Driving through Minnesota after being traded to the St. Paul Saints last year, Alonzo Harris noticed the motto on the state's license plates.
Saints' Harris angling for opportunity at All-Star game
Minnesota's fishing impresses the outfielder, who seeks to make an impression of his own.
August 1, 2016 at 4:30AM
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."
His All-Star Game appearance has brought Harris' father from Mississippi to Minnesota. High on the agenda was a fishing trip with his father and his 2-year-old son, carrying on a family custom that he experienced with his father and grandfather.
"My grandfather is gone now, but now I get to do this with my father and my own son," Harris said. "We get to do that same thing, and I get to show my son the things I learned, like patience and how to deal with things."
The All-Star Game, which was not held last year, provides a chance to showcase the stadium, in its second year of operation and the subject of rave reviews from players and fans alike. The Saints also hosted the All-Star game in 1997 and 2008, both times at Midway Stadium.
While Harris said he's looking forward to Tuesday's All-Star game itself, it's the home run derby that has him pumped. Harris and Songco are two of the eight players selected to participate in the derby, which is patterned after the major league version.
All of the participants are cut from the traditional slugger mold except Harris, who has 12 home runs as a leadoff hitter. He hopes that, plus his more traditional leadoff stats (he's batting .310 with 29 stolen bases and only 51 strikeouts in 274 at-bats), will catch the eye of myriad major league scouts expected to be on hand during All-Star week.
"I'm hoping they see that and say, 'Maybe we missed something,' " said Harris, who spent six years in the New York Mets organization. "I mean, everyone else is a big guy home run hitter. and here I am, 5-11 and 170 pounds. Maybe it will show them that I can do more than they thought."
Songco, in his third season with the Saints, takes a different approach. His 2015 season, in which he hit .339 with 17 home runs and led the American Association in RBI (82) and total bases (214), resulted in a minor league contract offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was cut late in spring training and chose to return to St. Paul.
"I see this as a great honor," said Songco, who will start at first base for the North All-Stars. "It's a chance to have an opportunity to play this game. You never know when the game will say, 'No more.' "
Songco (.299, 13 HR, 41 RBI this season) said after his experience with the Dodgers that he's not going to worry about making a big-league impression.
"I went through that last season, thinking, 'I'm doing this, why isn't it happening?' or 'Why did that guy get picked up and not me?' " he said. "This year, I just told myself to play baseball, play the game, and if things happen they were meant to be."
Besides, Songco said, he's enjoying his time with the Saints.
"It's a first-class organization that makes you feel appreciated," he said. "With the way we get treated by the staff and the front office, and the fans we have here, it's pretty unbelievable."
Building with tools from his past, he looks to take a co-op program involving several schools to new heights.
