Josh Fields

[RudyLawRules]

I knew he played at OSU, but didn't realize he started and set a Cotton Bowl record for passing in 2003. Old, but great article.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/bas...te-fields_x.htm

 

Okla. State's Josh Fields to face tough decision soon

 

Oklahoma State's Josh Fields, center,

celebrates his two-run homer against

Texas in the Big 12 tournament on

Saturday. The Cowboys won 8-2.

By LM Otero, AP

 

By Jack Carey, USA TODAY

 

Imagine Frank Anderson's trepidation last fall as he'd watch Oklahoma State quarterback Josh Fields drop back to pass. Anderson was about to embark on his first season as OSU baseball coach, but his concern went beyond that of a fan who just didn't want to see the quarterback sacked. Way beyond.

 

Fields, understand, is Oklahoma State baseball's meal ticket.

 

A third baseman projected to be a high pick in next week's major league draft, Fields is that rare college athlete who not only plays two sports but is among the best at both.

 

So, while Fields was busy lofting touchdowns to All-American Rashaun Woods and helping lead the team to the Cotton Bowl, Anderson was reaching for the antacid. "He'd get hammered sometimes," Anderson recalls. "You don't want to see him go down."

 

Fields emerged upright after setting a Cotton Bowl record with 307 passing yards against Mississippi, so a little more than a month later, he was batting third as the Cowboys opened the baseball season.

 

Now as they begin play in the NCAA tournament, Fields is hitting a team-best .370 and has 10 home runs, 20 doubles and 47 RBI with a slugging percentage of .596 and an on-base percentage of .472. The Cowboys won the Big 12 tournament last weekend as Fields posted a .941 slugging percentage in four games.

 

They open NCAA regional play Friday against Central Florida in Tallahassee, Fla.

 

"Right from his freshman year, he showed things that you don't see from many other kids," says Anderson, who as the former pitching coach at Big 12 rival Texas used to always be wary of Fields' spot in the order. "A lot of teams pitch around him. He's just a great competitor and has a high level of skill."

 

Fields' calendar-clogging double duty, however, might soon be a thing of the past.

 

Baseball America magazine rates Fields as the fifth-best position prospect in the draft. He did not participate in spring football this year after spending the previous two springs working with the football team and playing baseball.

 

"He may have a great opportunity presented to him by Major League Baseball, and we'll defer to any decision he and his family might make," says football coach Les Miles. "We are frankly all for him to take advantage of the best opportunity. We were for that when we recruited him, and that's still the way it is."

 

Josh Fields passed for 2,494 yards

and 21 touchdowns in 2003.

By Joe Rickets, AP file

 

The Cowboys would turn to Donovan Woods, Rashaun's brother, or Bobby Reid at quarterback if Fields departs.

 

It won't be easy, however, for Fields to cut the cord that connects to the gridiron.

 

"It would be very hard not to play football," says Fields. "But there's always a life to live out there, too. I don't know what to expect, but if everything happens for the best and we think (a baseball contract offer) is fair, I would sign and go out quickly to play. If not, there's still football."

 

Fields said it is unlikely he would play pro baseball this season and then return to OSU for football. "If a baseball team just wants you to concentrate on one sport and give up football, I think they make it pretty obvious they'd want you to do it."

 

The two-sport situation has been with Fields for years, as a dilemma as well as a delight.

 

"One Christmas," recalls his father, Wendall Fields, "he came home and said, 'All I do is go to school and play ball.' But then he looked up and said, 'What else would you want to do?' "

 

Fields started playing T-ball at age 6, but didn't start playing competitive football until seventh grade. "My parents didn't want me to get burned out playing both sports," he says.

 

He starred in both at Stillwater (Okla.) High and was recruited in both by schools such as Oklahoma, Arizona State and Arkansas as well as OSU. However, schools other than Oklahoma State soon began telling him he probably would have to pick one sport.

 

The opportunity to play both pushed him toward OSU, where his mother, Rhonda, a former basketball player, had been the school's first female scholarship athlete.

 

"I didn't really know if he realized, at that level, what it would take to play two sports," says Rhonda Fields, who played at OSU from 1978-80 and now coaches basketball at Stillwater High. "But I know my son, and I know he's pretty determined.

