Montgomery excels for Marlins

BELOIT—Torin Montgomery said his baseball career blossomed because two people believed in him.

The first was his basketball coach, who also happened to be a part-time scout for the Phillies.

The second? Himself.

Montgomery, a 14^th-round draft pick of the Miami Marlins in 2022, was recently in Beloit for Sky Carp Fest, and had the opportunity to recount his baseball exploits for Sky Carp fans in attendance.

After spending his first 14 years in Connecticut, Montgomery (along with his mother and younger sister) packed up and moved cross-country to Kirkland, Wash., a suburb of Seattle.

“It was a huge move for me at the time,’ Montgomery said. “All my family and all my friends were in Connecticut, and now I’m moving 2,000 miles away. It was pretty traumatic at the time, but it ended up being a great situation.”

Especially for someone that was looking for a career in baseball.

Montgomery attended Lake Washington High School. The baseball program won the Washington State Championship in his freshman year, and again his senior year.

It was basketball, though, that helped Montgomery get a break.

“My basketball coach (Hilton Richardson) was also a part-time scout for the Phillies,” Montgomery said. “And I told him that I was pretty serious about baseball. So he saw me play and told me about Boise State, which was just restarting their program after not having one for 40 years.”

Richardson went on to become an assistant coach for the Broncos, and Montgomery committed to the school.

The Broncos played 14 games in the spring of 2020 before COVID shut the season down. As it turned out, it shut the program down, too.

“It obviously had a huge impact financially on the school,” Montgomery said. “And they had to cut some programs, and because we were the last one to be added, we were the first one to be cut. So it was very sad to see some guys that never got to play baseball again, but I was lucky enough to have some other offers.”

Montgomery eventually landed at the University of Missouri, a program that competes in the vaunted SEC conference. The 6-3 first baseman was undaunted by the step up in competition and had two terrific seasons for the Tigers before being plucked by the Marlins.

“It was actually the second time that I’d been drafted by the Marlins,” Montgomery said. “They had taken me in the 35^th round out of high school, but I wasn’t ready to start my career at that point. When I got the call, I was ready to go this time.”

Montgomery has shot up the Marlins system quickly, advancing two levels in each of his first two seasons. Although he’s not sure where the 2024 season will begin, it’s a least a solid possibility that he would be in middle of the Sky Carp lineup, holding down first base.

Montgomery spent his offseason working on his diet and fitness, and has dropped 15 pounds heading into spring training. With his natural power still present, Montgomery’s increased speed and flexibility should make 2024 another banner season.