Dream come true

Hard work finally pays off for all-star Connors

By DAVE RASBACH
Valley Press Staff Writer

Persistence is also just as important.

Need proof? Just take a look at Lancaster catcher/utility man Greg Connors, who joins teammates' Brandon Parker and Justin Kaye in today's California/Carolina League All-Star Game at the Lake Elsinore Diamond.

Unlike Parker, who the Mariners selected in the second round of the 1997 June draft, and Kaye, who was a 19th-round selection in 1995, Connors took a completely different road to today's game.

While all three worked hard to get to where they are, Connors had to endure a few extra obstacles just to get his career started.

"I've never been scared of hard work," said Connors, who was nicknamed "Chet" by teammates because he looks like a character in the movie Weird Science. "I've always figured if you wanted something, you need to earn it."

What Connors wanted was to pursue his dreams of playing baseball.

Unfortunately, he grew up in the baseball black hole known as Smithtown, N.Y., which is located on Long Island.

"(Scouts) don't like to go out on Long Island," Connors said. "We only play about 20 to 22 games a year because of the weather, which is a lot less than schools in Florida. We basically got maybe one scout a week to come out and look at our games, so you sometimes only get one shot to impress them. . . It's easy to slip through the cracks."

When he went undrafted out of Smithtown West High School in 1992, Connors elected to go to Dowling College, where he continued to play and graduated in 1996 with a degree in business management.

While playing at Dowling, Connors had his first encounter with former JetHawks right-hander Brian Sweeney, who played at rival Mercy College and is now at Class AA New Haven.

"All either of us can remember about playing each other is that I hit him with a pitch," Connors said smiling. "It wasn't intentional, but I hit him on the elbow."

Like Sweeney, who later became a close friend, Connors was also undrafted after he had used up his college eligibility.

"I figured it was pretty much the end of baseball for me," said Connors, who was named all-conference all four years he was at Dowling and all-state and allnortheast in 1995 and 1996. "I wasn't drafted, so I figured I was done."

The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder continued to workout with his former Dowling teammates and was set to be a coach with the team. He also kept busy by playing in a Stan Musial summer recreation league.

But at about that time, Connors heard through a friend that Mariners scout Tom McNamara was holding his annual open tryout camps in upstate New York.

Tryout camps usually don't bring out much talent other than 40-year-olds trying to hold on to some semblance of past glory or younger players lacking in much skill.

"(McNamara) later told me had never signed anyone out of those camps," Connors said.

That was until Connors showed up Aug. 20, 1996 and had such a good tryout that he stood head and shoulders above the other 150 hopefuls at the camp.

"He said it was the best tryout he had ever seen," Connors said. "He said he had to sign me, and the next day he called with a contract."

And without much fanfare, Connors began his professional baseball career with Class A Everett in 1997. He hit .291 with six homers and 43 RBI in 54 games with the AquaSox before being promoted to Lancaster for the first time on Aug. 15.

Connors only played in 10 regular season games with the JetHawks, but had a big two-run homer in the first game of a firstround playoff series against Stockton.

He started 1998 with Lancaster, but was transferred to Class A Wisconsin on April 28 in an effort to get him more playing time. While with the Timber Rattlers, Connors played all eight defensive positions, and even pitched in one game. At the plate, he hit .283 with 12 homers and 57 RBI in 94 games in the Midwest League.

Connors returned to Lancaster July 24 and immediately went on a 12-game hit streak and was named Cal League Player of the Week for the week of July 20-26 after going 9-for-18 with three homers and 10 RBI in only three games.

"That was a lot of fun," Connors said. "It was like all my hard work was finally paying off."

Connors continued to work hard during this past offseason, showing up early at the Mariners spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz., to get in some extra work.

He ended up being sent to Lancaster, where he entered Saturday leading the team with eight home runs and 44 RBI to go along with his .288 average, 12 doubles and three triples.

Although Connors plays a variety of positions for the JetHawks, those numbers were far and away the best for a catcher in the league, earning him the starting spot in today's all-star lineup.

"That's something I never really thought about before," Connors said of his all-star selection. "It really is an honor. At least as an individual, it's what you strive for."

But it's not the only honor bestowed upon Connors this year.

The Mariners awarded him with the Seattle Award, which recognizes the minor leaguer who best exemplifies what the team expects on and off the field.

"Just to be recognized like that," Connors said. "It's amazing. It shows that people are taking notice. It's an honor to be an all-star, but it's also important a good guy away from the field."

The award is fitting, considering Connors works just as hard off the field to be active in the community as he does to improve himself on the field.

"My grandfather always used to tell me if he ever saw me not stop and sign an autograph for a kid, he'd kill me," Connors said with a smile. "He told me you had to be a good person first and a good player second."

Obviously, Connors took both pieces of advice to heart.