Jeff Samardzija

Jeffrey Alan Samardzija (/səˈmərdʒijə/; born January 23, 1985), nicknamed "Shark", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played college baseball and football for the University of Notre Dame, and was recognized as a two-time football All-American playing wide receiver and a two-time Baseball All-American as a pitcher. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, and made his major-league (MLB) debut in 2008. He played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs from 2008 to 2014, the Oakland Athletics in 2014, the Chicago White Sox in 2015, and the San Francisco Giants from 2016 to 2020. He was an All-Star in 2014.

Samardzija's father, Sam Samardzija, was a professional hockey player, and his older brother, Sam Samardzija Jr., Samardzija's current agent, was an All State football and baseball player who graduated from Indiana University and is now the Senior Vice President at Wasserman Baseball. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Serbia. When Samardzija was in high school his mother, Debora Samardzija, died from a rare respiratory disease.

Samardzija grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he attended Valparaiso High School, and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, he was a three-time first team All-State honoree, and was twice named the team's Most Valuable Player. After his junior year, he was invited to participate in the Indiana football All-Star game. In baseball, he was a first team All-State honoree. He graduated from Valparaiso High School in 2003.

Samardzija accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame, where he played for the Fighting Irish football team from 2003 to 2006, and baseball team from 2004 to 2006.

He made his first impact at Notre Dame as a right-handed pitcher for the baseball team, finishing second in the Big East Conference in both earned run average (ERA) (2.95) and opponents' batting average (.209), and being named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Magazine.^{[citation needed]} He continued to play baseball at Notre Dame until he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round (149th overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft.

In football, he was a reserve for his first two seasons, catching a total of 24 passes. He first started at the 2004 Insight Bowl at the end of his sophomore season. He emerged as a star in the 2005 season, ending the regular season with 77 catches – 15 of them for touchdowns – for 1,215 yards and making numerous All-America Teams.^{[citation needed]}

Samardzija set single-season school records in both receiving yardage and touchdown receptions. He caught a touchdown pass in each of Notre Dame's first eight games in 2006, giving him the school record for consecutive games with a touchdown reception. He made 78 catches for 1,017 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games in the 2006 season to finish as the all-time Fighting Irish leader in reception yards with 2,593. He made the Football Writers Association of America All-America Team following the 2006 season.

Samardzija was twice selected as one of the three finalists for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, for the season's outstanding college football receiver in both 2005 and 2006. Although initially planning to play both in the NFL and MLB, Samardzija announced after being selected in the Major League Draft that he would take his name out of the NFL draft and play baseball.^{[citation needed]}