Touch 'Em All: A Cubs-White Sox Fight, Mike Trout's Adorable Moment With His Son & An Ex-MLB-er Plays NCAAF

"Touch 'Em All" Will Start With A Story About A 29-Year-Old Former MLB Star Who Will Be Playing College - Yes, College - Football This Fall

We’ve all heard about the legendary exploits of guys like Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, and Deion Sanders, who all somehow had the physical, mental, and emotional capacity to play baseball while they had other careers going on. Jackson and Sanders both killed it in the NFL, and while Jordan didn’t play pro baseball while he was running the NBA with the Chicago Bulls, the fact that he took a break from basketball, played AA baseball, and then came back to basketball is nothing short of incredible.

Who is your favorite dual-sport athlete of all-time? Let me know: john.simmons@outkick.com.

However, there aren’t many people that spend 10 years playing one professional sport and then out-of-the-blue pick up another one. After all, no one could be that physically in shape or that athletically talented.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 10: Monte Harrison #13 of the Los Angeles Angels hits a home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 10, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

Could they?

Well, if you’re Monte Harrison, most definitely do.

Harrison graduated from high school in 2014, and immediately signed with the Milwaukee Brewers – who offered him a $1.8 million signing bonus (which an 18-year-old kid would almost never turn down). He toiled around in the minors for about six seasons, but finally broke through to the big leagues in 2020. Harrison’s MLB career only lasted a total of 50 games (in which he played for the Angels and Marlins), but that’s 50 more than I’ve ever played.

After his MLB career came to an end in 2023, Harrison was a 28-year-old young man with a lot of life left to live. So what did he do? Did he go to the private sector and start a regular roll 9-5 like the rest of us?

Nah, Harrison was too athletically talented for that.

Here’s an interesting tidbit I didn’t mention at the beginning of this story: Harrison was a four-star recruit coming out of high school - for football - and was the number five prospect from the state of Missouri in his class. He had committed to playing football for Nebraska, but the Brewers gave him 1.8 million reasons to change his plans.

So he did, and put his football on the back burner. But only temporarily.

Because he played in the MLB straight out of high school, Harrison never went to college, and therefore never used any athletic college eligibility. So as a now 29-year-old, he is going back to school and taking his 6'3", 225-pound frame to the gridiron as a walk-on for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Apparently, he’s not too shabby either!

"He has really good hands. He can make any catch in the books," backcup quarterback Malachi Singleton said. You can tell he’s a little rusty just coming from baseball, but he’s gonna be a really big piece for us this year for sure."

I would love to have enough athletic prowess and confidence to think that I could make it in the toughest conference in college football, even though I hadn’t played a down of organized ball in 10 years. The fact that he is still doing really well just continues to boggle my mind.

As far as college goes, I personally hate the SEC. I think they are quite arrogant, and have an overinflated sense of importance in the world of college sports. But I do love a good story, and I wish Harrison and the Razorbacks nothing but success this season.

This Chicago White Sox/Cubs Fans Fight Was As Messy As Both Team's Seasons

The Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox have a pretty intense rivalry by virtue of being two teams that play in the same city. However, this year, they’re both not doing so great.

The Cubs have an outside shot of making the playoffs, but currently sit fourth in the NL Central. And the White Sox - well, it took them 113 games to final reach the 30-win total. To say the White Sox season has been atrocious would be an insult to the word "atrocious."

Also, they had a 21-game-loisng streak at one point. You know you've had a terrible season when breaking it causes the internet to explode.

Read: Chicago White Sox Break Losing Streak To Avoid Record, Look To Start New Streak

So when the two teams met up last week in the Southside, both fan bases were already kind of in a bad mood. Granted, the White Sox fans had more reason to be in a bad mood, especially considering they lost both games to the Cubs on Friday and Saturday. 

What do people tend to do when things aren’t going their way? They tend to get irrational, which is exactly what happened among fans from both sides of this rivalry on Saturday.

Originally, a fight broke out between White Sox fans, which is perfectly indicative of how their season has been going. Then, since no one should ever turn down an opportunity to get involved in a fist fight (please note the sarcasm), several Cubs fans joined in. All heck broke loose in the concourses of Guaranteed Rate Field, and for almost a full minute, it looked like a IFC fight was taking place. 

I mean, I’ve seen fan fights happening in ballparks before, but none of them were this exaggerated or this lengthy. I guess fans of both teams can only take so much before they start letting their anger out in unhealthy ways.

It’s a bad time to be a baseball fan in Chicago right now.

Mike Trout And His Son, Beckham, Made A Heartwarming Memory Thanks To Some Trading Cards

One of the best parts about baseball fandom is the trading card culture that comes along with it. I mean, sure, other sports make trading cards for their athletes, but do they even hold a candle to the nostalgia and fun that baseball card collecting brings?

Heck, I remember how excited seven-year-old me was to get this collection of baseball cards from my parents for Christmas. Even though it had a total of 661 cards in the box, it didn’t feel like nearly enough.

Evidently, baseball fans aren’t the only ones who love collecting cards. Sometimes, baseball players enjoy it just as much too.

Earlier this week, a clip appeared on X of Mike Trout, looking through some baseball cards with his son Beckham (what a dope name). Evidently, they were on the hunt for Mike’s 2009 rookie card in a Bowman deck, so like two eager children, they dug in. 

Beckham began the process by saying we have to get you daddy, we have to in the most adorable way possible. And wouldn’t you know it, they ended up finding one!

I can’t imagine what that card would be worth in about 20 years. Not that truck is going to need the money, he signed a deal worth $430 million five years ago. 

But what’s even more priceless is the memory and connection that Trout got with his kid. That's gonna be such a cool memory that they can look back on together.

And it all happened because of some trading cards.

Jackson Merrill Is Channeling His Inner Jedi Night For Player's Weekend

What’s that oddly satisfying humming sound I’m hearing in the background? Is that a lightsaber, or am I just going crazy?

Nope, it’s actually a lightsaber! Or rather, it’s Jackson Merrill’s bat pretending to be one.

The San Diego Padres centerfielder has decided to get creative with his bat. For Players Weekend (which is this weekend), he will be swinging a club that looks like it’s straight from Obi-Wan Kenobi’s belt. As you could expect, it looks pretty dope.

The best part? It's glow-in-the-dark.

Personally, I’m not a huge Star Wars fan - although Rogue One was an absolutely phenomenal movie. But it is hard to beat the aesthetic of a lightsaber, especially when you’re going to use it during the middle of a baseball game.

May the force be with Merrill when he takes that to the plate. 

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That's it for this week! If you have any ideas you want to see me write about, email me at john.simmons@outkick.com. Have a fantastic weekend!