Mike Christensen, Author at All Mississippi Baseball

05 Dec

on such a winter’s day

On a cold, wet December day — on a desktop in a cozy room somewhere in Mississippi — a team of stars from the Magnolia State took on the 1961 New York Yankees. The squad of Mississippians was a pretty formidable bunch, but the Yankees, world champs in ’61, won the game 7-4. Whitey Ford got the W, Boo Ferriss — the 1946 Boston Red Sox ace from Shaw — took the loss. Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle both doubled and homered for New York. For the Mississippi stars, Gee Walker, a Gulfport native who hit .353 with Detroit in 1936, went 2-for-5 with an RBI and also scored a run. The Yankees built an early 5-0 lead and held off a rally from the Mississippians as Luis Arroyo got the final six outs. All this took place on a desktop and took about 45 minutes. No replay reviews, no TV commercial breaks, no mound visits. The yucky weather outside was easily forgotten. Making such a seamhead fantasy possible is APBA Baseball, the venerable dice-and-board creation that assures the summer game is never out of season. It’s almost like having a time machine at your fingertips. You can replay games from seasons past, match great teams from different eras against each other — or create an all-time team of players from Mississippi and see how they fare as a unit. The individual player cards almost come to life; there is personality in their numbers. In this particular game, the Bronx Bombers were too good. Ford, a 25-game winner in ’61, scattered nine hits over seven frames and overcame a costly error. Elston Howard and Johnny Blanchard had big knocks in a 10-hit attack. George Scott, the 1975 Milwaukee version of the Boomer from Greenville, drove in Mississippi’s first run with a pinch single in the third inning, scoring Jackson native Chet Lemon (1979 Chicago White Sox), on with a leadoff triple. Byram’s Chad Bradford (2008 Tampa Bay) tossed two scoreless innings in relief for the Magnolia Staters, who pulled within 6-4 in the seventh on an RBI single by Ellisville native Buddy Myer (1926 Washington). Maybe a shakeup in the lineup would produce a better result for Mississippi: Harry Walker, Ellis Burks and Brian Dozier didn’t get off the bench. Put Claude Passeau on the bump and run it back. Maybe a best-of-5?

02 Dec

totally random

Today’s subject: Buddy Blair. Columbia native Blair, a decorated athlete in college, enjoyed a short but sweet big league career. As a 31-year-old rookie with the Philadelphia A’s in 1942, the lefty-hitting third baseman got a hit in his first game and another in his last game that same season. Blair (given name Louis) hit .279 for Connie Mack’s last-place A’s, with five homers, 66 RBIs, 26 doubles and 48 runs in 137 games. Over the next three years, he served in World War II in the Air Force. He returned to baseball in 1946 — but not to the big leagues. Blair was a player/manager from 1946-50 with Vicksburg in the Class B Southeastern League. In 1949 with the Billies, he won the only pro game he ever pitched. Blair, who died in 1996, was a three-sport star at LSU, lettering in basketball and track as well as baseball. He originally signed with the New York Yankees in 1936 and spent six years in their minor league system.

23 Nov

return engagement

It was a no-brainer that the Chicago Cubs would make a 2026 contract offer to Justin Steele. The more relevant news is that ex-George County High star Steele, coming off arm surgery, has begun throwing again and could be back in the team’s rotation next May, mlb.com reported. Steele, 30, went 3-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four games before going on the injured list last season. He won 16 games in 2023 and is 32-22, 3.30, for his five-year MLB career, which includes an All-Star Game nod. So of course the Cubs wanted the left-hander back in the fold. “He’s such a good competitor and everybody loves being around him,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told mlb.com. Steele made $6.6 million last year and will get a nice bump in negotiations. P.S. Ole Miss product James McArthur signed a new $810,000 contract with Kansas City. The reliever missed all of the ’25 season after elbow surgery. He posted a 4.92 ERA with five wins and 18 saves for the Royals in 2024 and a had 4.63 as a rookie in ’23. … The news was not so good for ex-Ole Miss slugger Tim Elko, who has become a free agent after being non-tendered by the White Sox. Elko, 26, who made his MLB debut in 2025, recently had surgery to repair a torn ACL and could be sidelined several months. He hit .134 with four home runs in 23 MLB games this season and .292 with 26 homers in Triple-A. … Other 2025 MLB players with state ties who are current free agents: Tim Anderson (East Central CC); Adam Frazier (Mississippi State); Kendall Graveman (MSU); Nathaniel Lowe (MSU); Drew Pomeranz (UM); Hunter Renfroe (MSU); Chuckie Robinson (Southern Miss); Houston Roth (UM); Nick Sandlin (USM); Chris Stratton (MSU); Spencer Turnbull (Madison Central HS); and Jacob Waguespack (UM). … Ashton Lansdell, who played softball at Ole Miss last season, was the seventh overall pick (by Los Angeles) in the Women’s Professional Baseball League draft. Lansdell, a Georgia native, has played baseball in junior college and for the USA Baseball Women’s National team.

