And Jeff is now a part of something very special brewing at Clark & Addison this year. In fact, some think that one of the reasons he initially struggled was that he missed feeding off of the energy created by the much larger stage of college football, with the crowds in minor-league baseball being relatively sparse in comparison.īut with Wrigley Field rocking and rolling every game, no such concern here. Whatever role Lou throws him in, the bigger the stakes, the grander the stage, the better the kid performs. Cubs organist Gary Pressy plays the 'Notre Dame Victory March' w hen Samardzija takes the hill, although the pitcher says he'd prefer Jimi Hendrix.Īs Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild notes, Samardzija has no fear. 'The Shark,' as the 23-year-old was called at Notre Dame, can never outrun his football past. 'I'm comfortable using him in just about any situation.'

He had also received a full vote of confidence from manager Lou Piniella. Through 11 relief appearances-which, at week's end, had included one-inning stints, two-inning stints, even a save-he had a 1.20 ERA with a 3.5-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In his debut against the Florida Marlins, he hit 99 mph on the gun and has not looked back. Within days, however, he chose to take the Cubs' offer, which included a $2.5 million signing bonus that would be forfeited if he returned to football.Īfter some early struggles as a starting pitcher in the Cubs' system, Samardzija got off to a 4-1 start with a 3.13 ERA at Iowa this season, enough to earn him the promotion to Wrigley. Samardzija still had options, as the Senior Bowl and the NFL combine were looming. One of the attendees at the Superdome was Hendry, who met with Samardzija a few days later at Gibson's Steakhouse in Rosemont, IL, to talk about his baseball future. In the winter, he caught 78 passes and 12 touchdowns for the Irish, who went to the Sugar Bowl to face LSU at the Superdome.

That summer, Samardzija divided his professional baseball time between the Rookie League and Class-A ball. The following June, the Cubs' Jim Hendry took a flyer on him with a fifth-round draft selection when most everyone else thought Jeff's ultimate destination was the NFL. He caught 77 passes for 15 touchdowns that season. Heck, he was a finalist for the Biletnikoff award his junior season at Notre Dame, given to the college game's top receiver. Samardzija knows he could be playing professional football. Some of this article was inspired by SI, come to think of it.

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