Does Tom Brady owe part of his passing success to playing baseball?

Tom Brady is having one of the most successful seasons of his already enormously-successful NFL career. He's first in the league in yards, first in TDs and fourth in overall quarterback rating. So, to what does he owe this excellence he has presented to us over the last 15 years?

Well, according to ESPN's Sports Science, the Patriots quarterback has a consistent throwing motion and angular velocity that's on par with a Major League pitcher. Check out the comparison at the :55 second mark below:

As you probably know, Brady was a baseball star in high school and drafted by the Expos in the the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft. Although he was a catcher, the baseball skills and targeted throwing motion are probably still there. SB Nation's Pats Pulpit blog also notes that Brady's throw coach is former MLB pitcher/pitching coach Tom House -- a guru who Nolan Ryan credited with getting his arm in the best shape of his career.

The four-time Super Bowl champion has even been known to hit up his local sandlot in the offseason:

We're guessing Papi, Gronk and the other guys were all already at the field waiting for him.