How freak athlete Micah Parsons and a $500 bat wowed the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons has been a different animal since he showed up as a rookie last season.
Parsons stole show Tuesday during the Reliant Home Run Derby at Rider Field. The Cowboys raised $81,000 for The Salvation Army, with linebacker Leighton Vander Esch raising the most money with $16,300,
Parsons crushed 13 home runs but it was two that cleared the fences in left field — including one that went out of the park entirely — that left his teammates slacked jawed and the do-everything linebacker giddy.
“I don’t run on regular gas. This is diesel,” said Parsons, who ran around the bases with glee.
To be honest, receiver Cee Dee Lamb and cornerback Trevon Diggs knew what Parsons had in him.
It was the veterans, like quarterback Dak Prescott. who doubted Parsons’ baseball prowess. Reliant officials constructed fences in the middle of the outfield for the football players.
No Cowboys player had ever cleared the wall during the charity event.
“He warned us,” Diggs said. “I believed him. It was me and Trevon vs. all the vets because it never happened.”
The Cowboys should have trusted Parsons, considering he lit up social media last weekend after hitting a couple of bombs out of a baseball stadium in a softball home run derby in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.
The Cowboys saw Parsons’ home run power as well as his competitive spirit on Tuesday.
He didn’t like the bats they had for them at the ballpark, home of the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
So he had someone go to Dick’s Sporting Goods and buy a $500 bat after batting practice.
“Batting practice and being on the field is completely different,” Parsons said. “So, I had to come out and get some warm-up swings. I went to BP and said, ‘Man I can’t use these bats,’ so I went to Dick’s to get a bat. I told them to give me the most powerful bat they had.”
It’s safe to say that Prescott is now a true believer in Parsons in football and baseball.
“Micah is a competitor,” he said. “And if you just flip that switch, you’re going to get the best out of him. And obviously, we just saw right here.”
Parsons said he played baseball in little league and all the way up until he got to high school when he focused on football and track.
He called himself a feast or famine hitter. He either hit a home run or struck out.
Cornerback Jourdan Lewis had another description that he shared on Twitter: He called Parsons “the best athlete in the world.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2022 at 6:30 AM.
