One Spring Training early in his career, Jeff Francoeur had a chance to meet Tiger Woods. His manager with the Atlanta Braves, Bobby Cox, wasn't about to let him miss it.
The Braves were scheduled to play the Yankees in a 1 p.m. exhibition game that spring when Cox caught word that Francoeur had to turn down a chance to play golf with the 15-time major championship winner due to Atlanta's game that day.
Francoeur recalled to ESPN's Tim Kurkjian what happened next in hilarious fashion.
“[Cox] comes out to stretch and goes ‘Smoltzy says you had a chance to play with Tiger today, there was a 1:50 tee time,'” Francoeur said. “And I’m like, ‘Bobby, I’m fine, I’m playing today.' 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 a little bit like you hurt your ankle.'”
The plan was then for Cox to pull Francoeur from the game so he could make it to the course on time. In return, the Braves manager wanted Francoeur to go on the team's next road trip to Bradenton a few days later.
“You know, Tim, you have to have, whatever, three starters make a road trip,” he explained. “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 go play with Tiger today.'”
Luckily, Francoeur grounded out in his first at bat. As instructed, he rubbed his ankle, prompting a visit from his manager.
“He waddles out there with his cleats and he checks on me,” Francoeur said as Kurkjian laughed. “I run inside, I literally throw my golf clothes on, I didn’t shower, I get to the golf course and they’re on the first fairway, so I hit my tee shot. We end up playing 27 holes.”
The kicker?
“[At] about 4:30 my wife sends me a little thing that there was an update that said ‘Francoeur day-to-day with a high ankle sprain.'”
Jeff Francoeur's day off didn't stop him from mashing
First, there are some inconsistencies in Francoeur's story — it could not possibly have happened how he described, in the year he described, because the Braves' Spring Training games did not match up to put a game against the Yankees before one against the Pirates, who train in Bradenton, like he suggested. It's entirely possible he got the city or year wrong, but it doesn't matter. The story is fantastic. This was almost 20 years ago and one can forgive him if his memory is fuzzy.
No matter when or where this happened in Francouer's early career, it did not have any impact on his on-field performance. In 2006, his first full season with the Braves, he hit .260 with 29 home runs and 103 RBI. The next year, he hit .293 with 19 homers and 105 batted in. He played in all 162 regular season games both seasons.
The lesson: If the boss says it's okay to take the day off, you can take the day off.
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