Wonderful Monds

Wonderful Terrific Monds III

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6'3", Weight 190 lb.
• School Tennessee State University
• Born January 11, 1973 in Fort Pierce, FL USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Wonderful Terrific Monds III is the son of former San Francisco 49er Wonder Monds and brother of Mario Monds, a former NFL player for the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins. His unusual name was originally given to his grandfather when, after a number of girls, his father thought it was "wonderful, just terrific" when his first son was born.

A 50th-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in the 1993 amateur draft, Monds was assigned initially to the Idaho Falls Braves, where he hit .299/~.372/.491 and stole 17 in 22 tries. His 8 triples were one shy of the league lead. In 1994, Monds hit .208/.232/.358 for the Durham Bulls but batted .290/.344/.501 in 104 games with the Macon Braves. He was 10th in the South Atlantic League in batting average, stole 42 in 51 tries to finish third in the league and his 12 triples tied him for second.

Returning to Durham in '95, Wonderful hit .279/~.318/.397 and stole 28 in 35 attempts. He had a rehab stint with the GCL Braves, going 2 for 15 with 8 K's. In 1996, Monds hit .300/~.353/.455 with the Greenville Braves in 32 games and made another rehab appearance in Rookie ball, going 2 for 5 with 2 walks and two homers. '97 spelled more of the same - fine work in Greenville (.315/~.440/.640 in 27 games) and injuries and a GCL appearance (1 for 4 with a homer).

Moving to the Colorado Rockies system in 1998, Monds hit .280/~.329/.424 for the New Haven Ravens. He was the Eastern League All-Star Game MVP, led the league in steals (41 in 53 tries) but also led in outfield errors (12). He concluded his career by hitting .260/~.299/.424 for the 1999 Chattanooga Lookouts, a Cincinnati Reds affiliate.

Sources: 1994-2000 Baseball Almanacs, 1995 Baseball Guide