Monthly Archives: October 2025

30 Oct

there and here

In light of Trey Yesavage’s dominant start for Toronto in World Series Game 5 on Wednesday night, mlb.com compiled a list of other outstanding performances by postseason rookies in other organizations. Brandon Woodruff, who debuted with Milwaukee in 2017, was still technically a rookie in 2018 when the Mississippi State product shined during the Brewers’ run to a Game 7 in the National League Championship Series. Woodruff made four appearances all told in the playoffs, yielding three runs in 12 1/3 innings with 17 strikeouts. He got the win in Game 1 of the NLCS with two hitless innings and famously homered off Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw. … Tim Elko, the ex-Ole Miss star who made his MLB debut in 2025, will miss the start of the 2026 season after having surgery to repair a torn ACL, according to an mlb.com report. He could be sidelined several months. Elko, 26, hit just .134 with four home runs in 23 games with the Chicago White Sox this season. He batted .292 with 26 homers and 70 RBIs in Triple-A in his fourth pro campaign. Elko suffered an ACL injury to the same knee during his senior year in Oxford before returning to help the Rebels win the national championship. … The MLB Players Association has named Ronald Acuna Jr. its NL comeback player of the year and Drake Baldwin the NL’s outstanding rookie. Both are former Mississippi Braves stars. … Former MSU standout Eric Cerantola, a prospect in Kansas City’s system, is pitching in the Dominican Winter League and has a 2.25 ERA in four appearances for Cibaenas. A fifth-round draft pick in 2021, he went 2-2 with a 4.04 era and a save in 38 games at Triple-A Omaha this past season. … Coming Nov. 7, MSU’s annual alumni game — the Diamond Dawg Classic — that will bring an impressive list of ex-Bulldogs to Starkville, including current big leaguers Adam Frazier and Jake Mangum. Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro will serve as managers of the two squads. Expected to participate are Mitch Moreland, Jonathan Papelbon, Hunter Renfroe, Tyler Moore, Reid Humphreys, Tanner Allen and current minor leaguers Dakota Jordan and Connor Hujsak. … Colt Keith, former Biloxi High star, is expected to again play a utility role for Detroit in 2026. The second-year big leaguer did time at first, second and third base as well as DH while batting .256 with 13 home runs. “The fact that he can play all three positions gives us a real advantage,” Detroit’s president on baseball operations, Scott Harris, recently told the Detroit Free Press. … Born on this date in 1986: Desmond Jennings, the ex-Itawamba Community College two-sport star who played seven years in the big leagues, all with Tampa Bay. He hit .245 with 55 homers and 95 steals; he also batted .303 in 11 postseason games.

29 Oct

boys of fall

Checking in on Mississippi products in the Arizona Fall League:
David Mershon, former All-SEC shortstop at Mississippi State, has been filling the box scores in the AFL after a rough 2025 season in the Los Angeles Angels’ chain. Playing for Salt River, Mershon went 2-for-4 on Tuesday, boosting his average to .258 over 10 games. He has a homer, six RBIs, 10 runs, five steals and 11 walks. After a strong pro debut in Double-A in 2024, Mershon batted just .182 this past season, missing a chunk of time with injury. … Ex-MSU and DeSoto Central High standout Cade Smith worked three scoreless innings as the starter for Mesa and trimmed his ERA to 0.93 in three appearances. The New York Yankees prospect, a third-year pro, has allowed just three hits with 11 strikeouts in 9 2/3 AFL innings. … Former Madison Central star Braden Montgomery, playing for Glendale against Mesa, went 1-for-3 with a walk (and an HBP) and is hitting .429 (.652 OBP) with three stolen bases in five games. Montgomery, the Chicago White Sox’s No. 1 prospect, reached the Double-A level this summer in a solid pro debut. … Southern Miss alum Michael Fowler has put up a 0.00 ERA in four appearances (five innings) for Surprise. The well-traveled right-hander was signed by Milwaukee off the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters’ roster this summer and made a good impression in A-ball. … Former Ole Miss standout Derek Diamond has a 5.63 ERA in six games for Salt River. Diamond, in his fourth year in Pittsburgh’s system, has allowed nine hits and eight walks in eight innings in the AFL. He was limited by injuries to 13 appearances (19 1/3 innings) in 2025. P.S. Mississippi Braves alum Antoan Richardson will not return as first-base coach for the New York Mets, per reports. He is expected to catch on with another organization.

