Music captured Gregg Stock’s imagination, so he shelved his athletic endeavors and, eventually, his studies. It was the 1970s, and the metal scene would soon take root in Seattle. Stock dropped out of high school. He played guitar in a band called Strike. Around the same time, a hard rock group formed in the vicinity.



Queensrÿche has since sold millions of albums worldwide. Though their paths long ago diverged, lead guitarist Michael Wilton and Stock once played for the same team. Before he shredded in sold-out arenas, Wilton distinguished himself in a different setting.



“He was always the one kid who was the best hitter and the best pitcher, the superstar of Little League,” Stock says. “He couldn’t hit a curveball, but in Little League it was all fastballs and he teed off on that.”



Three decades after Wilton imposed his will on youth baseball fields, another prodigy emerged. In 2002, the oldest of Stock’s five...