Wayne Gretzky on how Baseball helped his hockey career.

The Great One on how Baseball helped his hockey career.

Bob Duff
October 3, 2024

Gretzky was never a great baseball player. However, he is convinced even his rough go on the diamond was playing a role in him becoming the greatest on the ice.
In fact, given his druthers, were he a world-class talent in both sports, Gretzky even suggests he would’ve chosen baseball as his pro sporting path.

"Oh my gosh, I would have taken baseball all day long,” Gretzky said in an interview with Dan Patrick. "I would have loved to have been the shortstop for the Detroit Tigers. I grew up such a big Tiger fan [and broadcaster] Ernie Harwell and listening to Tiger games."

Gretzky’s baseball career peaked with the Brantford Red Sox of the Ontario Intercounty League.
“I played a little bit of shortstop. I was an average baseball player at best, but I loved the game.”

Regardless, Gretzky is convinced that the skills he developed while playing baseball in the summer months were helping to turn him into the one-of-a-kind hockey talent he became between the boards. Gretzky remains the NHL’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points.

“It helped my hockey career so much,” he said of baseball. “The thinking and hand-eye coordination you need in baseball only helped and enhanced my hockey career.”