Tonight's Florida Marlins AAA Lineup

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Ozuna

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Ruggiano

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His is one of those feel-good sports stories that Hollywood often writes for Kevin Costner or Dennis Quaid but reality rarely accommodates: career minor-leaguer perseveres for the love of the game and finally makes it to "The Show."

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No major colleges recruited the Austin resident out of high school, so Ruggiano went to play for not one, but two different junior colleges. Afterward, with interest still lacking, Ruggiano took a summer construction job. “I was wondering if I was going to play again,” he said. But he decided to give baseball one last shot and cold-called the coach at Texas A&M to see if he needed an outfielder.

Ruggiano spent two years at A&M before being drafted by the Dodgers way down in the 25th round. “My grandparents have a [mule deer] ranch, and the scout who drafted me said, ‘I’ll draft you, but you have to take me hunting on that ranch,’ ” Ruggiano said. “Literally, in my scouting report, it says, ‘Runs OK. Throws OK. Has a ranch he says he’ll take me hunting on.’ ” Ruggiano’s draft bonus: “A thousand dollars — $750 after taxes.”

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It's sad that the Astros get more bad pub considering Florida is worst off. At least Houston has a path.

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