Yankees, John Elway were the perfect baseball match — until the Broncos stepped in

John Elway is one of the best athletes to ever play quarterback in the NFL.

How do we know that? Because he also could've been a star for the New York Yankees.

It's been 43 years this summer since Elway tried his hand at professional baseball. And man, he was good.

Elway was mostly using baseball as leverage for football. The Stanford star didn't want to play for the Baltimore Colts, who drafted him, so he threatened to stick with the diamond sport. But when the Denver Broncos acquired Elway from the Colts, that was that.

All that's left is one glorious summer of small-town New York Penn League memories.

Elway played for the Oneonta Yankees in Low-A ball, and he likely would've been promoted quickly if he stuck around.

In that 1982 summer, Elway batted .318 with six doubles, two triples and four homers in 42 games. He swiped 13 bags and drove in 25 runs while reaching base at a .432 clip. His OPS was .896.

The lefty swinger was also an athletic, strong-armed outfielder, which is of course no surprise.

Elway had actually been drafted in the 18th round out of high school by the Royals.

Then the Yankees took him in the second round two years later out of Stanford.

MORE: Mariners' 270-pound Rowdy Tellez makes shocking MLB stolen base history

Elway went on to become one of the NFL's best quarterbacks ever.

But considering his role in impacting the outcomes for so many football teams, and the chance that he could've instead been wearing pinstripes for the most famous team in baseball, the butterfly effect here is fun to imagine.

Oneonta, and the NYPL as a whole, don't even exist anymore. But for one summer in 1982, one of the best athletes on the planet rode those buses as maybe the most supreme athlete in the entire Yankees organization.

Looking back, it's just too bad Elway didn't stick with baseball even just a little bit longer.

MORE MLB NEWS:

• Barry Bonds reveals how he hopes to make Willie Mays proud
• Mets catcher makes boneheaded mistake you’ve never seen before
• Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet joins Pedro Martinez in franchise history
• Phillies trade for a potentially dominant submarine pitcher
• Dodgers' legendary pitcher was a better hitter than the 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates
• Guardians prospect already has 63 steals in 60 games this season