“No way on earth”: Donovan Mitchell checks $24,007,000 NFL star’s bold MLB hitting statement

Donovan Mitchell is one of the NBA’s best scorers. However, basketball wasn’t his first love.

Mitchell is a diehard baseball and New York Mets fan, and he considered pursuing a career in that sport before focusing on basketball.

The Cleveland Cavaliers guard knows how difficult it is to succeed in baseball, and he tipped his hat to Mets star Francisco Lindor.

"To me, it's the hardest sport to play," Mitchell said on Monday, via the "Cafe con Lindor" podcast.

Mitchell also called out those who believe baseball is easy and that all athletic players would do well, including Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons.

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"Micah Parsons said that, from the Cowboys, he said he could hit .300," Mitchell said. "I'm actually going to see him tomorrow, so I'm glad we're talking about this. There's no way on Earth, people don't understand, like, hitting a fastball is the hardest thing to do in sports."

Parsons, who's set to earn $24.07 million this season, is holding out from training camp. He has not secured a contract extension and requested a trade on Aug. 2.

If he can hit .300 for a full season, he could try his luck at the plate instead of the gridiron.

Former NBA champion paints grim picture for Donovan Mitchell's Cleveland Cavaliers

As much as he loves baseball, Donovan Mitchell will be under a lot of pressure next season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off their best campaign of the post-LeBron James era; however, they fell short in the playoffs. Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins believes they have no credibility.

“And they should be the favorites, right?" Perkins said on Wednesday, via "NBA Today." "And that’s why I said, unfortunately, whatever they do in the regular season, they could win 70 games; no one’s going to give a damn.”

Perkins doubted if they can convince fans and analysts that they're a contender, regardless of how many regular season games they win.

“We’re going to evaluate them, what they do in the postseason, because again, a Donovan Mitchell-led team has never been to a conference finals,” Perkins said.

Cleveland added Lonzo Ball to a core that led the Eastern Conference from start to finish last season. With all the injuries in the conference, the table is set for them to return to the biggest stage.

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About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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