a must read

In the latest issue of Sports Illustrated (cover date April 1), there is a story by Michael McKnight about former Meridian High star Brian Cole. It’s called “The Best Player You Never Saw.” Find it. Read it. Cole — the younger brother of former Ole Miss star Popeye Cole and ex-Southern Miss standout Greg Cole — could have been the best Mississippi-born ballplayer ever to put on a uniform. Tragically, he never played above Double-A. He was killed in a car crash in the spring of 2001. In the touching SI story, an array of current and former big leaguers who knew Cole give testimony to his tremendous talent and engaging personality. P.S. William Beckwith was at Trustmark Park today with the Atlanta Braves Future Stars team. He won’t start the 2013 season in Pearl — he’s ticketed for high Class A Lynchburg — but the former West Lowndes High star should make Double-A soon enough. A 21st-round pick out of an Alabama junior college in 2010, Beckwith hit .291 with 15 homers at low-A Rome last year and was named the team’s player of the year. He’s a left-handed hitting first baseman who’s listed at 6 feet 1, 230 pounds but looks bigger.