One of the extreme cases came in 1992 when Deion Sanders played in an NFL and an MLB playoff game on the same day. Bo Jackson was also an all-star in both baseball and football.

Famous football stars like Tom Brady and Russell Wilson also had tough choices to make, even though both likely made the right decisions.

Curve outfielder Lonnie White Jr. had a similar decision to make while coming out of high school from Malvern Prep, just outside of Philadelphia, although his career was originally going to take him a few miles down the road to State College.

White was committed to Penn State out of high school, where he would have been slated to play both football and baseball. White committed to PSU and James Franklin after originally being committed to Clemson for just baseball.

Mirror file photo by Patrick Waksmunski Curve right fielder Lonnie White Jr. runs in at the end of a half inning recently.

Instead, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected White with the 64th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, and White decided that the pick was high enough to leave behind his football career.

“It was definitely tough,” White said of the decision to leave football behind. “I think deep down I knew that baseball was always in my mind since I was a kid. That’s the way I felt, but I love football, too.”

White was also recruited by Rutgers, Michigan, Michigan State, Syracuse, Boston College, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech and Indiana. All were interested in football, but baseball would have also been an option for him in most schools.

White was recruited as an athlete in football but would have likely been a wide receiver at the college level.

White played receiver as a sophomore and quarterback as a junior before going back to a wideout for his last year. He could have also been a safety in football if Franklin and Co. wanted to use him on defense.

A lot has happened in the nearly five years that White was drafted by the Pirates. If he would have stayed with football and baseball, he could have been on the team that made a run through the College Football Playoff and appeared in the national semifinals. Had he stayed for five years, last season would have been his final year with Penn State.

White still stays in contact with Franklin, even when he was fired last season and was eventually hired at Virginia Tech.

“We talk every once in a while,” White said. “He asks how I’m doing and such. He’s such a great guy.”

White was limited with various injuries between 2021-24 but has performed well when healthy. Earlier this year, he was hitting .298 in High-A Greensboro in 23 games before being promoted to Altoona on April 30. Since joining the Curve, he is hitting .283 after going 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs on Friday. He belted his first Double-A home run on May 6 against Chesapeake.

Does White ever wonder what could have been if he would have honored his commitment to the Nittany Lions?

“It’s kind of hard not to sometimes, but I’m enjoying myself,” he said. “That thought hasn’t been there as much lately.”

White, who was also a basketball star at Malvern Prep, said there should come a time to have to pick a sport for athletes who have options on playing at a higher level.

“For me, I wanted to play all three as long as I could,” White said. “But it does get challenging. There comes a time where you probably should just choose one, but try to play as long as you can and just enjoy it.”