28 Oct

cooperstown bound

Baseball pundits talk about a Hall of Fame highway when heralding players who appear to be bound for Cooperstown. Well, Freddie Freeman is on a Hall of Fame expressway. Freeman, easily the best player ever to suit up for the Mississippi Braves, delivered a walk-off home run in the 18th inning that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 6-5 win over Toronto in World Series Game 3 (which started on Monday and ended Tuesday morning). Seems so appropriate that an epic, 7-hour game that had everything would end with a Freddie Freeman bomb. Hall of Famers do things like that. Freeman’s homer was the 16th of his postseason career, which already includes two championship rings. He finished the 2025 season with a .300 career average, 2,431 hits, 367 homers, 1,322 RBIs. He’s been an MVP, a nine-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger. He also has a Gold Glove at first base — and should have earned more. On top of all that, he’s a really good guy. When Freeman arrives in the Hall of Fame, he’ll be the first former M-Braves star to make it. That franchise has produced a multitude of standout big leaguers but no others yet of Freeman’s caliber. When he arrived in Mississippi in July of 2009, he came up from A-ball along with Jason Heyward, the higher drafted player and the more highly rated prospect. Heyward had better Double-A numbers and reached Atlanta first. But as good as Heyward has been, Freeman has passed him. He dealt with injuries while in Pearl and hit just .248 with two homers in 41 games. But once he got to The Show, late in 2010, he took off, starting down a path that has become an expressway to the Hall of Fame. P.S. Billy Wagner became this year the first former Jackson Generals player to make the Hall. No former Jackson Mets are in. A ton of talented players came through Smith-Wills Stadium during the 25-year Texas League era, indicative of just how special it is for one to make it to Cooperstown.

25 Oct

check those lists

Whenever there’s a list of great baseball feats, there’s bound to be a Mississippian or two on it. Pinch-hit home run in the World Series? Check. Postseason grand slam? Check. Those lists had to be refreshed on Friday night when Toronto’s Addison Barger (no, he’s not a Mississippian) hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, powering the Blue Jays to an 11-4 win over Los Angeles in Game 1. The list of pinch-hit homers in the World Series is short, and it includes Bobby Kielty, the ex-Ole Miss standout. His bomb for Boston in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series came in his lone career at-bat in the Fall Classic, which also happened to be his final AB in a big league game. Kielty won a ring with those ’07 Red Sox, capping a seven-year MLB career that saw him hit .254 with 53 home runs. Postseason grand slams are also pretty special, even in the era of expanded playoffs. Former Mississippi State stars Will Clark and Hunter Renfroe are on that list, though neither got his big fly in a World Series. Clark’s slam came during his epic performance in the 1989 National League Championship Series, when he led San Francisco past Chicago and into the World Series. Crystal Springs native Renfroe hit his four-bagger in the 2020 American League Wild Card Series against Toronto, helping Tampa Bay sweep that best-of-3 en route to the Fall Classic. Of note: Former Jackson Generals star Lance Berkman also hit a postseason grand slam (in the 2005 NLDS) and Mississippi Braves products Ronald Acuna Jr. (2018 NLDS) and Freddie Freeman (2024 World Series) are on that list, as well.

