It is not a secret that Tiger Woods is passionate about golf. It reflects in his actions and coming to play the sport even after being in a death-defying accident just a year ago is one the prime examples. However, is golf the only sport the 15-time major championship winner prefers to play? 

“To play, it is baseball!” Tiger Woods quickly answered when an interviewer from Golf Digest asked him his second favorite sport. In the interview back in 2020, Woods shared how he got into baseball and how it helped him with golf.

“I love baseball,” Tiger added. “Obviously, my dad was a catcher, so naturally, I was a pitcher.” He explained that he started by playing catch with his father in the backyard of their home and later played with his friends as well. “I grew up basically in baseball,” the 2019 Masters champion added. 

The golf world knows about all the success Woods had in his career. However, not many know that his father was also a successful sports entity. Earl Woods used to play baseball before he joined the armed forces. 

Notably, Woods sr was the first black baseball player to play for Kansas State University and in the Big Seven Conference. The Big Seven Conference is now called the Big Conference 12. 

Read more: When Did Tiger Woods Start Playing Golf?

As a baseball player, Earl Woods taught his favorite sport first. However, according to Tiger, he liked playing baseball but never loved playing it as much as golf; hence he focused on golf. 

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How did playing as a pitcher in baseball help Tiger Woods play golf? 

“Baseball gave me the footwork and the leg strength to play golf,” Woods said in the interview. Since the beginning of his career, Tiger Woods has received nothing but compliments for his impressive footwork. According to him, it is baseball that helped him have that quality. 

“One of the reasons why my legs moved as much as they did is from playing baseball,” Woods added. He also added that the two other sports he enjoyed were running tracks and cross country. “The track and cross country kept me… I was even more fit for golf, especially in the summertime,” he further added. 

As a child, Woods used to play baseball with his father. Like Emily Dickinson once wrote, “the heart wants what it wants, or else it does not care,” Woods’ heart never wanted him to play baseball professionally. He loved the sport baseball because of his father. However, he never loved to play it. 

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