What color do you get when you cross Yankees Blue with Michigan Blue? July 27, 1998
Drew Henson's mother said blue must be her son's color.
The incoming Michigan freshman will wear two hats, or caps, this year, having signed a four-year contract with the New York Yankees early Friday. Henson will be fighting for the starting quarterback spot with the Wolverines in the fall as well.
After a summer of negotiations, the three-sport star from Brighton High School suited up for his first game Friday in Yankee attire, which he will soon trade for a Michigan football jersey.
"It's nice to look in the mirror and see the stripes on your legs and the 'NY' on your shoulder," Henson said, adding that the significance of signing a pro contract hasn't really sunk in yet.
But professional baseball - even at the Rookie League level - quickly taught him a lesson this weekend, throwing him a curve ball early in his career. He went 1-for-3 in Friday's game and 0-for-5 Saturday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of the Gulf Coast league - a game Henson could have won for his team.
The Yankees were losing 3-2 in the bottom of the 10th with two outs and two men on base as Henson stepped up to the plate. With his family, his team and cameras looking on, Henson struck out. Without flinching, his father Dan looked down and uttered, "Welcome to pro baseball."
"It's just like any other summer team," Henson said. "But between the lines they just play at a higher level."
And Henson won't have much time to adjust to the pros since he's scheduled to report to Michigan for football practice Aug. 10.
Yankees owner "Mr. (George) Steinbrenner told him that he can't think of a better combination - Yankees for baseball, Michigan for football," Henson's mother Carol said. "What other team would you want to play with?"
By signing with a professional team, Henson must give up his football scholarship.
Throughout high school, Henson's athletic ability earned him awards and accolades but also elicited a storm of questions, as coaches, scouts and the public continuously asked him to choose a sport, Carol Henson said.
Back then, he avoided the pressure by concentrating and training for the task at hand, but Carol Henson worries that the outside pressure will grow stronger.
"There's greater expectation from the outside," she said. "It's really the biggest question now. That's why he has to do this - so he'll know."
During his junior year at Brighton, Henson announced his intent to play for Michigan, without making other recruiting trips or feeling the need to be "wined and dined" by other universities, Carol Henson said.
But he didn't commit himself to baseball or football.
"At the right time, he'll decide and not look back," she said.
Henson said for now he is getting the best of both worlds. Well, he will soon learn about one of them. The newest Yankee will learn the joys of dorm life and cafeteria food as he moves into East Quad today for new student orientation.
"A lot of things I'm going through, most kids have never had the chance to do," Henson said. "I try to remember that and be grateful. Most kids are worrying about their roommates, classes and orientation. I don't have a chance to worry about those."
He's too busy thinking about juggling the lives of college student, football quarterback and professional baseball player.
Between games in Tampa this weekend, Henson divided his time between sitting at the beach with his family and posing for Sports Illustrated.
The Yankees are hoping they can lure Henson away from football and college life in the next few years by taking him to a World Series game and letting him play with the major leaguers, so he can "learn what it is like to be a Yankee," Yankees Vice President Mark Newman said.
"We're not going to pressure him," Newman said. "We hope ultimately he is going to be a baseball player. When he commits himself completely he will move to the big leagues very quickly."
Yankee veteran Chili Davis, who had been taking batting practice with Henson at the Yankees training center in Tampa, said eventually Henson will have to make a choice, but he can't blame Henson for wanting to do both.
"It's going to be tough trying to juggle both sports," Davis said. "Deion (Sanders) did it. Bo (Jackson) did it. There's no reason he can't do it."
The Henson Deal
What: A five-year deal to play professional baseball in the New York Yankees organization.
When: Henson will play summer ball with the Yankees when he's not attending classes at Michigan.
How much: Minor-league base salary plus a $4.5 million signing bonus - $2 million up front and another $2.5 million upon his Michigan graduation if he commits to baseball.
How: Although he is a professional athlete, the NCAA allows a student to be a professional in one sport and maintain amateur status in another. This allows Henson to keep his football eligibility. He forfeits his NCAA baseball eligibility, though.