23 Oct

in the spotlight

Konnor Griffin has been named the minor league player of the year by USA Today/Sports Weekly and is featured in the Oct. 22 publication. The former Jackson Prep star, who also received the 2025 top player award from milb.com and Baseball America, batted .333 with 21 homers, 65 steals and a .941 OPS across three levels of Pittsburgh’s system, peaking at Double-A. As the article notes, Griffin is the first minor leaguer in 20 years to hit .300 with 20 homers, 60 bags and 100 runs. Other winners of this award include former Mississippi Braves Jason Heyward and Ronald Acuna Jr. The Sports Weekly article focuses on Griffin’s family, notably dad Kevin, and his Florence roots. “I’m so proud to be from Florence, Mississippi,” Konnor Griffin says. “And I’m going to do everything I can to make sure they’re proud of me.” … The venerable Baseball Digest, one of the few remaining periodicals of its sort, has nice feature stories on Mississippi natives Garrett Crochet and Herb Washington in its September/October issue. Crochet, from Ocean Springs, starred for Boston this year in his first season since a trade with the Chicago White Sox. The Red Sox gave him a 6-year/$170 million contract, and the 6-foot-5 left-hander responded with a Cy Young-caliber season, going 18-5 and leading all pitchers in strikeouts. He also beat the New York Yankees in the Wild Card Series opener. In the article, titled “Money in the Bank,” Crochet talks about how he came to appreciate the intense scrutiny players are under in Boston from fans in addition to media: “At first it was … not off-putting, but kind of awkward. I didn’t really know how to react. But now, you appreciate the fandom in the city.” … Washington, from Belzoni, is best known from his days as the Oakland A’s “designated runner” in 1974-75. An international sprint champion, he was hastily trained as a base-stealer by Maury Wills and, after a horribly slow start, stole 31 bases in 48 tries, scored 33 runs and never batted in 105 games. He was infamously picked off in the 1974 World Series and released early the next season. Per the article, he was offered the chance to bat in the final game of the ’74 season — against Nolan Ryan — and declined. He told the Baseball Digest writers that he just figured, “If you never have an at-bat, not matter how long you’re in baseball, you will have a uniqueness that will make your mark in baseball.” … Brent Rooker is a finalist for a Silver Slugger Award at DH in the American League. The Mississippi State product hit .262 with 30 homers, 92 RBIs and a .479 slugging percentage for the A’s this season. He won the award in 2024. Ex-DeSoto Central High standout Austin Riley is a finalist at third base in the National League but would have to be considered a longshot to win. He was limited by injury to 102 games for Atlanta and hit .260 with 16 homers, 54 RBIs and a .428 slug. He won the award in 2021 and ’23. … One hundred years ago this month, Ellisville native Buddy Myer made his World Series debut with the old Washington Nationals (Senators), helping the club get off to a 3-1 lead against Pittsburgh. Myer, one of Mississippi’s all-time best (.303 career hitter), went 2-for-8 with a walk over those first four games. The rookie infielder didn’t play in the final three, all won by the Pirates. Myer got back to the Series in 1933 with Washington but lost there, too.

