming a baseball player. It also shows his determination to make it big in his next choice of sport as a professional – golf.

Watch This Story: Despite being with LIV Golf for a year, Phil Mickelson successfully dominates the PGA Tour with his earnings and is behind only one golfer now