The Trip that Almost Ended My Sports Career
It was late in the afternoon on a rainy and dark afternoon earlier this week and I was sitting on an airplane. It was a one hour flight on a connecting Delta airlines jet from Atlanta to my destination in Columbia, South Carolina. This plane was so small, I had to check in one of my carry on bags as the overhead bin was too small for the small overnight bag. With the size of the jet and the weather conditions, I had immediately thought of the time I visited Mexico as part of the management team with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Following the 1992 season, I was asked to join Tommy Lasorda, scout Mike Brito, sports writer Gordon Verrell and one or two others on a private jet from LA to Mexico in order to see a rookie prospect playing winter ball in the Mexican league. At that point, no one had ever heard of Mike Piazza, but there he was, a 62nd round pick by the Dodgers doing the extra work needed to become a big league success story. The plane, which could not have held more than eight or nine people, pilot included, departed LA for the short hop to Mexico.
I am not afraid to fly by any means. I had flown many trips up to this point, although as it turned out, it could have been the trip that almost ended my Sports career. We took off just fine but soon learned there was rough winds ahead of us. As the plane approached the Mexican border, weather became an issue. The plane hit an ugly rainstorm. The wind began to blow the small jet around as if we were a paper airplane launched by a five year old. I began thinking about where the boot bag might be on this executive jet.
As we bounced around the sky, the headlines flashed before my eyes, “Dodger manager and icon Tommy Lasorda team scout, and reporter killed in airplane crash in Mexico.” Oh yeah, PR guy perishes too….
Just as this thought had quickly made its way into my head, it departed as the pilot skillfully landed the plane in the rainstorm.
My adventure to Mexico was just beginning.
We were greeted by the local team in grand fashion, with a special hosted lunch in a private setting before the game. There must have been 20 people gathered, all who came of course to meet Tommy and hear is baseball stories. We dined in fine fashion, made our way to the local hotel and eventually the field. I vividly remember entering the clubhouse before the game and greeting a sweaty Mike Piazza. You could tell that this was not a big league environment. Piazza, looked determined then to make an impact and only months later would begin his quest with the Dodgers. In 1992 Piazza followed Eric Karros by being named the National League Rookie of the Year.
As for the plane ride, going home was much easier than the ride to Mexico. …and I had a chance to see Mike Piazza shine in Mexico, before we became a star.