20 Nov

taking a flier

Atlanta, reportedly shopping for pitching this off-season, picked up former Ole Miss standout Ryan Rolison in a trade (for cash) with Colorado on Wednesday. Rolison, a 28-year-old left-handed reliever, doesn’t come with great MLB credentials. As a rookie last season, the injury-dogged Rolison had a 7.20 ERA in 31 games for the Rockies; he allowed 11 home runs in 42 1/3 innings. The Rockies designated him for assignment on Tuesday. Rolison, from Tennessee, won 16 games in two years as a starter at Ole Miss and was picked in the first round by Colorado in the 2018 draft. (Others taken in the first round in that draft include Casey Mize, Alec Bohm, Jonathan India, Brady Singer, Nolan Gorman and Brice Turang, all established big leaguers.) Injuries stalled Rolison’s advancement in the minors, where he has a 17-17 record and a 4.43 ERA over six seasons. P.S. USA Today/Sports Weekly ranks UM product Drew Pomeranz at No. 49 among the current free agent class. The veteran lefty reliever, 37, rejuvenated his career with the Chicago Cubs in 2025. … Ex-Madison Central High star Braden Montgomery made the All-Arizona Fall League team. The White Sox’s No. 1 prospect batted .366 in 12 games in the showcase loop.

19 Nov

transaction watch

Though Reed Trimble has had trouble staying healthy and on the field in his pro career, Baltimore officials have seen enough good stuff to add the ex-Southern Miss star to the 40-man protected roster. Tuesday was the deadline for MLB clubs to set their rosters before next month’s winter meetings and the Rule 5 draft for eligible minor leaguers. Tupelo native Trimble was the 65th overall pick in 2021 after a standout sophomore year at USM (.345, 17 homers, 72 RBIs). A swift, switch-hitting outfielder, the 25-year-old Trimble has a .251 career average and 61 stolen bases (in 61 attempts) in 226 games over five minor league seasons. He reached Triple-A in 2025 and hit .259 with five homers and eight steals in 30 games for Norfolk. … Former Northeast Mississippi Community College standout Tyler Samaniego was added to Pittsburgh’s 40-man. Drafted in 2021 out of South Alabama, the 6-foot-4 left-hander posted a 3.08 ERA in 20 games in Double-A last season and has a career 3.82, working almost exclusively in relief. … Ryan Rolison, a former first-round draft pick from Ole Miss, was designated for assignment by Colorado, moving off the 40-man roster. The lefty put up a 7.02 ERA in 31 games as a 28-year-old rookie in 2025. … Ex-DeSoto Central High slugger Blaze Jordan and former USM standout Tyler Stuart were among the rated prospects (by MLB Pipeline) who did not get 40-man roster protection and could be plucked by other MLB clubs. Jordan belted a career-high 19 homers in 2025, playing at Triple-A in both the Boston and St. Louis organizations. Stuart, a 6-foot-9 right-hander in Washington’s system, has a career 3.44 ERA. … Brandon Woodruff, ex-Mississippi State standout, accepted a $22 million qualifying offer from Milwaukee; he had previously declined a reported $20M option in his last contract. The right-hander bounced back from injury in 2025, going 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA for the Brewers but missing the postseason. He is 53-28, 3.10, in 142 career appearances with Milwaukee. … MSU alum Nathaniel Lowe was designated for assignment by Boston and is likely headed for free agency. The seven-year veteran hit .280 with two homers and 16 RBIs in 34 games for the Red Sox last year after being released by Washington. He batted .228 with 18 homers all told in 2025.

17 Nov

of local interest

On this date in 1992, MLB held an expansion draft for the new Colorado and Florida franchises to stock their rosters for the ’93 season. Four Mississippians were among the 72 players drafted from the other MLB organizations. Charlie Hayes, the former Forrest County AHS star, was the second pick — and No. 3 overall — by the Rockies, having been left “unprotected” by the New York Yankees. Pat Rapp, Southern Miss and Hinds Community College alum, was picked 10th overall by Florida and Greg Hibbard, a Mississippi Gulf Coast CC and Harrison Central High product, went two picks later to the Marlins. Mo Sanford, a former Starkville High phenom, was selected 62nd overall by Colorado. (Also picked in that draft were former Jackson Mets Chuck Carr, Tom Edens and Chris Donnels.) Hayes enjoyed his time in Colorado and Mile High Stadium, a hitter’s haven. He batted .305 with 25 homers and 98 RBIs in 1993 and hit 10 more bombs in the strike-shortened ’94 season. (He would wind up back with the Yankees in 1996 and earned a World Series ring.) Rapp went 4-6 with a 4.02 ERA for the Marlins in 1993 and would win 33 more games for the club over the next four years. (He did not pitch in the postseason when Florida won the 1997 World Series.) Hibbard, who won 57 games in six big league campaigns, never pitched for the Marlins; he was traded the day of the expansion draft to the Chicago Cubs. Sanford worked in 11 games for the ’93 Rockies, going 1-2, 5.30. That was his only year in their system. P.S. Southern Miss alum Nick Sandlin has rejected an outright assignment to the minors by Toronto (see previous post) and become a free agent. … Billy Hamilton, the ex-Taylorsville High standout, plays on at age 35, now with Jalisco in the Mexican Pacific League. Former big leaguer Hamilton is batting .273 with three steals and 10 runs in 13 games in the winter league. He has been in pro ball since 2009, when Cincinnati drafted him in the second round. He finished last season in the Cubs’ minor league system. … Ex-Ole Miss star Chris Ellis leads the Dominican Winter League with six saves for Cibao; the erstwhile big league has a spotless ERA over eight games.

