Broncos’ Eric Decker quite the baseball player

(Image courtesy of The Sports Bank)

We know Eric Decker as a 6’3″, 218 pound wide receiver who caught 44 passes for 612 yards and eight touchdowns last season as a member of the Denver Broncos.  Had Decker chosen another career path — baseball — many of us would have never heard of him.

While attending Minnesota, Decker played both football and baseball and was actually drafted into the MLB — twice.  Decker was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008 and the Minnesota Twins in 2009, but opted to instead pursue a career in the NFL.

Decker went on to be drafted just once in the NFL, Denver taking him 87th overall in the 2010 draft.  On Sunday, Decker and quarterback Peyton Manning attended a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field — as fans.

During batting practice before the game, Decker hit two home runs into the bullpen beyond right field, according to the Denver Post.  The Rockies went on to lose to the New York Mets by a score of 6-to-5.

“I thought he represented the Broncos well today,” Manning said on Sunday. “I’m pretty sure he’ll walk tall all week.”

Aren’t we fortunate that Decker chose football over baseball.  Though I’m sure he would have been a fine baseball player, he has the potential to be a star receiver in the NFL, especially now that Manning is at the helm in Denver.