Q&A with Tribe reliever Chris Perez

Kerry Wood remains in tow, but the Indians' closer-in-waiting very well may be Chris Perez.

Perez, acquired from the Cardinals in last year's Mark DeRosa trade, put together an impressive second half with the Tribe in '09. From July 8 through the end of the season, he put up a 2.90 ERA, striking out 10.5 batters per nine innings and not allowing a run over 20 consecutive appearances from July 8 through Sept. 5.

The expectation is that Perez will assume a prominent setup role in the Tribe bullpen in 2010. And if Wood is traded at any point, Perez could be the one to step into the ninth-inning duties.

In the meantime, MLB.com asked Perez a few questions to get to know his personality off the field.

If you weren't a professional ballplayer, what career path would you have followed?
I wanted to be an FBI agent, like a profiler or something. That's what I went to college for. I majored in criminology and minored in sociology. If baseball didn't work out, I'd try to do that, somehow.

How did you get into that field?
I just like figuring out clues and puzzles, and I like to travel. It just seemed kind of cool. And watching "CSI" got me thinking about doing that kind of stuff. There's also a show out now called "Criminal Minds" that's pretty good. I'd love to do something like that.

Did you have a job growing up?
Nothing serious. My dad owned a construction company, so I'd work with him in the summers. Digging ditches and hauling trash, stuff like that. But nothing serious.

What are your hobbies off the field?
I like to play video games, listen to music, fish. I'm going to try to learn how to play the guitar. I'm going to take lessons to see if I can do it.

What's your inspiration there?
I like classic rock, and I figured it would be something fun to do. Hopefully I can do it.

You're a fan of classic rock, so let's hear your top five bands.
Led Zeppelin is No. 1, the Beatles are No. 2, the Rolling Stones, ACDC and... I'll go with... The Who.

So what would your entrance music be if you were a closer?
In college and the Minors, it was "Firestarter" by Prodigy. So that's a little more modern.

Let's say you're stranded on a desert island and can bring one CD and one DVD with you. What would they be?
The CD would be Led Zeppelin IV. The DVD would have to be "Braveheart." It's long, so it would kill some time.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Australia. I've heard good things about it. Everyone I've talked to who has been there likes it. You've got the coast and the beach and the outback. And it's totally different than anywhere over here.

What's your most prized possession?
I've got an autographed picture of Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and Hank Aaron. I bought that. So that's probably up there.

What do you remember about your first car?
It was a 2001 Nissan Frontier. I was lucky. It was brand new. My dad bought it for me. I had it for about six years and beat it up pretty good. It was a trooper.



(mlb.com)