The Seattle Seahawks are Still Alive Because Russell Wilson is a Baseball Player

A wild snap appeared to be the final nail in the Seattle Seahawks’ coffin on Sunday. For over three quarters, the offense had nothing to show for its efforts. Down 9-0 and staring playoff elimination in the face, the defending NFC champions received an unlikely spark to heat things up in frigid Minneapolis.

Wilson hustled back to retrieve the ball. His slide left him 16 yards behind the original line of scrimmage. Five Vikings defenders were charging hard in his direction. All hope seemed lost.

Then, like a jedi, he appeared to remember his training. Against all odds, Wilson was able to turn the apparent disaster into a game-changing play.

Baseball’s a funny game. Wait … what?

Wilson, a former minor leaguer, has spent time with the Texas Rangers each of the past two seasons. He still clings to the hope of becoming a two-sport star. By all accounts his glove is Major League-ready. His bat, on the other hand, is not.

Presently he’ll have to settle for merging the athleticism required in each pursuit. There was something familiar about his sliding play against the Vikings, something we’ve seen many times before — just on another athletic field.

That’s because it was a baseball play made by a baseball player.

If Wilson were wearing a mitt it would have looked like he was ranging to his right to field a ground ball and popping up quickly to make the throw to first. Or like a second baseman tracking down a ball in shallow right with a slide and tossing the ball toward home plate.

Sure, it requires a little imagination. Imagination, of course, is a huge part of Wilson’s game.

Perhaps there’s another NFL quarterback that makes that botched snap work. But few possess similar quickness, elusiveness or improvisational ability. Even fewer have muscle memory of making a baseball-like move to fall back on.

Let’s consider how many of them practice a similar situation. Weighing the improbability of success, it doesn’t seem like it’d be a great use of preparation time.

In college, Wilson would have been down the moment he secured the ball. He’d have had to make the choice between scooping it up and hoping to make chicken salad or falling on it. Pro football’s rules are different and allow for such creativity.

If the Seahawks are able to make it back to another Super Bowl and emerge victorious, the 35-yard completion will gain historical significance. It’s already afforded a proven winner the opportunity to play at least one more game.

More than that, though, it can be viewed as proof of the results possible when sports-pollination occurs. Over the past few years I’ve tried to find skills learned in a different game put to use on the playing field. Whether it be a basketball big man using footwork from soccer or a football player boxing out a defender to make a catch, it’s propaganda for those who believe there’s merit in sampling from a wide sporting spectrum in lieu of specialization.

All that aside, it was a fine play by a magnificent athlete who just happened to be wearing pads at the time.