Former Major League Baseball outfielder Jeff Francouer shared a Tiger Woods story from back in the 2005-06 timeframe when Woods was an absolute menace on the golf course and arguably the biggest name in pro sports.
“I’ve met President Bush and Obama and I was not nearly as starstruck as when I met Tiger Woods for the first time,” Francouer told ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian on his podcast Great Game or What.
Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox used to allow his players to play golf during spring training. One day, they had a 1 p.m. spring training game against the New York Yankees. Francoeur was 22 and had just been named a starter. He was in no position to ask for a day off from training camp. But he didn’t have to because Cox came over to him during stretching and informed him that star pitcher and golf fanatic John Smoltz had an afternoon tee time at 1:50 with Tiger.
“I’m like, I’m fine, Bobby, I’m ready to play,” said Francoeur, 40, a right fielder who played on eight different MLB teams and serves as a TV analyst for the Braves these days. “He goes, ‘No, I’ll make you a deal.’ He said, ‘After your first at-bat today, run through first base and kind of rub your ankle like you hurt it, right?’ He’s like, ‘In two days we’re going to Bradenton.’ You need three starters to play on a road trip. And he’s like, ‘I hate Bradenton’s infield. I don’t want to get any of the guys hurt. So if you go to Bradenton, I’ll let you play with Tiger,’” Francouer recounted that Cox told him.
As instructed, the right fielder grounded out in his first at-bat and ran to first base rubbing his ankle in front of an estimated 12,000-13,000 fans in Orlando.
“Bobby, he waddles out there and he checks on me,” recalled Francoeur before pulling him from the game as a safety precaution. “I run inside, literally throw my golf clothes, didn’t shower, and I get to the golf club and they’re on the first fairway. So I hit my tee shot, we end up playing 27 holes and around 4:30 my wife sends me (a text) that there was an update that said Francouer day to day with a high ankle sprain.”
The things professional athletes did to tee it up with the one and only Tiger Woods.
