On Thursday night, would-be A’s prospect Kyler Murray and soon-to-be professional quarterback will become the first athlete in history to be drafted in the first round of both the MLB and NFL Drafts. The Arizona Cardinals might even select him at No. 1 overall. Wherever Murray’s football career goes from

On Thursday night, would-be A’s prospect Kyler Murray and soon-to-be professional quarterback will become the first athlete in history to be drafted in the first round of both the MLB and NFL Drafts. The Arizona Cardinals might even select him at No. 1 overall.

Wherever Murray’s football career goes from here, the what-if associated with his baseball talent (the A’s took him at No. 9 overall in last June’s MLB Draft) will linger, until or unless he one day returns to the diamond.

With that in mind, we polled players from around MLB with the following question: Which pro athlete (not named Kyler Murray) from another sport would make the best baseball player? We were looking for active athletes, though, as you’ll see, there were a few retired folks who snuck into the 85 responses we received.

To the results!

Odell Beckham, 18 votes

OK, so he can make one-handed catches. Big deal. Baseball players do it all the time, albeit with the help of a glove.

Anyway, yes, Beckham -- late of the New York Giants, new to the Cleveland Browns -- is a superior, possibly superhuman athlete. He didn’t even so much as play high school baseball, but what little we’ve seen of him on the diamond has been impressive. Back in 2015, Beckham pitched so well in a charity softball game that the Rockland Boulders of the independent Can-Am League offered him a contract. (And not for any promotional purposes whatsoever. No, sir.) Last year, he took BP at both Angel Stadium and Yankee Stadium and went yard in each building. Heck, in honor of his move to Cleveland, the nearby Double-A Akron RubberDucks have already named a hot dog after him.

So no wonder the wide receiver caught so much love in our poll. Here’s what a few respondents had to say about OBJ:

Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield: "He's just too good of an athlete not to be good at baseball."

Red Sox pitcher David Price: “He’s got some pop, would hit some homers. He’s a good athlete, so I’m sure he would do some stuff well on the baseball field.”

Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong: “He has good hands, good frame. He has everything you'd ever want as a baseball player."

Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon: “I've seen him swing a couple times, and I'm pretty impressed. That dude's a freak athlete. He could roam center field, rob homers, [provide] power, steal some bags.”

Tom Brady, 10 votes

You might have heard the story of how Brady was drafted by the Expos as a high school catcher five years before he was drafted by the Patriots. In fact, if you’re a regular reader of this web site, you’ve definitely heard that story, because we have relayed it every single time Brady has played in the Super Bowl, which is pretty much annually. But if you’ve never seen Brady the ballplayer, here you go.

With that in the background and Brady constantly in the foreground, he was bound to get some votes here.

A few responses from the Brady bunch:

Brewers pitcher Chase Anderson: “I think he would be a decent pitcher. It's the frame, and I think he would just outsmart the opponent. That's what he does on the football field -- he outsmarts his opponents."

Rangers pitcher Jesse Chavez: “The touch and feel he has with a football ... I'd like to see what he could do with a baseball.”

Astros outfielder Josh Reddick: “Even at his age (41), he’d probably be stupid at it.”

Russell Wilson, 9 votes

Players who were selected after Wilson in the 2010 MLB Draft and wound up signing included Jacob deGrom, Merrifield, Corey Dickerson, Joc Pederson, Kole Calhoun, Adam Eaton, Evan Gattis, Cody Allen and Kevin Kiermaier.

Wilson signed with the Rockies after they took him at No. 140 overall and played Class A ball that summer, and in 2011. But he opted to pursue an NFL career in '12 and, two conference titles and one Super Bowl title later, you can’t fault him for that. Wilson has since had his baseball rights traded twice, and he’s appeared in Spring Training camps with the Rangers and Yankees, just for funsies.

It is fair to wonder, though, what might have been had he stuck with baseball, and Wilson was an obvious pick in this poll.

Mariners pitcher Marco Gonzales: "He's a natural, and he's played baseball before."

Tigers pitcher Blaine Hardy: “That’s a safe bet.”

Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings: “You’ve got to go with the experience.”

Patrick Mahomes, 8 votes

Another safe selection. Had he not followed the path that led him to this year’s AFC Championship Game after an MVP season with the Kansas City Chiefs, Mahomes could have followed in his father’s footsteps. The elder Pat Mahomes appeared in 308 games in the big leagues and pitched for the Mets in the 1999 National League Championship Series. The younger Mahomes fell to the 37th round out of high school in the 2014 Draft (the Tigers picked him) because of the common knowledge that he intended to focus on football at Texas Tech. But with a strong arm (naturally) in the outfield and a fastball that reached the mid-90s on the mound, there is little doubt Mahomes had the pedigree to go pro in baseball.

