Before the record-setting NFL MVP performance.
Before the State Farm commercials.
Before the trip to the Super Bowl.
Before Patrick Mahomes was the star quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, he was ...
A Tiger.
That's right, Mahomes, whose father, Pat, was a major league pitcher, was a right-handed pitcher out of Whitehouse (Texas) High School. The Detroit Tigers took a flyer on Mahomes in the 37th round of the 2014 draft, knowing that Mahomes was dead-set on playing college football.
Other Tigers picks that year: first round, Derek Hill (who has yet to reach the majors); second round, Spencer Turnbull; third round Grayson Greiner and in Round 40, Alex Faedo, who the Tigers would draft in Round 1 three years later.