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Carolyn Kruse

Carolyn Kruse

Carolyn Kruse

11 Country Stars Who Played Baseball And 2 Of Them Played Professionally

By Carolyn Kruse

Sports and country music go together like…peanuts and beer. I don’t know what it is but many of the biggest names on the stage were also big names on the field. I’ve already shared with you 9 country artists who played football. Now, with MLB’s opening day around the corner, discover 10 country stars who played baseball and 2 of them played professionally.

Heads up baseball fans, the 2024 Major League Baseball season will begin this year in Korea. According to mlb.com, the Dodgers and Padres will compete in the Seoul Series from March 20-21. For everyone else, the season will kick off on Thursday, March 28. Opening Day for our Red Sox starts in Seattle on the 28th for a 4 game series with the Mariners. Our home opener at Fenway doesn’t  happen until April 9 vs. Baltimore.

Back to our country athletes. It seems that so many of our biggest stars played multiple sports and exceeded. For some, it was their first love, before music. And for 2 it became a profession, for a short period of time. A couple of these artists played at the college level, while most played in high school. Did you know these country stars played baseball?

Many of us remember the Garth Brooks spring training stints. But honestly, I didn’t know about many of these country music artists’ passion for the sport. One of the singers on this list even grew up a Red Sox fan. Well, technically 2 of them did. Morgan Wallen told me, early in his career, that he grew up a Sox fan because Tennessee didn’t have a team. He went on to say that most of his friends were Braves fans, but he didn’t want to “be like everyone else.” Even though he has a song about the Atlanta Braves, I have the proof right here. Just click the arrow to listen!

  • 1.Bill Ray Cyrus

    Before his Achy Breaky Heart broke records, Billy Ray Cyrus was breaking bats. He was a start on his high school baseball team in Kentucky (according to The Sports Column). Cyrus went on to play college ball after getting a scholarship to Georgetown College in Kentucky. However, as pointed out in the article, Billy Ray dropped “the ball” and dropped out of college after going to see Neil Diamond in concert. I wonder if “Sweet Caroline” was one of the first songs he learned…

    Over the years he’s performed a lot on baseball fields, just not as a player. He’s sang the National Anthem and “God Bless America” many times. In fact, he performed the latter in  August of 2006 at Fenway Park in a Sox/Yankees matchup. And I was at the game to see it!

    Billy Ray Cyrus

    LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 15: Singer Billy Ray Cyrus sings “God Bless America” during the seventh inning stretch in Game One of the NLCS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium on October 15, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

     

     

  • 2. Brett Young

    “In Case You Didn’t Know” Brett Young was a star pitcher in high school, college and was courted by the bigs. The artist who has pitched 6 songs to the top of the charts, and 2 top 10s was on track to become a Major League Baseball pitcher before a career ending elbow injury. That happened when he was playing for Ole Miss, on a scholarship. He has previously turned down pre-draft selection from both the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins.

    Brett Young First Pitch

    Nothing but 🔥 from the Rebs pitchers tonight!Brett Young | #HottyToddy

    Posted by Ole Miss Baseball on Thursday, April 21, 2022

  • 3. Brian Kelley

    Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley played baseball most of his life and made it to the college level. According to ESPN, the Ormond, FL native went to Tallahasee on a scholarship to play for the Seminoles. However, he didn’t get to play much. It was there during his downtime he found his true love of music in the local church, where he played guitar. He told the sports outlet, “It was a fantastic experience living up there and I’d do it all over again. I made a lot of friends and even though it was a hard time on the baseball field, it made me a stronger person.” From there it was Daytona State College and eventually to Belmont University in Nashville where he met Tyler Hubbard. And the rest is FGL history. Kelley never gave up the game, but music won the series.

     

  • 4. Charley Pride

    According to Baseball Reference, the late, great Charlie Pride was known for his curveball and played professionally as a pitcher for the Memphis Red Sox in 1953 . He moved on to  the Birmingham Black Barons in 1954. “After spending a couple of years in the Army, he returned to Memphis in 1958 at age 20 when the Negro Leagues were dying off and did okay against the weakened competition. After briefly playing for the Missoula Timberjacks of the Pioneer League in 1960, he retired from baseball.” From 2010 until his death, Pride also owned a small stake in the Texas Rangers.

    The “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'” singer went on to have one of the most successful careers in country music, batting in 29 #1 hits!

    The baseball-loving Charley Pride is country music's Jackie Robinson

    How Charley Pride went from the Negro Leagues to country music's first black superstar.

