Major league determination

The gym has become his home away from home.

His long ball is not quite as long as it once was.

His leadership has become more and more valuable to his teams.

And with 12 years (and counting) of professional baseball experience under his belt, Billy Munoz's career is nowhere near retirement.

"Getting ready for the season at my age is not easy," Munoz said in a telephone conversation from his home in Palos Verdes, Calif. "I have to work harder to keep in shape at 34, but now I feel better than when I was 25 because I'm taking care of myself."

Munoz, a Kofa High alum and former Arizona Western College baseball player, spent last year with the Grand Prarie Air Hogs, a new franchise in the American Baseball Association in Texas. Playing for former Texas Ranger outfielder Pete Incaviglia, he hit .268 with 10 home runs and a team-best 55 RBI to help the Hogs reach the South Division championship series in their first year.

"It was a great season being in a new franchise and a new stadium and getting to Game 4 of the championship series against Fort Worth," he said. "We surprised a lot of people. The team from Fort Worth is 25 minutes away from us and has a tradition of being the best team in the league, so we started a great crosstown rivalry against them. There was a lot of highs for the organization."

According to www.thebaseballcube.com, which has yet to include his 2008 season statistics with Grand Prarie, Munoz has played more than 800 games in the minor leagues with close to 3,000 at-bats and 500 RBI.

The former King and Matador still carries fond memories of his playing days in Yuma (he also played in three games for the Yuma Scorpions in 2006). Munoz was a JUCO All-Tournament team member on the Matadors' 1996 team that went to the NJCAA World Series.

"That was the first time for (AWC head coach John) Stratton to go to the World Series, so it was cool to see how excited he was," Munoz said.

"We had a bunch of local guys and people watching the games on TV and radio. In college you got a taste of what was to come, but you didn't know it at the time. It was a great lesson to learn that if you take care of the fans, they'll take care of you."

Munoz's career has also taken him beyond the borders of the United States, signing with a club in Japan a year after college and later playing for teams in Venezuela and Mexico.

"Being in other countries and seeing how competitive the game is, you can tell that it's their pride and joy," he said. "They take the game so seriously. The only way to explain it is to imagine every game like it's Game 7 of the World Series."

Playing for at least one minor league team in the U.S. since 1998, Munoz ran into a familiar foe from his past in 2003 while playing for Erie Sea Wolves in a game against the Harrisburg Senators.

"I got to face Jake Thrower when we were both on Double-A clubs," he said of the former Yuma High hurler. "That was something I hadn't done since high school."

For all the teams, cities, ballparks, bus rides, managers, teammates and games the minor leagues have treated him to, Munoz didn't pause when asked about his favorite experience. As a member of the Kinston Indians of the Carolina League in 2000 on a team that included C.C. Sabathia, he had quite the three-day stretch during an All-Star break, part of which had little to do with baseball.

"The day before we had a golf tournament and I shot even par playing with John Hart, who was the general manager of the Indians at the time. The next day I won the home run hitting contest, and I went 3-for-5 in the All-Star Game and hit the winning home run with a walk-off at our home field. Those were some pretty memorable moments for me."

Munoz played Triple-A ball for the Detroit Tigers organization in 2003 and was part of the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins farm systems in 2004, but never reached the majors as his baseball life took a backseat to his personal life.

"I don't think I ever had it in my mind that it was beyond my capabilities," he said. "I was in one of the best situations in my life, and things happened where I took myself out of the game in '04 when I was going through a divorce. At that age, it's hard to walk away for a year and try to come back, but I never had the attitude that I can't play. I always had the mentality of playing the game for the love of the game."

That love still makes baseball an everyday part of Munoz's life. He spends his offseasons in Palos Verdes giving hitting and coaching lessons, with aspirations of landing his own managing position down the road. 

"I know I'm not going to play in the majors and I'm content with building towards a family and building a resume so one day I can manage a team," he said. "I'm going to stay in baseball as long as I can walk."

So day after day, off to the gym he goes.

"I'm trying to keep baseball a fresh part of my life now," he said. "Back when I was 25-26 years old, I didn't give it 100 percent. I'm giving it my all now."