ode to ‘sport’
Born on this date in 1874 in the Delta town of Austin, Lewis William “Sport” McAllister holds the distinction of being the first Mississippi native to appear on a major league roster in the modern era, which began in 1901. McAllister was a switch-hitter who played every position over a seven-year big league career which launched in 1896 in the National League. He hit .301 for the 1901 Detroit Tigers and .247 for his career. He played many years in the minors after his big league career ended and was head coach at Michigan for a time. McAllister also holds the less-honorable distinction of having played for the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, a team that went 20-134 in the NL and is generally regarded as the worst major league club of all-time. (McAllister’s exploits that season are chronicled in the book “Of Mudcat, Boo, The Rope and Oil Can.”) McAllister died in Michigan in 1962. P.S. The Kansas City Royals (56-45) matched their win total from 2023 with a 10-4 win over Arizona on Monday. Ex-Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe hit one of the Royals’ three homers — it was his ninth — and MSU product Adam Frazier went 1-for-5 with a run in the leadoff spot. Ex-Ole Miss star James McArthur leads KC with 17 saves but hasn’t pitched during the four-game win streak that has followed the All-Star break. … Grae Kessinger, former Ole Miss standout, was sent back to the minors by Houston. He has appeared in 16 games (15 at-bats) without a hit in two MLB stints this season.