fathers and sons
There have been a fairly amazing number of father-son duos in major league history — more than 250, according to Baseball Almanac. The Griffeys and the Boones. The Bells and the Alous. More recently, the Guerreros, Witts and Hollidays. As you might figure, several of these father-son duos have had a Mississippi connection. Current Pittsburgh third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes is the son of ex-big leaguer Charlie Hayes, a Mississippi native who starred at Forrest County AHS in the early 1980s. Harry Walker, Pascagoula native who played 11 years in the big leagues between 1940 and ’55, was the son of Ewart “Dixie” Walker, a Pennsylvania native who pitched in the majors from 1909-12. Crawford native Sam Hairston, one of the first black Mississippians to play in MLB, was the father of two big leaguers and the grandfather of two more. Former Ole Miss star and coach Don Kessinger, an All-Star shortstop in his day, is the father of ex-big leaguer Keith Kessinger, who also played at UM, and the grandfather of Grae Kessinger, an Oxford native and UM alum who was in The Show in 2023-24. Ex-big leaguer Steve Dillard, another former Ole Miss standout, is the father of Tim Dillard, who played at Saltillo High and Itawamba Community College before enjoying a four-year MLB career. Del Unser, who played at Mississippi State en route to a 15-year major league career, is the son of Al Unser, who played four seasons in The Show in the 1940s. (Worth noting is the Magnolia State connection of Boston pitcher Hunter Dobbins, who has been in the news a lot of late after “dissing” the New York Yankees and then beating them twice, including on Saturday. Dobbins’ father, Lance, never made The Show but did pitch for the independent Meridian Brakemen some 30 years ago.) P.S. Konnor Griffin, the ex-Jackson Prep star, hit his first homer in High-Class A on Saturday and is batting .435 in five games since his promotion. Overall, Pittsburgh’s No. 2 prospect is batting .348 with 10 bombs, 41 RBIs and 31 steals in his first pro season. … Tim Elko, the former Ole Miss slugger, was sent back to Triple-A by the Chicago White Sox. Elko was hitting just .155 in 58 at-bats, though four of his nine hits were homers.