Oneri Fleita’s theme song may as well be “On the Road Again.” He may call Pinellas County home, but the Philadelphia Phillies scout often finds himself on an airplane to South America where he hopes to discover the next great major leaguer.

Fleita is the team’s International Cross Checker, predominately for South America, although in his 33 years of pro experience he’s played minor league ball, coached, managed and scouted on various levels. In this scout position, Fleita has an array of responsibilities, essentially following up on tips from reports, videos and other communications about specific players.

Sometimes, not so much as in the past, Fleita will pack a suitcase for a trip that takes him to multiple countries on multiple flights in a short time period. He recently described one such trip that began on a Tuesday with a flight to Cancun, then another flight later that day to Panama, followed up the next day to a flight to the Dominican Republic where he stayed for several days. At least he doesn’t have to bring a suitcase filled with three-piece suits. And these days those trips are not as often.

“Years ago that was the norm for me,” Fleita said. “I used to bounce around quite a bit. There are times that still happens; however, my time is more precious now. I mainly see the guys I want to see for ‘last looks.'”

That is the essence of the cross checker scout. Although Fleita doesn’t always have the final word as to a player’s potential — and thus someone to sign — his say in the matter typically holds significance.

Fleita, who played college ball at Miami Dade Community College and Creighton University, where he was the 1988 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, grew up in Key West. The big left-handed hitting first baseman (6-foot-5, 210 pounds) played minor league ball in the Orioles organizations for two years. In his final year as a player he realized that his chances at making the majors were pretty slim.

“I looked around at the players on my team and knew that I didn’t have the same talent as most of them,” he said. That left Fleita wondering what would be next for him.

Then he caught a break. The Orioles were expanding their minor league reach and added an extra team.

“All of a sudden they needed coaches and in my favor I am bilingual,” the 59-year-old Fleita said.

Fleita was hired and coached for three years (1990-93) and then managed two years in the Gulf Coast League for Baltimore, before joining the Cubs as the manager of their Williamsport entry in the New York-Penn League.

Fleita, who remained with the Cubs organization for 10 years, would become their Midwest Scout, then covered the Atlanta and Northern Florida region for them. Eventually he became Chicago’s director of the team’s Latin American operations. In between the Cubs and Phillies, Fleita had scouting stints with the Reds, Rays and Tigers. He has been with the Phillies since 2017.

Fleita noted that international scouting differs from pro scouting (keeping tabs on current major and minor league players) and amateur scouting for U.S. players. In South America there is more leeway on contacting and signing players. Thus, scouts keep track of kids, sometimes as young as those playing in the Little League World Series.

“We monitor their progress from when they are young,” said Fleita. “We gather data, talk to the parents, do due diligence. Often deals are made with 16-year-olds on a handshake. Your word is your word. Once the deal is done, except in maybe rare instances, we are good.”

The road can be tough. In Fleita’s case, the road has turned out to be good deal for him.