Montgomery also fondly recalls the influence of teammates who guided him along the way. “Mark Gubicza was a close friend; we’d meet for lunch almost every day on the road. Steve Farr helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses as a pitcher. Bret Saberhagen, too. And Royals legend George Brett—he showed everyone how to work hard, no matter how long you’d been in the majors. His expectations rubbed off on all of us.”
But his rise to the Majors was far from easy. Life in the minor leagues tested his resolve with long bus rides, low pay, and balancing a young family. “That was the toughest part,” he said. “I had a wife, a baby, and barely any money. I worked two or three jobs in the offseason just to make ends meet, while hoping that someday, somehow, I’d get the call to the Majors.”