With the MLB season on hold this week for its All-Star week activities, this is a good time to take a look back at some former Eagles players who had an opportunity to go pro in another league. There have been 10 Eagles who have been selected in MLB drafts throughout the years. Here's a look at who they are and the stats they put up on the baseball diamond.
Golden Tate
Tate was drafted out of high school as an outfielder by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 1,252nd overall pick (42nd round) of the 2007 MLB Draft. Three years later Tate was also drafted by the San Francisco Giants with the 1,518th overall pick (50th round) of the 2010 MLB Draft. He had not competed in baseball since 2009, his sophomore season with Notre Dame. In 73 collegiate baseball games, Tate had 84 hits (.318 batting average) in 264 at bats, including eight doubles, four triples, and one home run with 25 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.
Riley Cooper
Cooper was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies as an outfielder with the 457th pick (15th round) of the 2006 MLB Draft. In 52 collegiate baseball games, Cooper had 34 hits (.231 batting average) in 147 at bats, including nine doubles, two triples and four homers with 18 RBIs.
DeSean Jackson
Jackson was heavily scouted by the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays as an outfielder, and claims that the Rays told him they'd use the eight overall pick on him in the 2005 MLB Draft. But Jackson made it abundantly clear he was focused on football, so neither team took the risk of drafting him. As a high school senior, Jackson had 20 hits (with .296 batting average), stole 25 bases and scored 20 runs. He also posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on six assists.
Adam DiMichele
DiMichele was only on the Eagles offseason roster back in 2009, but we'll still include him on this list. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 38th round of the 2005 MLB Draft, but elected to go to college for baseball before ultimately changing his mind and converting fully to football.
Dennis Dixon
Dixon was only on the Eagles offseason roster back in 2013, but we'll still include him on this list. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds as an outfielder in the 20th round of the 2003 MLB Draft, but did not sign. He was then drafted with the 168th overall pick (5th round) by the Atlanta Braves in the 2007 MLB Draft, but after hitting .176 in 74 at bats with two Atlanta Braves rookie league teams he returned back to Oregon to continue his football career.
Matt Ware
Ware was drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the 639th overall pick (21st round) of the 2001 MLB Draft. He played as an outfielder for the Peoria Mariners of the rookie level Arizona Complex League during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. In 14 total games he registered 10 hits in 34 at bats (.294 batting average) along with two RBIs, two stolen bases, and seven runs scored.
Michael Vick
Vick was drafted by the Colorado Rockies with the 887th pick (30th round) of the 2000 MLB Draft, even though he hadn’t played baseball since middle school. The Rockies figured taking a low-risk flyer on an athlete like Vick would be worth possibly wasting the pick.
Ronnie Brown
Brown was drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the 1253rd overall pick (42nd round) of the 2000 MLB Draft. There is no online history showing any of Brown's high school baseball stats.
Freddie Mitchell
Mitchell was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with the 1379th overall pick (47th round) of the 1997 MLB Draft. He decided not to sign with them so he could continue his football career at UCLA. He made a return to the diamond in 2000 when he played on UCLA's baseball team, and was teammates with future Phillies second baseman Chase Utley that season. He was then drafted by the Chicago White Sox with the 1441st overall pick (50th round) of the 2000 MLB Draft, but again chose not to sign. There is no online history showing any of Mitchell's UCLA baseball stats.
Rodney Peete
Peete was drafted four different times; in the 1984 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 722nd overall pick (30th round), in the 1988 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics with the 359th overall pick (14th round), in the 1989 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics with the 348th overall pick (13th round) and in the 1990 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers with the 742nd overall pick (28th round). In his three seasons of collegiate baseball, playing second base and shortstop, he batted .297 with 18 home runs and 84 RBIs.
