Driving through Minnesota after being traded to the St. Paul Saints last year, Alonzo Harris noticed the motto on the state's license plates.
The Mississippi native and avid fisherman couldn't help but be intrigued by the number of lakes in Minnesota.
"10,000 lakes?" Harris recalled thinking. "Really? I knew I'd have to check that out."
A year and a half later, Harris, a speedy center fielder acquired from the New Jersey Jackals of the Can-Am League before the 2015 season, is one of five Saints selected to play for the North in the American Association All-Star Game, to be held Tuesday at CHS Field in St. Paul. Festivities begin Monday with activities that include a celebrity softball game and home run derby.
Other Saints selected are first baseman Angelo Songco, second baseman Tony Thomas and pitchers Mark Hamburger and Ryan Rodebaugh.
It's too early to call Harris a Minnesotan; like most players in the American Association, he hasn't given up his major league dreams. But with a love of fishing shared by so many North Star-staters, he's grown fond of his current home.
"Whenever I have free time, I'm out a lake, fishing somewhere," he said. "It's calming. It helps with my composure."
Harris said he's still getting accustomed to such local preferences as walleye and northern pike, sticking mainly to panfish. "Mostly crappies and, well, you call them sunfish here," he said. "Some bass. The fish we have back home."