22 Oct

back with a bang

Idled by an injury since early September, Braden Montgomery returned with a literal bang on Tuesday, smacking an RBI double off the center-field wall in his first at-bat in an Arizona Fall League contest. The former state Gatorade player of the year at Madison Central High walked in his other three ABs for Glendale. “I just wanted to add a little bit of normalcy, see a bunch of pitches,” he said in a story on the AFL website. Montgomery, a first-round pick in 2024 out of Texas A&M, is rated the No. 1 prospect in the Chicago White Sox’s system and No. 35 overall in the minors. In his first action as a pro this season, the switch-hitting outfielder batted .270 (.360 OBP) with 12 home runs, 68 RBIs and 14 stolen bases, moving seamlessly from Low-Class A to High-A to Double-A. His regular season ended Sept. 6 when he was hit by a pitch that broke a bone in his foot. He is playing catch-up in the AFL. On Tuesday, he also played right field, where his arm and athleticism are a good fit. Montgomery admits to being something of a copycat in his hitting approach. “I like watching Mookie (Betts) and how his hands work. I like watching Aaron Judge and his effortless pop. I like Shohei (Ohtani) and his torque. I like picking up and looking at tiny pieces of all the guys because I understand that everyone’s big picture is going to be different,” he said in a recent mlb.com story. At 22, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Montgomery is likely a year away from making the big leagues, though the White Sox (three straight 100-loss seasons) need immediate help. P.S. Southern Miss (and Mississippi Mud Monsters) alum Michael Fowler, pitching for Surprise, faced Montgomery once on Tuesday and walked him. Fowler, now in the Milwaukee system, has made three scoreless appearances in the AFL. … In another AFL game on Tuesday, ex-Mississippi State star Cade Smith worked 3 2/3 sharp innings for Mesa, retiring the first 11 batters he faced and yielding just a lone run. The New York Yankees prospect, a third-year pro, has a 1.35 ERA in two outings; he went 2-1, 2.50, in 11 starts in the low minors this season. … MSU product David Mershon, playing for Salt River, faced Smith twice Tuesday and grounded out both times. Mershon, a 2024 draftee by the Los Angeles Angels, is coming off a tough, injury-dampened season; he hit .182 in 91 games, 14 at the Triple-A level.

21 Oct

hot dates

This much we know about the 2026 college season: Cal-Santa Barbara, Nevada and Hofstra will be making trips to the ‘Sip in mid-February. Each of the state’s Big 3 NCAA Division I schools have released their schedules, with Southern Miss doing so today. The Golden Eagles will host UCSB, a 36-win team from the Big West, in a three-game series beginning Feb. 13, the national starting date for D-I. Ole Miss welcomes Nevada (34-23, Mountain West) and Mississippi State will launch the Brian O’Connor era against Hofstra (18-36, Coastal Athletic Association) that same weekend. Each of the Big 3 is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance and should have high expectations again for 2026. But, at this stage, who knows? Each will get some early season tests in round-robin events in Texas. USM will play in the Round Rock Classic in Texas from Feb. 20-22; Purdue, Oregon State and Baylor are also in that field. MSU will play in the Amegy Bank Series at Arlington, Texas, from Feb. 27-March 1. Arizona State, Virginia Tech and UCLA (and highly touted shortstop Roch Cholowsky) are in the field. And Ole Miss is slated to play in Astros Foundation College Classic in Houston from Feb. 27-March 1. Also in that field: Ohio State, Coastal Carolina and Baylor. Other notable dates: MSU will visit USM on March 3 and host the Golden Eagles on March 24. MSU hosts Jackson State on March 17, travels to Ole Miss for their SEC series March 27-29 and meets the Rebels again on April 28 in the annual Governor’s Cup at Pearl. Ole Miss will host JSU on Feb. 18, visits USM on March 10 and plays the Eagles again on April 14 in Pearl. USM also hosts Alabama on Feb. 24 and plays Nicholls State in Biloxi on March 17. … JSU has yet to release its 2026 schedule or a fall ball roster. One player not on that roster is Joseph Eichelberger, one of the top hitters the past couple years; he has transferred to Gardner-Webb. P.S. Somewhere, former USM star and Ferriss Trophy winner Nick Sandlin is celebrating Toronto’s thrilling win in the American League Championship Series. Sandlin is on the Blue Jays’ roster but on the injured list with an elbow issue. He isn’t expected to be active for the World Series. … Sandlin is on a rather lengthy list of Mississippians who have played for Toronto over the years. Included is Spencer Turnbull, the Madison Central High alum who went 1-1 with a 7.11 ERA in three games back in June before being released. Among the others with state ties who’ve played for the Jays since their inception in 1977: Dave Parker, Corey Dickerson, David Dellucci, Jarrod Dyson, Chris Coghlan, Kendall Graveman, Fred Lewis and Bobby Kielty. Former Mercy Cross High star Howard Battle debuted with Toronto 30 years ago. Ole Miss alum Jacob Waguespack broke in with the Jays in 2019. … Toronto, returning to the World Series for the first time since winning it in 1993, wasn’t expected to do this. In its season preview issue, Baseball America ranked the Blue Jays 19th overall, calling them “fairly average.” Lindy’s magazine pegged the Jays as the fifth-place team in the American League East, which they won. They’ve also won two postseason series without their star shortstop, Bo Bichette, down with a knee injury — but planning to return for the World Series.

