Fansided

The Oakland Daniel Joneses: What MLB teams best describe NFL quarterbacks

Inquiring minds need to know.

By Robert Murray

Jul 21, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrates his double against the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning to complete the cycle, at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images
Jul 21, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrates his double against the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning to complete the cycle, at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images / John Froschauer-Imagn Images
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As sports fans, these are some of the most exciting times of the year. Major League Baseball is only a couple weeks away from the playoffs while the National Football League season is back on Sunday’s.

This baseball season has been one of the most exciting, thrilling and unpredictable in recent history just because of the amount of teams that are contending. Players have established themselves as stars or underperformed preseason expectations. Some teams have floundered (see: the White Sox) and others have exceeded expectations (see: the Royals, Brewers, among others).

So when my co-host on The Baseball Insiders, Adam Weinrib, asked me “which MLB teams are what NFL quarterbacks?” … it got me thinking. So here’s my attempt at answering that very question.

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Daniel Jones: Chicago White Sox

Adam paired Jones with the Pittsburgh Pirates. I feel like that’s too harsh for the Pirates. There’s hope for them, unlike New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.

The White Sox, meanwhile, are hopeless. They are in 2024 and they will remain that way the next couple years. They are in the midst of an extensive rebuild that has them at 33-111(!) with 18 games remaining in the regular season. Not great!

The Giants need to follow the White Sox’s lead and blow it up, specifically at the quarterback position. Week 1 showed us that Jones is unplayable – and if they keep trotting him out on Sunday’s, they will not be in position to win.

Kyler Murray: San Francisco Giants

There were a few options that I was considering for the San Francisco Giants, but I ultimately went with Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.

The Giants have a talented roster. They invested over $325 million into the roster this past offseason, loading the roster with young and veteran talent, and put themselves into playoff position. Or so they thought. They have since underdelivered on expectations, going 71-73 and in fourth place in the National League West, and have left a lot to be desired.

Which is why I chose Murray for the Giants. Since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Cardinals, Murray has not lived up to his draft status. He’s a tantalizing player, a unique athlete at the quarterback position, but hasn’t thrown for over 4,000 yards in a season, played in only 33 games from 2021-2023, and is one of the highest paid players in football.

Derek Carr: New York Mets

Adam Weinrib described Derek Carr and the New York Mets in only a way that Adam Weinrib could: “There’s really a chance the Mets are Derek Carr, too. What are you doing in the playoffs? Weren’t we just laughing at you?”

The Mets are often the source of many jokes on social media. It stems from their underperforming days under the Wilpon ownership group and, quite honestly, was (mostly) fair and deserved. Carr has been the same way throughout his nine seasons in the NFL – an average, not great quarterback – who always has his teams in the playoff hunt toward the end of the regular season.

To be fair, the Mets have exceeded expectations this season and appear destined for the postseason. And if Week 1 was any indication, in a blowout of the Carolina Panthers, Carr and the Saints may be headed for a playoff push as well.

Patrick Mahomes: Houston Astros

The primary reason I linked the Houston Astros and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is because both are winners.

The Astros have been to the World Series four times in the last seven seasons (2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022) and won championships in 2017 and 2022. They are in first place this season despite early struggles and once again look like an American League powerhouse.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, have won three championships in the last five years (2020, 2023 and 2024) all in part because of Patrick Mahomes’ brilliance running Andy Reid’s offense.

How each team has gotten to this point is different, of course. The Astros’ sign-stealing scandal in 2017 is one of the biggest stories in sports history. But both the Astros and Chiefs have one thing in common: dynasty.

Jordan Love: Milwaukee Brewers

On The Baseball Insiders, I paired Love with the Kansas City Royals. I’m now pairing Love with the Milwaukee Brewers.

The big similarity between the teams is that both have new faces of the franchises. For a while, it was Ryan Braun with the Brewers and Aaron Rodgers with the Packers. Now, it’s Christian Yelich with the Brewers - and soon it will be Jackson Chourio - and it’s now Jordan Love with the Packers.

Both teams are young, emerging and have recently taken their respective sports by storm. Last season, it was the playoff breakout by the Packers that saw Love annihilate the Cowboys in Dallas. This season, it has been the Brewers overcoming the losses of Craig Counsell, Christian Yelich, Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff and still dominating the National League Central.

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