Byline: MATT McHALE Baseball
It is a beautiful thing to watch Juan Gonzalez go deep, Tony Gwynn turn on a fastball, Greg Maddux paint the corner.
But there might be something even better in Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Fenway Park. Some of our baseball gods will seem, well, a little more like you or me.
Sixteen members of the National League team and seven of the American League are first-timers to the game, a roster of stories filled with as much failure as success. For every Randy Johnson, there is Philadelphia's Paul Byrd, who was out of work 11 months ago after his release from the Atlanta Braves.
Or Ron Coomer, who spent eight years in the minors - including some time with the Dodgers - before making it with the Minnesota Twins.
Or Jeff Zimmerman, the hard-throwing reliever for the Texas Rangers. Last month at Dodger Stadium, former Dodger Mike Morgan was talking about Zimmerman and said, ``You know he learned his slider in France.'' If that doesn't bring a puzzled look, think of the 29 GMs who threw away his resume when the unemployed Zimmerman faxed it to every big-league club a few years back.
Now those players will share their dreams on a national stage.
Byrd's big break came last August, when his name crossed the waiver wire and caught the eye of Phillies general manager Ed Wade. His trip to Triple-A was detoured when Matt Beech's season ended with an elbow injury. Next thing Byrd knew, he was in Philadelphia for a start against the Houston Astros and the overpowering Johnson.
Byrd handed Johnson his only National League loss last season and won five of his eight starts with the Phillies.
And now? Byrd was 11-4 with a 3.72 ERA going into Saturday's start against Baltimore.
``I want to thank Christ for guiding my path,'' said Byrd, a deeply religious man who considered the ministry as a career alternative a few years ago. ``I also want to thank my wife, the U-Haul queen of America when I was in the minor leagues.''
Coomer never thought much about the All-Star Game playing in towns like Modesto, Medford, Ore., Madison, Wis., and Huntsville, Ala. In 1994, he batted .338 for the Dodgers' Triple-A team in Albuquerque, but was traded to the Twins the next year.
Although the Twins are in last place in the AL Central, somebody had to represent the team. And even though Coomer's stats (.284 average, 10 homers, 33 RBI) aren't eye popping, the Twins are sending somebody special.
''It's a remarkable story and a tribute to his perseverance,'' said seven-time all-star Paul Molitor, a teammate of Coomer's in Minnesota for three seasons and still a good friend. ``He spent a long time in the minors, and he's a guy who never quits. I don't think he takes one minute in uniform for granted.
``I know when he walks into that locker room on Monday, he's going to have a feeling like he's never had before.''
At least Coomer was drafted out of college, even if it was in the 14th round (1987) by the A's, who released three years later.
Zimmerman, a Canadian, was undrafted out of Texas Christian in 1993. Through a connection with the Canadian national team, he pitched for Montpelier in the South of France, but somehow his story wasn't optioned at the Cannes Film Festival.
``The competition wasn't very good, but I knew I could develop some pitches without worrying about getting beaten up,'' Zimmerman said. ``I threw a lot of sliders over there and it paid off.''
But as late as 1997, he still was pitching in the independent Northern League. Then he fired off 30 resumes. Only the Rangers responded. His signing bonus was a ticket to spring training.
He was one of the last cuts this spring but was called up one week into the season when the Rangers went to a seven-man bullpen. He heads to Boston with an 8-0 record.
``I can't comprehend it. I'm a middle reliever,'' Zimmerman said. ``We're supposed to be the bottom feeders of baseball.''
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PHOTO THREE FOR 3000: THE WEEK IN REVIEW
(1) Cal Ripken Jr. - 2,949
9 hits, .314 avg.
(2) Wade Boggs - 2,979
7 hits, .302 avg.
(3) Tony Gwynn - 2,982
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