In about four months, Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk returns to his normal job: hitting opposing running backs, quarterbacks, receivers and offensive linemen.
Wednesday afternoon, he got to partake in a different kind of hitting.
Hawk and his brother, Ryan, took early batting practice with the Brewers. In the clubhouse before the session, Brewers outfielder Geoff Jenkins teased Hawk, saying the linebacker would be lucky to get a ball to the outfield.
"It's been a few years," Hawk said. "I played on travel teams and all that when I was kid. I was a pitcher and a shortstop until I was about 13. But, I didn't play in high school. I decided to concentrate on football."
Asked if he made the right career choice, Hawk laughed and said: "I think so. But, some of these guys (baseball players) play 15 years."
With pitching coach Mike Maddux on the mound and his wife, Laura, standing nearby, Hawk launched a few sharp line drives to the outfield and even sent two balls over the wall for homers.
Not a bad performance for a guy who hadn't played organized baseball in about a decade.
"I've definitely seen worse," Brewers outfielder Tony Gwynn, Jr. said. "Football players usually don't do that well."
Hawk, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Brewers' game against the Dodgers, admitted that he was a little arm-weary after the session.
"I got a lot of swings," he said. "I definitely missed a few great pitches I could have hit out. But, it was fun."
A TV reporter asked if Hawk planned to watch the NFL Draft later this month. "Of course," said Hawk, whose brother-in-law, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, is expected to be a high first-round pick.
Asked if he knew who the Packers would take, he said "I have no idea."
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
