Major League Baseball

Marlins' Gordon nearly quit pro baseball to play college hoops

Published Jun. 12, 2015 5:30 a.m. ET

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Before Dee Gordon became an All-Star second baseman, he struggled in the Dodgers' organization for years, which nearly pushed him to give up baseball entirely.

Gordon has come a long way in a few years' time. After all, it wasn't too long ago that he was making frequent trips to the minors as he struggled both at the plate and in the field as the Dodgers' shortstop.

In a recent video feature put together by VICE Sports, Gordon admits that those early struggles in the Dodgers organization nearly convinced him to quit baseball and pursue his original passion, basketball, instead.

"Honestly, if I could be truthful about it, I wasn't convinced until about 2013 that I was really good at baseball," he divulges. "I'm being honest. I was going through some things, and I was like ... 'Man, I think I might go to college and play basketball.'"

The Marlins are surely glad he didn't.

After transitioning to second base from shortstop, where Gordon never truly seemed comfortable in the big leagues, he became an All-Star second baseman for the Dodgers in 2014.

In his first season with the Marlins this year after being traded in the offseason, he has led the league in batting average for nearly the entire season, and currently sits at the .356 mark after 57 games.

(h/t Sporting News)

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