     

  • 5. Garth Brooks

    Undeniably one of the biggest stars in the music industry (all genres) is Garth Brooks. But that wasn’t enough. Do you remember when Garth traded in his microphone for a baseball bat, professionally? During an “off season” for the legend in the music biz, he took up a game he adored, baseball.

    He played for 3 professional teams in his short athletic career. From the late 90s -early 2000s, Brooks was seen all over MLB spring training camps. Outsider.com reports that he tried out first for the San Diego Padres (1998 and 1999). Then, the superstar went to camp with the New York Mets in 2000. ”

    After taking a brief hiatus from America’s favorite sport between the years 2000 and 2004, Garth Brooks returned to the sport attending spring training sessions with the Kansas City Royals in 2004.” He eventually signed a contract with the Padres where he got to play in games that mattered, during the regular season. Not exactly a memorable stint as the singer went 1 for 22 with San Diego. Nearly 20 years later he returned to the field, this time for charity and this time with the Pittsburg Pirates for spring training, where he raised money for his Teammates For Kids Foundation.

  • 6. Jason Aldean

    Jason Aldean may have an arsenal of country music hits, but there was a time that playing baseball was his career dream. According to his former, Windsor Academy,the “Dirt Road Anthem” singer preferred the fresh cut grass of a baseball field. He was a “standout player” at the private school in his hometown of Macon, Georgia. There was interest from college teams, but Aldean chose music in the end. He was “Relentless” in pursing music and has been “Burning It Down” ever since. 

  • 7. Jordan Davis

    “Next Thing You Know” Jordan Davis is a country music star, thanks to hits like that one. But before he was filling up stadiums, he dreamed of playing ball in them. He told the Songwriters Hall of Fame, “I got offers to play baseball from several different universities, but I didn’t want to do that. I knew that I wanted to write and play music.” The Shreveport, LA native grew up playing sports and excelled at football and baseball. The game of baseball is still with him, as he’s usually seen sporting a ball cap.

  • 8. Justin Moore

    Growing up baseball ruled the world of “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home” singer Justin Moore. He grew up a big Braves fan and told MLB, “Baseball has always been my favorite sport. I love the team aspect of it. There is so much going into every pitch. I was a catcher. I loved calling games. I grew up a Braves fan in the TBS generation.” But he also said he was a realist. He knew the odds were against him, despite having talent. He is only 5’6″ tall and frankly, the odds are not good for anyone to become a professional player. Now he gets to play ball fields and teach his kids.

  • 9. Morgan Wallen

    “Through baseball, Morgan learned about teamwork, commitment, hard work, and drive.” That is a quote from his nonprofit foundation, The Morgan Wallen Foundation. The foundation donates fund to help rehabilitate places for kids to play, get equipment and fund music programs. They’ll upgrade sports facilities, baseball fields and give necessary equipment to kids. They shared that Wallen’s baseball star began to rise in his Knoxville, TN high school where he was a “standout shortstop and pitcher on the Gibbs High School baseball team. He was even scouted by colleges and was fully expecting to make a career of it. But, in his junior year Morgan suffered a bad elbow injury that “derailed his future with baseball,” as stated in the article. He did get to live his dream and play some of the biggest ballparks in the country on tour last year, where he took batting practice at places like Fenway Park.

  • 10. Scotty McCreery

    If you are a long time fan of American Idol, you may remember the show profiling Scotty McCreery, who was a star pitcher on his high school team while competing on the show. McCreery played for Garner Magnet High in North Carolina. The right-handed pitcher had an impressive record with his team while deep in the TV show competition. He went  6-1 and had remarkable earned run average of 1.07. Of course we all know Scotty went on to win Idol and has since racked up 5 consecutive #1 hits, has churned out 6 studio albums and is set to release a brand new one this May, titled Rise and Fall. McCreery grew up a Red Sox fan, because his dad is from New England. And Scotty stays true to his team today. A couple of years following his Idol win, Scotty did a show for us at Fenway Park for listeners who won their way in.

    Scotty McCreery

  • 11. Tim McGraw

    Of course Tim McGraw played the game. His dad, Tug McGraw, was a star pitcher and World Series champ. Tim played even before he knew who his dad was.  He found out when he was 11 years old. The Grammy Award winner singer went to pursue the game at Northeast Louisiana University, where he earned a baseball scholarship and studied pre-law. Then came the career ending knee injury…So pro sports was out and music was in. It was his destiny. Tim McGraw has since gone on to be one of the most successful artists in country music. With 65 singles and 25 of them #1s, I’d say he hit it out of the park at his own game.

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