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge: “I've got to go with my boy Patrick Mahomes. I know he pitched a little bit back in the day. He would be a pretty good pitcher with that arm he has."

Red Sox utility man Brock Holt: “He’s got more of a baseball action to his throws.”

Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle: “His dad played for 12 years in the big leagues. With that pedigree and his strong arm, I would pick Mahomes.”

LeBron James, 7 votes

All the LeBron vs. Michael Jordan talk compelled the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate, to make a public pitch to King James that a stint in Minor League baseball would be the only way to truly top MJ as the GOAT.

Spoiler alert: It didn’t take.

But LeBron has shown an interest in baseball. He took batting practice with the Indians just after he was drafted by the Cavaliers in 2003 (this reporter was there -- alas, before the ubiquity of smartphone cameras -- and, honestly, it was pretty ugly), and a couple years ago there was video of him making a leaping snare of a line drive hit by his wife, Savannah, in a family softball game held on a field at the University of Akron. Perhaps with time to get that swing right, LeBron could have made it work.

The greatest player in baseball is among those who think so:

Angels outfielder Mike Trout: “Get LeBron in the cage. I want to see that. We'll put him in center [field]."

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus: “It would be cool to see how many home runs he takes away playing center field.”

Astros catcher Max Stassi: “Just a physical specimen. He’s an unbelievable athlete.”

Rafael Nadal, 3 votes

Baseball is not exactly the predominant sport of interest in Nadal’s native Spain, so we’ll forgive the tennis great for never taking it up. But what if the man responsible for those 5,000-rpm forehand strokes could come up with some high-spin fastballs or breaking balls? At the very least, Nadal’s passion, ferociousness and crazy athleticism would put him in good position to succeed in baseball.

Plus, he’s so good on clay … a component of the pitcher’s mound!

Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud: “Lefty, too.”

Then again, he doesn’t necessarily have to pitch.

Pirates first baseman Josh Bell: "Side-to-side range, and then he probably has a decent swing. He probably would have a really good swing after a while, if he practiced it."

Aaron Rodgers, 3 votes

When the eventual Green Bay Packers superstar quarterback was not heavily recruited by Division I baseball programs his senior year of high school, he started pitching, reportedly developing a fastball in the low 90s with a strong presence as a switch-hitter at the plate. But he went on to play football for Butte Community College, where he attracted the interest of Cal, and the rest is pigskin history.

What position would he play in baseball?

Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr.: “A quarterback with a great arm can be a pitcher. I’m going Aaron Rodgers.”

Cardinals pitcher Mike Mayers: "I feel like he's an athletic quarterback, moves around well and kind of throws from a bunch of arm angles, similar to an infielder."

Julian Edelman, 3 votes

The Patriots wide receiver and reigning Super Bowl MVP didn’t get as many votes as his QB, but he has taken batting practice at Fenway Park and hit the ball over the Green Monster. He put his fancy footwork to the test by fielding some grounders, too.

Twins outfielder Jake Cave: "He could be an outfielder for sure. He would run it down. He could probably play a little middle infield, too, to be honest. He'd be a grinder-type player."

Royals outfielder Alex Gordon: "I bet he could swing the bat a little. And he helped my fantasy team win in football, so I have to give him some love."

Antonio Brown, 3 votes

Recently dealt to the Oakland Raiders, Brown’s elite receiving skills and burst speed would probably serve him well in the outfield. Like James, though, he once had a BP appearance that revealed some flaws in his swing mechanics.

Padres outfielder Wil Myers: "He could actually play in the big leagues. He could learn to bunt, and he would be a really good outfielder. But I don't think there's a guy out there who I think could definitely hit in the big leagues."

Those who received two votes

Jordan: "He only had a short time,” Mets reliever Robert Gsellman said. “Give him a couple years like Tim [Tebow], I think he'd succeed."

Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield: “He can play a little bit,” said Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre: “He had a hell of an arm,” said Twins pitcher Taylor Rogers. “Prime Brett Favre was just slinging footballs everywhere. [He’d be] on the mound, for sure."

Saints quarterback Drew Brees: “He’s the man,” Mets reliever Seth Lugo said.

Former quarterback Michael Vick: “I think he could be a two-way player,” Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner said. “He could pitch and play center field. I think he’s that good of an athlete.”

Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt: “I’ve seen him hit taters out of Miller Park,” said Dodgers utilityman Enrique Hernandez.

Others receiving one vote:

Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin

Sprinter Usain Bolt

Former NBA MVP Steve Nash

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford

Tennis star Milos Raonic

Former NBA MVP Kobe Bryant

Former NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki

UFC heavyweight Stipe Miocic

“Any cricket player” (Phillies reliever Pat Neshek might have had the most correct answer of all).