 

"I wanted to make sure he went into this with his eyes open."

 

After he had signed a football letter-of-intent with OSU three years ago, baseball teams shied away from drafting him out of high school. The disappointment lingered, but college gave Fields the opportunity to prove he could excel at both games.

 

Says Fields: "It was always a big deal to me to try and play both sports. It would have been very tough to have to pick one."

 

But playing both has been tough at times, too. "Mentally, it can wear you down," he says. "Football, especially, is so big in Oklahoma. Dealing with the media, dealing with your sport and going from one to the next, you have to clear your mind.

 

"Once you cross the white lines and get out on the field, they're the same games you've always played, but off the field, in college, it's different."

 

There were times he wondered if it was all worth it.

 

"It's real tough with no break," he says. "You'd have a nine-inning baseball game then run up the street, put your pads on and go to practice with maybe a Gatorade in between, and you start to wonder.

 

"It was emotionally taxing."

 

But the rewards of doing both can be most satisfying and uplifting, he says.

 

"They're different disciplines, and that's what I like about both," Fields says. "If I was struggling with my hitting, I could have a good football practice and that would help me have a more positive attitude toward baseball. If I'd throw a couple of interceptions, I could go to baseball and hear how excited my teammates were about what was happening. That would get me excited again for football. So they both helped me out."

 

That's another reason it would be hard to leave one behind.

 

"I've got some big decisions ahead, but I'm trying to enjoy the moment. Because I'm fortunate to be in this position."

 

"He's been up to the task," says Wendall Fields. "I think 20 years from now, he'll really be able to understand what he's been able to accomplish."

 

[BearSox]

he was a good QB, but baseball was an easy choice for him. In football, at best he would have been a practice squad QB. He's just too short. But in baseball, he was going to be a top draft pick, get some nice guaranteed money, and be able to work his way up.

[GoodAsGould]

he was a good QB, but baseball was an easy choice for him. In football, at best he would have been a practice squad QB. He's just too short. But in baseball, he was going to be a top draft pick, get some nice guaranteed money, and be able to work his way up.

 

He is probably taller than Rex Grossman? Id say there are a number of starting QB's he is taller than.... but yeah he isnt your ideal size.

[knightni]

Anyone else thinking,.. Bears QB?

 

[BearSox]

He is probably taller than Rex Grossman? Id say there are a number of starting QB's he is taller than.... but yeah he isnt your ideal size.

I'd be shocked if he's 6'1".

[sf_soxfan]

I knew he played at OSU, but didn't realize he started and set a Cotton Bowl record for passing in 2003. Old, but great article.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/bas...te-fields_x.htm

 

Okla. State's Josh Fields to face tough decision soon

 

Oklahoma State's Josh Fields, center,

celebrates his two-run homer against

Texas in the Big 12 tournament on

Saturday. The Cowboys won 8-2.

By LM Otero, AP

 

By Jack Carey, USA TODAY

 

Imagine Frank Anderson's trepidation last fall as he'd watch Oklahoma State quarterback Josh Fields drop back to pass. Anderson was about to embark on his first season as OSU baseball coach, but his concern went beyond that of a fan who just didn't want to see the quarterback sacked. Way beyond.

 

Fields, understand, is Oklahoma State baseball's meal ticket.

 

A third baseman projected to be a high pick in next week's major league draft, Fields is that rare college athlete who not only plays two sports but is among the best at both.

 

So, while Fields was busy lofting touchdowns to All-American Rashaun Woods and helping lead the team to the Cotton Bowl, Anderson was reaching for the antacid. "He'd get hammered sometimes," Anderson recalls. "You don't want to see him go down."

 

Fields emerged upright after setting a Cotton Bowl record with 307 passing yards against Mississippi, so a little more than a month later, he was batting third as the Cowboys opened the baseball season.

 

Now as they begin play in the NCAA tournament, Fields is hitting a team-best .370 and has 10 home runs, 20 doubles and 47 RBI with a slugging percentage of .596 and an on-base percentage of .472. The Cowboys won the Big 12 tournament last weekend as Fields posted a .941 slugging percentage in four games.

 

They open NCAA regional play Friday against Central Florida in Tallahassee, Fla.

