Former Notre Dame receiver Jeff Samardzija, who was regarded as a potential first-round NFL draft pick before giving up football for baseball, made his major league debut on Friday for the Chicago Cubs.

Samardzija got a standing ovation from the Wrigley Field crowd after two innings of middle relief, even though he allowed the Florida Marlins to score the game-tying run.  The Marlins eventually won the game, 3-2.

“I was pretty happy with how I felt on the mound, but I made two dumb pitches and it really sticks a thorn in your side after the way [Ryan] Dempster was pitching,” Samardzija said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Since we don’t follow baseball, we found out about this item from a reader who had seen a reference to Samardzija’s debut in Friday’s Sporting News Today, a free 32-page daily electronic sports newspaper that debuted earlier this week.  (Did we mention it’s free?)

And though we’re disappointed Samardzija gave up football, we can understand the reasoning.  Baseball players can make a lot more money, and can play a lot longer.  Besides, we won’t miss typing Samardzija’s name in this space.

If Samardzija ever decides to play football, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, with the ability to sign with any team.