We scrimp and save and work. We look high to climb some professional ladder. Maybe we stall a few rungs from the top. We still dream. We always dream.
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Every year, minor leaguers throw a couple no-hitters — five or seven innings solo, nine innings combined, rarely nine innings solo — and all of them ultimately footnotes. There is no single list of minor league no-nos. They just fade away.
Most folks at Chukchansi Park know little about the man in leftfield — even that baseball has helped save him.
At home, the Timber Rattlers merchandise manager has a closet of jerseys, shirts and caps with team logos. At work, he makes the calls for what jerseys, shirts and caps wind up in the team shop. His expertise allows him to order brilliantly.
Mark Montgomery earned a spot in the record books just months into his career in the minors.
And why do we have to look back to the story of a man gone nearly 50 years for an answer?
Before he played in the majors, Jonny Gomes hit 63 homers in the minors, suffered a heart attack and, on a lighter note, became a certified personal trainer.
The Dragons faltered on their way to a 9-1 loss to the Kane County Cougars, but fans were still entertained between innings ... by the ZOOperstars.