15 Nov

he is worthy

Ace is a status that must be earned. And Garrett Crochet did exactly that in his first season with Boston, which traded a boatload of prospects to get the Ocean Springs native from the Chicago White Sox last off-season. Crochet went 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA for a playoff team. In just his second year as a starter, he led the American League in quality starts, innings pitched and strikeouts. He finished second in the Cy Young Award voting to Tarik Skubal, garnering four of the 30 first-place votes. The lefty also made the All-MLB first team. Crochet’s season — one of the best ever by a Mississippi-born pitcher — is worthy of the Cool Papa Bell Award, given here for the top performance by a Mississippian (native or school alum) in the big leagues. “He was phenomenal,” Craig Breslow, the Red Sox’s chief baseball officer, recently told mlb.com. “It’s what we had hoped he could be when we traded for him, but to see that actually materialize is great.” Crochet’s second-place finish in the Cy Young voting is the best by a Mississippi native. Weir’s Roy Oswalt placed third in 2004. Crochet was two wins shy of becoming the sixth Magnolia State native to win 20. That club includes Reb Russell (22 in 1913), Guy Bush (20 in ’33), Claude Passeau (20 in ’40), Boo Ferriss (21 in 1945 and 25 in ’46) and Oswalt (20 in both 2004 and ’05). … Other winners of AMB’s Bell Award: Brent Rooker, Justin Steele, Austin Riley, Tim Anderson, Corey Dickerson, Mitch Moreland, Brian Dozier, Desmond Jennings, Lance Lynn, Cliff Lee, Oswalt and Chris Coghlan. P.S. Nick Sandlin, former Ferriss Trophy winner out of Southern Miss, has been outrighted off the 40-man roster to Triple-A by Toronto. Sandlin, in his first year with the Blue Jays, had a 2.20 ERA in 19 games but ended the regular season on the injured list and missed the postseason. … It’ll be interesting to see if former USM pitcher Tyler Stuart and ex-DeSoto Central High slugger Blaze Jordan make the 40-man roster in their respective organizations. Both would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft next month if they aren’t protected on the big league roster. Stuart, a 6-foot-9 right-hander, went 2-2 with a 4.29 ERA in 10 games in an injury-curtailed 2025 season in the Washington system. He has a career 3.44 ERA and has pitched in Triple-A. Jordan, St. Louis’ No. 18 prospect, belted a career-high 19 homers in 2025, playing in Triple-A in both the Boston and Cardinals systems. Still only 22 years old, the fifth-year pro hit .270 with 99 RBIs all told last season. … Madison Central High alum Braden Montgomery compiled some amazing numbers in the Arizona Fall League. The White Sox’s top prospect went 15-for-41 (.366) in 12 games for Glendale, with a homer, six doubles, a triple, 11 RBIs, 12 runs, three steals and 13 walks. His OBP was .527. A switch-hitting outfielder, Montgomery batted .270 with 12 homers and 68 RBIs over three minor league levels in his first pro season. (He was acquired by the ChiSox in the Crochet trade with Boston.) … Brandon Woodruff, the ex-Mississippi State standout from Wheeler, has until Nov. 18 to make a decision on the one-year/$22.025 million qualifying offer he received from Milwaukee. Woodruff, who has spent his entire pro career in the Brewers’ system, became a free agent after the World Series ended. … MSU’s 2026 signing class was ranked No. 8 by Baseball America. The feature signee is catcher Will Brick from Memphis; he ranks among the top 10 prep prospects on Perfect Game’s latest chart.

