A Chance Encounter
Published February 8, 2023
Here in Kansas City, it seems like everybody has a Patrick Mahomes story.
Sometimes, it’s the story of a first-person encounter, or a favorite secondhand anecdote. More often than not, it’s the detailed account of where someone was at the moment that the scintillating signal-caller drummed up another piece of in-game magic, which, at this point, has somehow become routine.
Like many Kansas Citians, I too have a Patrick Mahomes story. Now, it may not be the best Mahomes story you’ve ever read. But, then again, I think many of us believe that for #15, the best is yet to come. It may not even be your favorite Mahomes story, but it is mine. After all, it is MY story.
What it might actually be is the first Mahomes story that a Kansas Citian ever had to tell. My story takes place long before anyone in this city knew who Patrick Mahomes was; years before I could even call myself a Kansas Citian. But, in all fairness, my Patrick Mahomes story is probably less about Patrick, and more about Pat.
It may not look like much, but for one fateful summer, historic Phil Welch Stadium in St. Joseph, Missouri was home.
It was May of 2007, and I had just completed my junior year at the University of Central Missouri (UCM). I had moved to St. Joseph for the summer because I had accepted an internship with the St. Joe Blacksnakes. Now you might not think that working for a minor league baseball team in the American Association would be a glamorous life, but in that regard, you would be mistaken.
I mean, let’s talk about the games! They were so much fun! Sadly, they were sparsely attended which took away from the overall experience.
Still, my summer living situation was unmatched! After all, nobody else was living in the musty basement of the friend-of-a-friend in the north part of town, without access to cable or Internet.
I know I make it sound rough, but at least the hours were; well, they were long. In fact, they were incredibly long. Some weeks I worked well over 60 hours. But thankfully, for a college student like me, those hours really added up because the pay was so, nonexistent. Some ballpark fare and unlimited fountain drinks from the stadium’s lone concession stand were my wage. I guess there was also the matter of college credit.
So perhaps, I am the mistaken one. The life of an unpaid intern was far from glamorous but I barely cared. I was actually working for a professional sports team! I was working in baseball! I was chasing a dream, and I was hardly the only person in the American Association doing so.
It was a Monday night, a little over a week after I had started. I had just finished setting up the retail shop and there was almost an hour until the gates opened, so I swung by the stand for what would become my usual summer dinner - a pair of hot dogs and a glass of red Gatorade. With my meal in hand, I turned around and immediately stopped where I stood. Sitting not more than 40 feet away from me was one of my favorite pitchers from my childhood - Pat Mahomes.
I couldn’t believe that he was actually at Phil Welch Stadium! A few people in the front office had mentioned that morning that our opponent, the Sioux Falls Canaries, had just signed the Major League veteran the night before. Mahomes had spent over a decade in the Majors, with the first five seasons of his career coming with the Minnesota Twins. As the son of a native Minnesotan, who grew up rooting for the Twins, the prospect of getting to see Mahomes pitch in-person was especially exciting. Still, there was no guarantee he would join the Canaries in St. Joe. Until that very moment, I had dismissed the prospect of even seeing him play.
A young Patrick Mahomes plays with his dad on the field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Mahomes’ father, Pat, pitched for the Twins for five seasons. PHOTO CREDIT - The Minnesota Twins
Yet, there he was - donning that blue and yellow Sioux Falls uniform, sitting on a rusty old folding chair outside of the visitors’ clubhouse, and smoking a cigar. Quickly, I scarfed down both hot dogs, wiped my mouth to make sure there was no mustard on my face, and walked over towards him, with no earthly idea of what I would say.
“Excuse me, Mr. Mahomes?”
He took a puff of his cigar and then turned his head to me. My mouth was immediately dry, and so I took a gulp of Gatorade. It was not like me to be so nervous but then again, I had never met a childhood hero before. What was the protocol here? He was still staring and I knew I had to say something.
“I’m a really big fan. Growing up a Twins fan, you were one of my favorite players. I loved watching you pitch.”
Suddenly, his face broke into a smile. Any tension that I had once felt had disappeared. He took the cigar out of his mouth and reached out with his other hand to shake mine.
“A Twins fan huh?”, he remarked.
From there, we were off to the races. For what must have been a good ten minutes, Mahomes told me about what it was like to play in the Metrodome and to be a part of the very same team I had idolized as a young ballplayer in the mid-90s. He talked about playing with Kent Hrbek, Chuck Knoblauch, Kevin Tapani, and my all-time favorite baseball player - Kirby Puckett. I remember Mahomes telling me about Puckett’s energy and how he was always a bit of a jokester. He told me that Puckett never passed up the opportunity to tease a rookie or give one of his teammates a hard time. I listened intently as he talked about his career and his family, hanging on to every word.
Knowing I still had a few things to do, and that Mahomes had a game to prepare for (he was getting the start that night!), I thanked him for his time and shook his hand once more.
He then bent down to grab the baseball out of his glove which was sitting on the ground next to his foot. “Want an autograph?”
“Yes please,” I replied before he could even finish. It was not the most professional thing to do in my position but I was not going to miss this opportunity! Quickly, I fished a blue ballpoint pen out of my pocket and handed it to him. I thanked him once again as he handed me the ball. I hid it away inside my cargo shorts’ side pocket.
