Former second-round pick Brent Brewer quits baseball to play college football

Back in 2006 the Brewers drafted Georgia high school shortstop Brent Brewer in the second round, but after hitting just .240 with a .650 OPS in 427 minor-league games he’s decided to quit baseball ... and play football at the University of Tennessee. Brewer was a highly recruited football player coming out of high school and originally committed to play for Florida State before opting for a $600,000 bonus from the Brewers. Now he’s headed to Tennessee as a 22-year-old freshman and 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety. Here’s what he told Volquest.com:

It had always been in the back of my mind, I’d always kind of wonder how things might have worked out for me in football. I know it’s going to be hard and I’m sure I’ll have some rust, but I’m ready to come in and work hard and get into it. I’m really excited to have this chance and I’m going to make the most of it.

Brewer certainly isn’t the first player to give baseball an unsuccessful try before heading back to football, but his timetable for doing so was a lot quicker than most. He essentially played three full seasons, plus a half-year in rookie-ball after signing and one-third of a season this year before calling it quits. Ultimately it doesn’t matter because Brewer looked nothing like a future major leaguer, but for a $600,000 investment it seems like Milwaukee deserved more than 427 games before he switched sports. Of course, maybe I’m just upset because now there’s zero chance of a game named Brewer playing for the Brewers.