May 3, 2025 - All Mississippi Baseball

blast from past

The Meridian Brakemen, a long defunct and largely forgotten independent team, were referenced today on the FS1 Game of the Week. Color analyst Tom Verducci mentioned that Boston starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins modeled his pitching motion after his father, Lance, who had pitched for the Brakemen and the Ohio Valley Redcoats during a brief pro career. The Meridian Brakemen franchise operated for two seasons, 1996 and ’97, in the Big South League, a small loop that also included the Greenville Bluesmen and the Tupelo Tornado. Dobbins pitched in Meridian — at Meridian Community College’s home field, which the Brakemen dubbed The Railyard — during both seasons, where his teammates included current East Central Community College coach Neal Holliman. Verducci and Kevin Kugler both wondered aloud about where the nickname Brakemen originated, speculating it had something to do with trains. Partly true. In fact, it derived from the nickname of Meridian native and country music legend Jimmie Rodgers, who was known as “The Singing Brakeman.” P.S. Ex-Madison Central star Spencer Turnbull reportedly has signed with Toronto as a free agent. The veteran right-hander, 32, put up a 2.65 ERA in 54 1/3 innings for Philadelphia in 2024 and has a career ERA of 4.26 in 78 appearances, mostly as a starter. He would no doubt need some minor league work before joining the Blue Jays’ active roster.

home cookin’

In his major league debut Friday night, Gunnar Hoglund wore the colors of the visiting team, but he sure looked right at home on the mound at loanDepot Park in Miami. In a sense, he was. A native of Dunedin, Fla., the former Ole Miss standout had a cheering section of family and friends behind the A’s dugout, and he treated them to a brilliant performance. Hoglund shut out the Marlins for five innings before yielding a solo homer in the sixth. He finished six innings, allowing six hits and no walks with seven strikeouts in a 6-1 victory. “All those people that came and watched me tonight, they’ve all played a part in me getting to this point now. … Without them, I wouldn’t be here,” Hoglund told mlb.com. Hoglund, 25, was the 19th overall pick out of Ole Miss by Toronto in 2021 after going 10-5 with a 3.68 ERA in three college seasons. He was traded to Oakland the next spring. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander was 1-2, 2.43, in six starts in his first full season in Triple-A when he got the call to the big leagues. … Former Mississippi College star Blaine Crim also made his MLB debut on Friday, and it didn’t go as well. Batting eighth and playing first base for Texas, Crim went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts as the slumping Rangers lost to visiting Seattle 13-1. He struck out in his first at-bat against Bryan Woo. A .296 career hitter in six minor league seasons, Crim is the first former MC player to appear in a big league game since Harry Craft in 1942. P.S. Ole Miss product Doug Nikhazy, knocked around in his big league debut last Saturday, got knocked around again in his first Triple-A start since returning to the minors. The left-hander yielded eight hits (three homers), three walks and five runs in four innings, taking the loss Friday for Columbus against St. Paul. His Triple-A ERA rose to 4.84. Debuting for Cleveland on April 26, Nikhazy gave up six runs in three innings against Boston.