connected

The Jackson Generals produced quite a few standout major leaguers during their time at Smith-Wills Stadium (1991-99), but only two former Gens made MLB Network’s all-time single season Astros lineup. Lance Berkman (for his 2001 Houston campaign) made the team as the left fielder and Richard Hidalgo (2000) as the center fielder. An ex-Jackson Met, Mike Scott (1986), was picked as the pitcher. Many of the Generals alumni made their mark with other clubs (see Bobby Abreu, Julio Lugo, Melvin Mora, Freddy Garcia). Berkman was the last of the former Generals hanging on with the Astros when he was traded away last summer. But there are still some Mississippi ties in Houston. Former Jackson Mets shortstop Al Pedrique is the bench coach for manager Brad Mills, and Dave Clark, the ex-Shannon High and Jackson State star, coaches third base. And on the field, there’s Nettleton’s Bill Hall. Hall, signed by Houston to add pop to their lineup at second base, hit his first homer of the spring on Tuesday. This came a day after he had a verbal confrontation with Philadelphia pitcher Cole Hamels, who brushed Hall back with a pitch after the previous batter had homered. Hall was staunchly criticized by the MLB Network crew for his antics, and rightly so. The Astros are Hall’s fourth team in three years. That’s usually a bad sign. He might want to keep his mouth shut and just play the game. Otherwise, this particular Mississippi-Houston connection might start to break up.
P.S. Southern Miss’ B.A. Vollmuth belted his sixth homer of the year on Tuesday. The junior shortstop, a third-team preseason All-America pick by Baseball America in 2010, didn’t make their 2011 list despite hitting .386 with 20 homers a year ago. Seems odd. He also wasn’t among BA’s top 50 draft projections for this June. Vollmuth, who goes 6 feet 4, 200 pounds, was a 32nd-round pick (by Houston) coming out of Biloxi High in 2008. It’ll be interesting to see how much higher he goes this summer.