20 Oct

northwest passage

Seattle remains one win away from the first World Series appearance in franchise history, a history of frustration that dates to 1977. After losing at Toronto on Sunday, the Mariners will play a Game 7 tonight at Rogers Centre for the American League pennant. It’s the fourth time the Mariners have reached the AL Championship Series but their first Game 7. There are no Mississippians (natives or school alums) on this Mariners club, but a number of players with state ties have worn the Seattle uniform over the years. Some surely have fond memories of their time in the Great Northwest. A couple even got to the postseason. Adam Frazier, ex-Mississippi State standout, was a regular with the 2022 Mariners, who won 90 games, beat Toronto in a wild card matchup and lost to Houston in the AL Division Series. Ole Miss alum Jeff Fassero won 33 games for the Mariners over parts of three seasons from 1997-99; the ’97 team fell to Baltimore in the ALDS. Roy Corcoran, a standout at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, pitched for Seattle in 2008 and ’09, going 8-2 with a 3.82 ERA and three saves. Neither of those teams made the postseason. MSU product Kendall Graveman was an effective reliever for the M’s in 2020-21, posting a 2.61 ERA and 10 saves before his tenure there ended with a mid-season trade to Houston. McComb native Jarrod Dyson played for Seattle in 2017 (.251, 28 steals), and Jackson native Seth Smith spent two years with the M’s, belting 28 homers with 105 RBIs in 2015-16. Former Meridian Community College star Cliff Lee spent part of the 2010 season in Seattle; Nettleton’s Bill Hall was there briefly in 2009; and Gulfport’s Matt Lawton finished his MLB career with the M’s in 2006. Also worth noting, former Mississippi Braves catcher Jesus Sucre spent parts of four years (2013-16) with the M’s, and ex-M-Braves shortstop Dylan Moore played for them from 2019 until being released this summer. Old Jackson Generals fans will recall the 1998 trade that sent Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen and John Halama from the Double-A club to Seattle for Randy Johnson. All three were on the 2001 Seattle team that won 116 games but flamed out in five in the ALCS against New York. That one hurt. A loss tonight no doubt would hurt more.

19 Oct

it happened one october, take 7

On this date in 2005, Roy Oswalt threw seven innings of one-run ball as Houston beat St. Louis 5-1 in the decisive Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Busch Stadium. Oswalt, the former Holmes Community College star from Weir, was named the MVP of the series after going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts against the Cardinals. The Astros advanced to the World Series for first time in their history but lost in four straight games to the Chicago White Sox. Oswalt got a no-decision in his lone start in that Series, made the postseason twice while with Philadelphia but didn’t get another shot at the Fall Classic. He won 163 games all told in his 13-year career.

18 Oct

it happened one october, take 6

On this date in 2009, Meridian Community College product Cliff Lee tossed eight dominant innings for Philadelphia against Los Angeles in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. In an 11-0 victory at Citizens Bank Park that put the Phillies up 2-1 in games, lefty Lee allowed three hits (all singles) and no walks and struck out 10. He also got a hit. The Phillies would win the series in five games and go on to face — and fall to — the New York Yankees in the World Series. Lee — a 143-game winner and four-time All-Star over 13 seasons — went 4-0 in that ’09 postseason and was 7-3 all-time in October but never claimed a ring.