CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fireworks, food and family. All reasons that over half a million fans flock to Truist Field for Charlotte Knights games every season.
Plus, you might see a future Major League star.
This week, Knights shortstop Colson Montgomery was selected to play in the MLB All-Star Futures game, a contest comprised of the best prospects that play in Minor League Baseball.
The game is July 13 as part of MLB All-Star festivities in Texas.
Montgomery, 22, is the Chicago White Sox No. 1 prospect.
He's not in the majors yet, but playing at Truist Field with the backdrop of the Uptown Charlotte skyline is not bad for now.
A stadium record 11,211 saw Thursday night's win against Jacksonville.
“This is one of my favorite ballparks I've ever played in," Montgomery said.
Montgomery was Chicago's first-round pick in the 2021 draft.
"One reason why I like playing this game is because it's fun," he said. "A lot of times you're going to fail but that doesn't take away having fun with the game."
Montgomery isn’t new to the area.
He played his first minor league baseball game with Single-A Kannapolis three years ago, when he was just 20 years old.
Now, he’s developed into the Chicago White Sox top young star-in-waiting.
It’s easy to see why. He’s a 6-foot-3 smooth-fielding shortstop with a sweet lefthanded swing. But there’s more to it than that.
"How the game comes to him naturally," manager Justin Jirschele said. "How he’s always in control. He’s very levelheaded.”
In the field Montgomery has done well in his first Triple-A season. At the plate, that’s been an adjustment.
His average is lower than he'd like it to be, at .210 in his first Triple-A campaign.
"These guys know how to pitch," he said. "These guys are really good. A lot of them were ex-big leaguers, so they know what they're doing.”
But Montgomery is starting to get it. He leads the Knights in runs scored (38), RBI (33) and home runs (11), including a blast out of the stadium in Thursday night's win.
"Not necessarily chasing the results," Jirschele said. "Not diving deep into his batting average, just chasing that process, rather than the results.”
When it clicks – and it will – Montgomery’s destined for the big leagues.
That’s a tough thing not to think about when it’s so close you can taste it.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it," Montgomery said. "I'm human. You just kind of have to figure out how to ease the tension. I go out there and I play a game for a living.”