“Thank you so much! You are an incredible pitcher.”
He smiled a bit, took a long draw of his cigar, and after exhaling, he matter-of-factly said, “Wait ‘til you see my boy. He’s even better.”
As it turns out, the Blacksnakes’ game that I will never forget is also one that I hardly remember. I cannot tell you the final score from that game, or even who won. Given the way that season went, it was probably not the Blacksnakes.
What I can tell you is how thrilling it was to sneak away from my post for a couple of innings and watch Mahomes on the mound. What I can try and explain is how special it was to receive an autographed baseball for the first time in my life that night. I can even reiterate how our conversation, and the last thing he told me, stuck with me for years to come. But what I will never forget about that night is getting to meet one of my childhood heroes, and it exceeding all expectations.
We were just two guys in the American Association chasing a dream. For me, it was the dream of working for a professional sports team. For Mahomes, it seemed to me, it was the dream of continuing to play the game that he loved so much. The following season, Mahomes would lead the Canaries to their first, and only, championship in team history. Another season after that, he quietly retired from the game after playing for an American Association team in his home state of Texas.
Fast forward a few more years, and it was the fall of 2015. I was sitting at home, flipping from one college football game to the next when I landed on a game between Iowa State and Texas Tech. I remember hearing a very familiar name from the commentators and immediately thinking, “Could it be?”
Surely enough, it was.
“Wait ‘til you see my boy. He’s even better.”
On that particular afternoon, Patrick Mahomes II, the great pitcher who I had been told about years ago, threw for five touchdowns in a rout of the Cyclones. From that moment on, the Texas Tech Red Raiders became must-watch football for me. During the two seasons that Mahomes was at the helm, they would only win about half the games they played. That did not stop him from turning heads. It did not stop me from tuning in.
Anytime that the big-armed son of one of my favorite pitchers was on the field, it was always fun to watch. And it felt like he was always making history. His most memorable game came his junior year in an instant classic. Mahomes and the Red Raiders faced off against Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners. The game was an absolute track meet. It seemed that if I blinked, I would miss another touchdown! While the Sooners did end up winning 66 - 59, Mahomes set an NCAA FBS Football record for yards in a game with 819 (734 passing, 85 rushing) and firmly put himself on a lot of people’s radars.
I still remember the night of the NFL Draft in 2017. I was leaving a work event when the biggest Kansas City Chiefs’ fan that I know, my younger brother Connor, sent me a text. He let me know that Kansas City had made a massive move to trade up to the tenth pick in the draft to which I texted back, “You only do that for a quarterback!” As I climbed into my car, I felt the need to immediately call him. I had to know everything that was happening.
And then, partly because I had watched so much of him in college, and partly because I was such a big fan of his dad, I said to Connor, “You better hope they’re going after Mahomes and not Watson. I think he’s the best quarterback in this draft and could put the Chiefs over the top. Watson’s not the guy here.”
Of course, the Chiefs did select Patrick Mahomes with that pick.
He would spend his first season on the bench behind Alex Smith. He did get one start in his rookie year; in a meaningless Week 17 match-up where Kansas City had the opportunity to rest their starters before the playoffs. It was a game against the hated Denver Broncos. For most of Chiefs Kingdom, it was a first look into the future. And while Mahomes did not have a single touchdown, the Chiefs won that game 27 - 24. It was the first time that a quarterback drafted by the Chiefs had won a game for the organization since the late eighties. I remember sitting at a familiar haunt, the Blue Line in River Market, with my friends and watching that game. I remember how packed the bar was with Chiefs fans. I remember the roar inside the bar when Harrison Butker’s kick split the uprights as time expired. I recall going to Harpo’s in Westport, a couple hours after the game had ended, and so many people were still there in Chiefs’ gear, and celebrating! Clearly, this game had not been meaningless. There was so much excitement around the young QB. And the cherry on top? His first win had come in Denver.
About a month after Mahomes’ first start, Alex Smith was traded to Washington. The rest, as they say, is history.
I remember believing, the night Patrick Mahomes was drafted, that he could be great in Kansas City. As it turns out, this one time (because like any sports fan, I have had a load of wrong takes), I was right. Well, not entirely right. I would never dare to pretend that I had any idea that he could be this great. Nobody did. No one has ever seen a talent quite like him. In my conversation with Connor, in hyping up Patrick Mahomes, and downplaying Deshaun Watson, I had somehow managed to underestimate the ability of both.
What I did know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, on that night in 2017, is that I loved watching Patrick Mahomes play in college. I knew that I really loved watching his dad pitch. More than anything, I knew that Pat Mahomes had told me years ago that his son would be great.
Above all, that is why I tell the story of the first time that I got a baseball signed. That is what makes this Patrick Mahomes story so special.
Every single parent out there wants to believe that their child will be the greatest ever. Back in 2007, at a minor league ballpark in St. Joe, I might have met the one dad who was actually right.
While the signature has faded over the years, this American Association baseball signed by Pat Mahomes is one of my most prized possessions.
Do you have a favorite Patrick Mahomes story? Or a favorite story about any member of the Super Bowl bound Chiefs? Share it in the comments or drop me a line.
