EVERETT — Evan Sharpley is thrilled about the prospect of taking the field in front of 3,000 fans for tonight’s Everett AquaSox home opener at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Never mind that Sharpley is accustomed to playing before 80,000 at what is considered hallowed ground in the college football world. The Sox first baseman and former University of Notre Dame quarterback is ready for the roar of the crowd, even if these crowds are substantially smaller.
“I’m really excited,” Sharpley said. “It’s been a grind the past two or three months (at extended spring training), so it’s nice to finally get here. We finally get to play in front of fans again, as opposed to spring training, where it’s basically who’s family is in town.”
Sharpley is best known for his time on the gridiron with the Fighting Irish, where he spent four years backing up the likes of Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen in one of the glamor positions in all of college sports. But the 23-year-old from Pontiac, Mich., has since traded in his football helmet for a batting helmet, and in his second season of professional baseball he anchors the middle of Everett’s lineup.
“He doesn’t have a lot of college experience playingwise,” Everett hitting coach Scott Steinmann said of Sharpley. “He didn’t play during the fall and summer leagues because of football. But he’s a tremendous worker, a very strong hitter, a left-handed hitter who has opposite-field power. I’m expecting him to have a good year.”
Sharpley’s presence in Everett represents a deviation from his original path. He attended Notre Dame on a football scholarship with the hope of being the next in Notre Dame’s long line of star quarterbacks.
It didn’t quite work out. Sharpley’s career as a college QB was modest. He appeared in 19 games over the course of three years, including two starts as a junior in 2007. For his career he was 81-for-147 passing for 761 yards and five touchdowns.
“It was a great experience, it taught me a lot,” Sharpley said. “Obviously it didn’t shake out the way I wanted it to, I didn’t play as much. But I still started a couple games, and throwing the football around in front of 80,000, 90,000 people is pretty special.”
While Sharpley attended Notre Dame on a football scholarship, he was originally recruited by the baseball team. One of the reasons he chose Notre Dame was because the Fighting Irish allowed him to play both sports, but pulling double duty led to some long days.
“When it was really crazy I’d have a morning workout with football, then do something in the afternoon with baseball, then finish up with seven-on-seven (football scrimmages) at night,” Sharpley said. “At certain times I’d have a football workout and I’d be doing it in my baseball uniform because I didn’t have time to change. Once games arrived, my weight was down and it just wasn’t conducive to being successful on the baseball field.”
The teams juggled things to better suit Sharpley, and while his football career languished, his baseball career took off. As a junior in 2008, despite starting just over half of Notre Dame’s games, he led the team with 13 home runs in 136 at-bats to go along with a .324 batting average and 40 RBI. That season got Sharpley thinking more seriously about baseball.
Sharpley’s 2009 season wasn’t as strong as he slumped to .223, and he was left wondering about his future. However, the Seattle Mariners took a flyer on Sharpley’s athletic history, selecting him in the 50th and final round of the 2009 draft.
“That was tough,” Sharpley said about sweating out the draft. “I really wasn’t sure if I was going to get drafted or not. Well 50th round, it’s the last round and it’s not great, but I still got drafted, I still have an opportunity — and I’m still wearing a jersey now.”
Sharpley immediately made Seattle’s decision look golden. Playing for Seattle’s rookie Arizona League affiliate in Peoria last summer, Sharpley was the team’s top offensive performer. In 37 games he led the team in average (.333) and homers (seven) as Peoria won the league title.
Sharpley, as a former quarterback and one of Peoria’s oldest players, took on a leadership role. He plans on reprising that role in Everett.
“I definitely think I can take a lot of my leadership skills, being a quarterback, and hopefully bring this team together,” Sharpley said. “We have all these different people and we have to bring them together to have one successful season. Hopefully I can bring my background of being on a football team with 100-plus people from all different areas of the country and bring them together for one goal, and that’s to win.”
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