11 Nov

sudden impact

Drake Baldwin didn’t spend much time in Double-A Mississippi. He didn’t need much minor-league seasoning, as it turned out. In just his third full professional season, the Atlanta Braves catcher claimed the National League Rookie of the Year Award on Monday, getting 21 of the 30 first-place votes in the BBWAA balloting. Drafted in 2022 out of Missouri, Baldwin was a quick study in pro ball. He reached Double-A at the end of the 2023 season and returned briefly at the start of 2024. He hit .260 with five home runs and 38 RBIs over 66 games for the M-Braves. He made Atlanta’s opening day roster — as the system’s No. 1 prospect — this past spring and hit .274 with 19 homers and 80 RBIs while sharing catching duties with oft-injured Sean Murphy. “When (former M-Braves catcher Brian McCann) came up it was the same way,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told mlb.com, comparing the former All-Star to Baldwin. “(McCann was) above his years behind the plate and as an offensive player, and Drake’s right there with him.” Baldwin is the fourth M-Braves alum to win NL rookie of the year honors, joining Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Craig Kimbrel. Former Biloxi Shuckers star Devin Williams and ex-Jackson Mets standout Darryl Strawberry also won that award. … A’s slugger Nick Kurtz won the AL rookie award; ex-Jackson Prep star Will Warren of the New York Yankees got one third-place and one fourth-place vote. P.S. Marcus Thames, former big league slugger from Louisville, has been named a hitting coach on the Kansas City Royals’ staff for 2026. Thames served as hitting coach for the Chicago White Sox the past two seasons and was with the New York Yankees, Miami and the Los Angeles Angels before that. … Madison Central High alum Braden Montgomery, the White Sox’s No. 1 prospect, went 0-for-1 with two walks and ex-Mississippi State standout Cade Smith, the Yankees’ No. 19, pitched a clean inning in Sunday’s Fall Stars Game in the Arizona Fall League. … Several players with Mississippi ties became minor league free agents last week: Billy Hamilton (who was in the Chicago Cubs’ system at the end of the 2025 campaign), Dakota Hudson (Angels), Spencer Turnbull (Royals) and Jacob Waguespack (Philadelphia). … Of note: MLB teams must set their reserve lists/40-man rosters for 2026 by 3 p.m. CST on Nov. 18. The Rule 5 draft for unprotected minor leaguers is on Dec. 10.

07 Nov

on this date

Jake Gibbs, the Ole Miss icon who played parts of 10 years in the big leagues, was born on this date in 1938. A two-sport All-America pick at UM, Gibbs chose to pursue baseball and shifted from third base to catcher in the New York Yankees’ minor league system. He reached the big leagues in 1962 and played until 1971, batting .233 with 25 home runs in 538 games, primarily as a backup. His best season was 1970, when he hit .301 with eight homers and 26 RBIs over 49 games behind Thurman Munson. Gibbs became Ole Miss’ baseball coach in 1972 and his first team won the SEC championship. He won 485 games over 19 seasons. P.S. Former Mississippi prep stars Braden Montgomery and Cade Smith have been chosen to play for the American League team in Sunday’s Fall Stars Game in the Arizona Fall League. Mississippi Braves alum Nacho Alvarez Jr. made the National League roster. … Ex-Southern Miss star Chuckie Robinson was outrighted to Triple-A by Atlanta. Robinson, a catcher who got one at-bat with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, was claimed off waivers by the Braves in late September but was never activated to the 26-man roster. He has been in pro ball for 10 years, with 52 MLB games under his belt. … Justin Dean, former M-Braves standout who played for the champion Dodgers in the World Series, was claimed off waivers by San Francisco. He played parts of four seasons (2021-24) in Pearl.

06 Nov

names in the news

Bobby Halford: Congratulations to the longtime William Carey University coach on his election to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Halford is the state’s all-time winningest college coach with 1,375 wins over 40 years at the Hattiesburg school. His teams have made 26 appearances in the NAIA Tournament and three trips to the World Series. Halford has won more coach of the year honors than you can count.
Konnor Griffin: The former Jackson Prep star added a minor league Gold Glove award to the numerous player of the year honors he has collected. The first-year pro, Pittsburgh’s top prospect, had a .980 fielding percentage at shortstop with seven errors in 89 games. He also played some center field while moving through three levels.
Antoan Richardson: The ex-Mississippi Braves standout has joined new Atlanta manager Walt Weiss’ staff as first-base coach. Richardson, who coached with the New York Mets in 2025, played in Pearl in 2010-11 and made the majors in 2011 with Atlanta. He also played for the Yankees and is remembered for scoring the run on Derek Jeter’s walk-off hit in his final MLB at-bat.
Brandon Woodruff: The Mississippi State product from Wheeler declined his mutual option with Milwaukee and became a free agent. Woodruff went 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 12 games in 2025 but ended the season on the injured list. He missed all of 2024 following arm surgery. He is 53-28 over an eight-year big league career.
Michael Fowler: The former Southern Miss pitcher has made six appearances in the Arizona Fall League without allowing an earned run over seven innings. Milwaukee signed Fowler off the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters’ roster last summer, and he put up good numbers in A-ball.