dwindle, dwindle

Alan Zinter holds a special place in Mississippi baseball lore. Not so much for any major on-field accomplishment in his long pro career but simply for being the last ex-Jackson Met to play in a big league game. Zinter, who was on the last JaxMets team in 1990, was still in The Show in 2004. He was still putting on minor league unie in 2006. Well, it’s been 11 years since the Generals packed up and left Jackson — and the number of ex-Gens currently in big league spring camps is down to 10. The race is on to see who’ll be the last old General standing. Several of the 10 clearly are near the end, including 38-year-old Billy Wagner, expected to be the Atlanta Braves’ closer this season. Don’t bet against Lance Berkman outlasting the others. He’s still with Houston and still going strong.