Getty Tom Brady has more April Fools' Day fun.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady tried to top his April Fools’ Day retirement joke, announcing big off-field plans tied to a team that drafted him in a different sport years ago.
“With opening day today, excited to announce we’re bringing the Expos back to the MLB in 2022. Excited to be the first player/coach/owner in MLB history,” Brady wrote on Twitter.
With opening day today, excited to announce we’re bringing the Expos back to the MLB in 2022. Excited to be the first player/coach/owner in MLB history.
The Montreal Expos took Brady in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB draft. Brady opted to play football at Michigan instead, setting the stage for 21 years in the NFL and counting. The Expos left Montreal in 2004, becoming the Washington Nationals.
Though defunct, a Twitter user set up an Expos account with 34,000 followers. The Expos tweeted “we’re back” in response to Brady’s joke.
Brady notably chose to pull an MLB-related April Fools’ Day joke in a year the season actually begins on April 1, which doesn’t happen every year — pandemic or no pandemic. MLB Opening Day fell on March 29 in 2018 for instance. The pandemic and labor talks push MLB Opening Day back to July last year.
Brady tried an April Fools’ Day joke on retiring in 2019 when he was playing with the New England Patriots.
I’m retiring. In my spare time, I’ll be tweeting #LFG
He didn’t retire and joined the Bucs a year later as a free agent well before April Fools’ Day. He does tweet in his spare time — a habit ever since joining the platform in 2019.
Highlights of Brady’s Tweets include a History Channel meme about his and Drew Brees’ ages before the NFC Divisional Round clash last season and then tweeting a comeback to a Justin Bieber Throwback Thursday tweet this offseason.
Brady takes on a more serious tone on Twitter sometimes such as tweeting about getting “back to work” after the Super Bowl or proving doubters wrong. He also gives the occasional shoutout to family and friends.
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MLB Connections
Brady has found ways to connect to baseball during his NFL career.
He hit a home run at Fenway Park in 2003 for instance, which NESN captured.
While Brady showed his support of the Red Sox throughout his time in New England, he turned his attention to the Tampa Bay Rays after arriving in Florida. He also ironically rented former New York Yankees great Derek Jeter’s mansion during his first season with the Bucs.
Brady’s brother-in-law is former MLB player Kevin Youkilis, who won World Series with the Red Sox twice. Youkilis attended Brady’s Super Bowl win with the Bucs according to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Dave Clark.
Baseball Skill
Brady had the skills and intangibles for a successful MLB career, which his high school baseball coach, Pete Jensen, saw early on according to Sports Net’s Lukas Weese.
“He fit the prototypical size and hitting requirements for catchers,” Jensen told Weese. “I thought he was going to be amazing.”
Former Expos general manager Kevin Malone concurred. He watched Brady play in person in 1995 after drafting the Junipero Serra High School standout.
“I think he could have been one of the greatest catchers ever,” Malone told Bleacher Report. “I know that’s quite a statement, but the projections were based on the fact we had a left-hand-hitting catcher, with arm strength and who was athletic. … but his first love was football.”