MLB scout: Tom Brady 'would have been a pro'

Tom Brady will play in his sixth Super Bowl with the New England Patriots on Sunday, eyeing a potential fourth championship that would further cement his legacy as one of history's greatest quarterbacks.

Still, the veteran baseball scout who helped motivate the Montreal Expos to select Brady in the 18th round of the 1995 draft can't help but fantasize about what could've been had Brady opted for baseball instead of football.

"I think he would have been a pro," John Hughes told MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. "He had all the intangibles. He could throw, left-handed power. There is no reason to think this guy couldn't have been a big-league catcher."

The prospect of a career in professional baseball was always secondary to playing quarterback at the University of Michigan, but Brady nevertheless wielded tools that impressed scouts as a 6-foot-3 catcher at Junipero Serra High School.

"You were like, 'Wow, this kind of fits the bill,' " Hughes said. "He could throw. He could receive well. He was a left-handed hitter who had some pull power."

Beyond his physical abilities, Brady also demonstrated grace on the field - a disposition he's worn unfailingly throughout the "Deflategate" scandal - that Hughes recalls fondly.

"To this day, in all my years of scouting, Tom is still the most impressive high school kid I've ever been around," Hughes said. "Just the person, the way he carries himself. What you're seeing now, obviously, he is more mature. But it's not a drastic change. He just had this presence.

"He's a good guy. His family are great people. I always say, it was the most fun summer I tried to sign a guy I didn't sign."