Rambling On About My Glory Days: Tiger Woods

Just wanted to get your attention in case you were in a cave for the last week and were not tired of Tiger tales. Anyway, this story does involve my wife and a possible separation (sort of), so I figured I could hop on the Tiger story band wagon.

Getting the opportunity to play winter baseball in a foreign country is one of the more interesting aspects of an aspiring major leaguer’s career. It is at the same time exciting and demanding. Going to a foreign country, making good money compared to minor league pay, and having the chance to further one’s skills is the exciting part. Having to be away from home for the Holidays and having to play baseball, day in and day out for the whole year, is very demanding on the mind and body. I played winter baseball in Mexico and Venezuela and I believe both opportunities helped my career. If nothing else, I believe playing winter ball shows the major league teams how dedicated you are to improving your game. The best part of winter ball often involves the great stories that can be told for years to come. Here is one that happened to me.

After the last game, my wife and I were dropped off at the airport for our flight back to the U.S. Passing through the Mexican authorities to have my work visa approved is when all the excitement began. “You are in the country illegally, you are not going anywhere” is what the official said in English. Immediate thoughts of a foreign prison swept through my mind. After picking my jaw up off the floor, I began to explain “Kind, good officer, I was playing professional baseball in your country and if the paperwork is incorrect, it surely was not my fault or intentional.” We did have some proof as I was carrying an MVP trophy I had received from our winter ball team. That is one thing I had learned over the years; when in a bind throw out the professional baseball line and it might gain some points with “big shot” people. Suddenly, the Mexican official pulled a Sammy Sosa and did not speak my language anymore and my argument was going nowhere.

After a little huddle with my wife, we decided to employ a different tactic. “Kind, good officer, what would it take to allow me to get on the airplane?” His eyes lit up and we were beginning to feel better about my chances of leaving, especially because I had a big wad of money hidden in my sock. I figured I could meet his price and that would be the end of it. Little did I know that there would be a little hitch provided by an unsuspected source - (hint, my wife). The officer whispered that if I provided $35 American that would do it. Hey, that seemed very reasonable. Seeing as I only had 100 dollar bills on me, I was prepared to donate the extra for the cause. We were quite astonished when the official actually handed us $65 American money back. Wow, glad that is over I thought when my wife blurts out “Can we have a receipt?” Oh my God, my jaw was getting sore from hitting the floor. When is the last time someone received a receipt for a bribe? At hearing this, the official threw the money back at us and said “You are not going anywhere.” Here is where being a second baseman really paid off for me; catching the money, I flipped it back at him, said “just kidding,” made the pivot while grabbing my wife’s arm and sternly said let’s go.

Needless to say, the next twenty minutes while waiting to board the plane seemed like five hours. We did feel like kissing the ground when we landed back home. All is well that ends well as they say. Just remember honey, “Bribes don’t come with receipts.

Former major leaguer Jack Perconte is the author of The Making of a Hitter (http://jackperconte.com) and has a baseball instruction blog that can be found at www.baseballcoachingtips.net. He has recently published his second book Raising an Athlete – How to Instill Confidence, Build Skills and Inspire a Love of Sport