Do You Remember Wonderful Terrific Monds?
It will only be the biggest of baseball fans, the ones who even kept their eyes on the minor leagues, to remember the Monds. This was a baseball story only for those who really loved the game and it’s players. The Monds never got his debut in the major leagues and to this day it is still a mystery why not. He was able to carry a .281 batting average over his minor league career and ended his days in the minors with more hits that he had games played. These are both amazing records for any player and especially one that never got his shot in the major leagues!
Wonderful Terrific Monds, as his mother named him, was born in the Fort Pierce Florida area on January 11th 1973. Wonderful’s father played professional football, so it seems that athletics simply ran in the genes of his family. His father played professional football for the 49ers and his brother Mario, played pro ball for the Bengals and the Dolphins. His grandfather is said to be the main reason for his truly unique name. The grandfather was so glad to see a boy after so many granddaughters, he said “wonderful, just terrific” and apparently the name stuck.
When Wonderful was first drafted in 1993, the Atlanta Braves had big plans for him and he was sent over to the Idaho Falls minor league team to prove himself. This young athlete had charisma to spare and strong bat and by any bystanders judgment would soon be following the family tradition of playing professional sports. However, due to some reoccurring fielding errors in the outfield he never did get sent up to the big leagues. He would continue playing in the minors until 1999, he had then played for may different minor league teams and never gained the interest of the scouts to move on.
He still to this day remains as a fan favorite and his face has made it to more than one baseball card including a special set of “Golden Prospects” released by Fleer in 1995. Retiring at the tender age of 26 it looks like he will never see the big leagues, but will still be remembered in the minds of many of his biggest fans!