Brandon Ginnetti believes that baseball is a head game that requires him to posses more poise than power. Football, on the other hand, requires him to think and act fast to make a tackle on the ball carrier.

They’re two different sports that demand two separate mindsets. And while Ginnetti acknowledges the differences, he also argues that the skills can be interchangeable. 

“I have both high intensity and I have self control,” Ginnetti said. “On the mound I have good composure and I have intensity. I’m able to balance both out between the sports.”

But when Ginnetti enrolls at Syracuse to become a part of the Class of 2015 in the fall, it will be only as a football player. The three-star defensive end, according to Scout.com, said football could provide a simpler path to professional sports. 

And though it was apparent to Ginnetti that he’d play football once colleges started taking interest before his junior year of high school, baseball has and will continue to shape him on the football field. 

“He’s a big strong guy, but he knows how to pitch,” said his high school baseball coach Joe Fontana. “That bulldog mentality does help, and he has that on the football field.”

On the mound, Ginnetti blows away hitters with a fastball that comes in just less than 90 miles per hour. His 6-foot-3, 240-pound frame pays dividends on the defensive line, but also gives him a presence on the mound.

As a 16-year-old last season, he pitched three shutout innings in an Under-16 National Team showcase, Fontana said.  

After Ginnetti committed to Syracuse on June 18, Fontana asked him what his thoughts were on playing baseball in his senior season. Ginnetti said he hadn’t even considered sitting out his final year. 

“At the end of my sophomore year I was more focused on baseball,” Ginnetti said, “because I thought that was what I was going to play.”

But after realizing his status as a high-level football recruit, Ginnetti changed his focus. He said he didn’t want to get drafted by a Major League franchise and risk spending his whole career in the minor leagues.

He said he was getting offers from “big schools” for baseball, but that none materialized because he was quick to make it apparent that football was his path. 

“After my junior season, when I just started getting a bunch of offers,” Ginnetti recalled, “and I just said, ‘Football’s the thing.’”

Even though Ginnetti now has a one-track mind, training for two separate sports helped him develop into the versatile athlete he has become. 

Preparing for football involved more lifting, bench pressing and speed exercises, said teammate and fellow defensive end Jason Criscio. Working out to be a pitcher meant more chest and leg exercises. 

But the differences complemented each other, making Ginnetti a well-rounded athlete.

“Especially in the weight room,” Criscio said, “I’ve seen a huge improvement in the past few years from transition from baseball to football.” 

This summer, Ginnetti has put on 13 pounds in preparation to compete at the college level, he said. He’s changed his diet and lifted weights five times a week, sometimes twice a day. His mindset going into his senior season is to improve on his size, strength and speed. 

The next level for Ginnetti now though is solely Syracuse, and solely football. 

“Baseball’s not really going to affect (anything),” Ginnetti said, “because baseball’s not as serious anymore. 

“Football is the No. 1 thing.”

Published on September 1, 2014 at 11:01 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3