 

"Right from his freshman year, he showed things that you don't see from many other kids," says Anderson, who as the former pitching coach at Big 12 rival Texas used to always be wary of Fields' spot in the order. "A lot of teams pitch around him. He's just a great competitor and has a high level of skill."

 

Fields' calendar-clogging double duty, however, might soon be a thing of the past.

 

Baseball America magazine rates Fields as the fifth-best position prospect in the draft. He did not participate in spring football this year after spending the previous two springs working with the football team and playing baseball.

 

"He may have a great opportunity presented to him by Major League Baseball, and we'll defer to any decision he and his family might make," says football coach Les Miles. "We are frankly all for him to take advantage of the best opportunity. We were for that when we recruited him, and that's still the way it is."

 

Josh Fields passed for 2,494 yards

and 21 touchdowns in 2003.

By Joe Rickets, AP file

 

The Cowboys would turn to Donovan Woods, Rashaun's brother, or Bobby Reid at quarterback if Fields departs.

 

It won't be easy, however, for Fields to cut the cord that connects to the gridiron.

 

"It would be very hard not to play football," says Fields. "But there's always a life to live out there, too. I don't know what to expect, but if everything happens for the best and we think (a baseball contract offer) is fair, I would sign and go out quickly to play. If not, there's still football."

 

Fields said it is unlikely he would play pro baseball this season and then return to OSU for football. "If a baseball team just wants you to concentrate on one sport and give up football, I think they make it pretty obvious they'd want you to do it."

 

The two-sport situation has been with Fields for years, as a dilemma as well as a delight.

 

"One Christmas," recalls his father, Wendall Fields, "he came home and said, 'All I do is go to school and play ball.' But then he looked up and said, 'What else would you want to do?' "

 

Fields started playing T-ball at age 6, but didn't start playing competitive football until seventh grade. "My parents didn't want me to get burned out playing both sports," he says.

 

He starred in both at Stillwater (Okla.) High and was recruited in both by schools such as Oklahoma, Arizona State and Arkansas as well as OSU. However, schools other than Oklahoma State soon began telling him he probably would have to pick one sport.

 

The opportunity to play both pushed him toward OSU, where his mother, Rhonda, a former basketball player, had been the school's first female scholarship athlete.

 

"I didn't really know if he realized, at that level, what it would take to play two sports," says Rhonda Fields, who played at OSU from 1978-80 and now coaches basketball at Stillwater High. "But I know my son, and I know he's pretty determined.

 

"I wanted to make sure he went into this with his eyes open."

 

After he had signed a football letter-of-intent with OSU three years ago, baseball teams shied away from drafting him out of high school. The disappointment lingered, but college gave Fields the opportunity to prove he could excel at both games.

 

Says Fields: "It was always a big deal to me to try and play both sports. It would have been very tough to have to pick one."

 

But playing both has been tough at times, too. "Mentally, it can wear you down," he says. "Football, especially, is so big in Oklahoma. Dealing with the media, dealing with your sport and going from one to the next, you have to clear your mind.

 

"Once you cross the white lines and get out on the field, they're the same games you've always played, but off the field, in college, it's different."

 

There were times he wondered if it was all worth it.

 

"It's real tough with no break," he says. "You'd have a nine-inning baseball game then run up the street, put your pads on and go to practice with maybe a Gatorade in between, and you start to wonder.

 

"It was emotionally taxing."

 

But the rewards of doing both can be most satisfying and uplifting, he says.

 

"They're different disciplines, and that's what I like about both," Fields says. "If I was struggling with my hitting, I could have a good football practice and that would help me have a more positive attitude toward baseball. If I'd throw a couple of interceptions, I could go to baseball and hear how excited my teammates were about what was happening. That would get me excited again for football. So they both helped me out."

 

That's another reason it would be hard to leave one behind.

 

"I've got some big decisions ahead, but I'm trying to enjoy the moment. Because I'm fortunate to be in this position."

 

"He's been up to the task," says Wendall Fields. "I think 20 years from now, he'll really be able to understand what he's been able to accomplish."

 

[witesoxfan]

Yeah I threw a football or two as well. How come the White Sox didn't draft me?

[WilliamTell]

Seeing pictures of him in college are pretty funny. His hair style anyways.

[bmags]

yes, he looks like a oklst cowboy.