29 Dec

pieces of cardboard

Found in one of those packages of assorted baseball cards available at certain thrift stores: a 1995 Upper Deck Tony Eusebio. A cool moment. Eusebio holds a special distinction in Mississippi baseball history: The Dominican catcher was the first Jackson General to make the big leagues. He got the call from the Houston Astros early in the 1991 season, the first year the Astros’ Double-A team occupied Smith-Wills Stadium. Eusebio never made much of a splash in the big leagues, but he will always be remembered as the first General to make the jump. That old baseball card served as a nice reminder. You can tell a died-in-the-wool baseball fan, at least one who came up in the ’60s or ’70s, by how much attachment he or she feels to baseball cards. Those little pieces of cardboard are such an indispensable part of the game. Flipping through one of those assortment packages brings a rush of memories. Also in this particular pull: a Jeff Brantley, Greg Hibbard, Gregg Jefferies, Al Pedrique and Kevin Mitchell. If you’ve been around Mississippi very long, those names need no elaboration.

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