White Sox pitcher’s epic baseball duel with Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes

It will be different for Michael Kopech watching Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, his childhood friend and rival, play in Super Bowl 2020.

And yet in one way, it won’t be.

“He’s a lot of fun to watch, I think I’d be crazy to say that he wasn’t,” Kopech, a White Sox pitcher, told The Post by phone. “I think anyone would agree with me that he’s a fun athlete to watch — and he is just that, an athlete. He’s well-rounded, he’s strong, he’s physical, got a cannon of an arm obviously. He’s an impressive specimen.”

Kopech and Mahomes grew up an hour-and-a-half from each other in Texas. Mahomes, a three-sport star, hails from Tyler, while Kopech is from Mount Pleasant. They were baseball competitors starting when they were 8 years old.

“East Texas sports are put on the pedestal for sure,” Kopech said, “and you remember 8-year-olds just standing out, being way better than 8-year-olds should be at baseball, and then you remember someone else standing out above all the other incredible 8-year-olds. And that was Patrick.”

Kopech was the opposing fireballing right-hander for Mount Pleasant High School when Mahomes, a senior at Whitehouse High, threw a seven-inning no-hitter and beat him 2-1.

“He was obviously always a big kid, and was always one of the guys that we really wanted to beat, just being a competitive kid all through my life as well,” Kopech said.

Mahomes struck out 16 that day, including Kopech three times. Kopech struck out 12, including Mahomes twice.

“It was just so electric that the two of us really brought out the best competitor in one another,” Kopech said. “I just remember how much I wanted to really beat him, along with the whole other team, ’cause there was kind of a back-and-forth rivalry there, at least on our end.

“Facing Patrick to me was just icing on the cake on our season if we beat them. We were by no means a high-caliber team, but we were a team that would compete to no end, and with them we went to hell and back it seemed like to really try to beat Patrick.”

Kopech could throw a 98-mph fastball. Mahomes was clocked at 93-95 mph.

“He had the tools to be a baseball star; he really was even then,” Kopech said, “and to see him in football pads now, it’s a little bit different.”

Mahomes also had a breaking ball.

“I believe it was a slider,” Kopech said, “but I’d be lying to you if I saw anything other than three fastballs [laugh].”

There were anywhere from 35 to 60 scouts in the stands.

“I do remember there being the most radar guns I’d ever seen in one game,” Kopech said.

Kopech was ejected in the seventh inning.

“I was trying to pick up for a teammate that didn’t have too much baseball awareness,” Kopech said, “and he slid into second base a little high, and he probably came intentional to the shortstop that he slid into, and they get into a little tussle out there and I was actually on deck. I go out there to kind of protect my teammate, I take off running, and one step over the foul line, and, ‘Get out of here!’ So I was the only one ejected. … They were the home team, and they were ahead, and Patrick shut us down that inning, so I didn’t have another chance to go back out there and pitch anyway.”

Kopech said he is proud of his old friend.

“It really warms my heart,” he said. “Seeing him have the success that he is having at the highest level whatever sport that may be is quite incredible.”

It serves as motivation for Kopech.

“Seeing him have success that he’s having, it really does motivate me to put that show on for my hometown just as much as he has,” Kopech said.

Kopech was the 33rd pick by the Red Sox in 2014 and traded two years later to the White Sox. He has pronounced himself ready for spring training following Tommy John surgery on Sept. 18, 2018.

“If you’ve ever been to East Texas, there’s not much there,” Kopech said. “It’s got three restaurants, a few stoplights, and then there’s sports. And most of the time the sport is football, but baseball is starting to become just as big out there.

“Seeing him kind of really be the face of the NFL right now for our area is everything.”

For more on the NFL playoffs, listen to the latest episode of the “Gang’s All Here” podcast:

Source: Read Full Article