Author Archives: Mike Christensen

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.

18 Oct

stunning start

There have been 75 leadoff home runs in MLB postseason history, No. 75 coming courtesy of Shohei Ohtani as part of his epic performance on Friday night. A Mississippi native hit one of those 75 homers and another Magnolia State product was victimized by a big one. But first, Ohtani. What he did Friday night — the magnum opus of his career, some are calling it — began with a first inning unlike anything ever seen. As the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting pitcher against hapless Milwaukee, he struck out the side after issuing a leadoff walk, then grabbed a bat and belted a 446-foot homer, his third postseason leadoff blast. He would hit two more homers — including a 469-foot bomb that left Dodger Stadium — and strike out seven more batters in six-plus innings, propelling the Dodgers to a 5-1 win, a sweep of the NLCS and a berth in the World Series. “I think we’re going to be talking about this forever,” said Freddie Freeman, Dodgers first baseman and Mississippi Braves alum. Simply stunning. Back in 2017, Brian Dozier, the Tupelo native and ex-Southern Miss star, enjoyed a moment that stunned the crowd at Yankee Stadium. Playing for Minnesota, in his first postseason appearance, Dozier led off the American League Wild Card Game with a bomb off Luis Severino. However, the Yankees would rally to win the one-game showdown 8-4. Back in 1986, Boston took the field at Fenway Park for Game 3 of the World Series holding a 2-0 lead in games over the Mets. Oil Can Boyd, the Meridian native and ex-Jackson State star, was on the bump for the Red Sox, and Jackson Mets alum Lenny Dykstra yanked Boyd’s third pitch out of the park, sparking a four-run first inning and a 7-1 Mets win. New York won that unforgettable Series in seven games.

17 Oct

it happened one october, take 5

On this date in 1989, Game 3 of the World Series between Oakland and San Francisco was postponed because of the horrific earthquake that struck the Bay Area. Former Mississippi State stars Will Clark and Jeff Brantley were on that Giants club. When the Series resumed 10 days later, Oakland won 13-7 at Candlestick Park to go up 3-0 en route to a sweep. Clark went 1-for-4 with two punchouts in the rescheduled Game 3, and Brantley yielded one of Oakland’s five homers. Neither made it back to the Fall Classic in their outstanding MLB careers. Grenada native Dave Parker, nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career, was on that A’s team; he went 2-for-9 with a homer (in Game 1 at Oakland) and collected his second World Series ring.

17 Oct

‘so you’re telling me …’

It has been done. The Milwaukee Brewers can hang their hopes on that fact. Once — once — in MLB history a team has come from down 3-0 in games to win a best-of-7 series. That team was the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who pulled off that incredible feat against the New York Yankees. The other 40 teams who faced that mountain tumbled off. Julio Borbon, the Brewers’ first-base coach (and a Starkville native), has been a lonely man in this National League Championship Series. The Brewers, and their contingent of former Biloxi Shuckers stars, simply haven’t hit — or scored — against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ array of strong arms: nine hits and three runs in the three games. And tonight at Dodger Stadium, they face Shohei Ohtani. He did not have a dominant season on the mound (2.87 ERA in 14 appearances) but did beat Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park in the NLDS. And he’s Shohei Ohtani, who throws 100 and features a wide variety of off-speed weapons. Milwaukee was one of the highest-scoring teams in MLB this season and posted the best overall record. But their hitters have not come through in this series. Former Shuckers Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick and Brice Turang — dynamic forces in the lineup all season — are a combined 3-for-33. William Contreras, the former Mississippi Braves catcher and a two-time All-Star, is 0-for-10. So here they are: Down 3-0. On the brink of elimination. On the road. Facing Ohtani and a rested L.A. bullpen. It’s a steep climb, to say the least. “It’s going to take more than what we’ve shown so far,” Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin said in an mlb.com story. And it has been done. Once.

16 Oct

it happened one october, take 4

On this date in 2021, Austin Riley ripped a game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving Atlanta a 3-2 win over Los Angeles in the opener of the National League Championship Series at Truist Park. Ex-DeSoto Central High standout Riley, who had homered earlier in the game against Tony Gonsolin, delivered the clincher off Blake Treinen, scoring Ozzie Albies from second base with one out. Riley — who has 169 career homers and five more in postseason play — hit .250 with five RBIs as the Braves won the 2021 NLCS in six games en route to the World Series title, the team’s first since 1995.

15 Oct

it happened one october, take 3

On this date in 1946, Pascagoula native Harry “The Hat” Walker delivered his famous game-winning hit for St. Louis in Game 7 of the World Series against Boston. Walker’s seventh hit and sixth RBI of the series came in the eighth inning at Sportsman’s Park and scored Enos Slaughter, who dashed home all the way from first base. St. Louis won 4-3. Walker batted .412 in that Series but just .237 during the season; he hit .363 and won a National League batting title the next year with Philadelphia. On the losing side on Oct. 15, 1946, was Boo Ferris, the Shaw native and ex-Delta State coaching legend. He had started that game for Boston but was pulled in the fifth. He won Game 2 of the Series.