glove stories

Forget exit velo and spin rate for a moment and give some love to the glove. Hunter Elliott of Ole Miss and Jacob Keys of Pearl River Community College have been honored as ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winners for 2025. Elliott, a left-handed pitcher from Tupelo, was named in the NCAA Division I category, and Keys, a catcher from Brandon, was selected in NJCAA Division II. Elliott, a third-team All-America pick by the NCBWA, picked off 13 base runners, a modern-era record at UM, according to a school release, and allowed just seven stolen bases among 14 attempts. He had 20 assists, six putouts and three errors over 17 games and 85 2/3 innings, winning 10 games and fanning 102 batters for a Rebels team that earned a No. 10 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Keys, a second-team NJCAA D-II All-America pick, did not make an error in 63 games behind the plate for PRCC. He registered 29 assists all told, threw out 15 of 25 would-be base stealers and yielded just six passed balls. The Wildcats, MACCC and Region 23 champions, made it all the way to the juco World Series championship game. A reverse transfer from Southern Miss, Keys is bound for Southeastern Louisiana. P.S. Former Mississippi State standout Jake Mangum had a two-run single in the third inning Wednesday as part of Tampa Bay’s amazing comeback win against Baltimore. The Rays won 12-8 after trailing 8-0 in the second inning. … Per an mlb.com poll, former Mississippi Braves catcher Drake Baldwin of Atlanta is the frontrunner to win National League rookie of the year honors. Three other M-Braves alums have won the award: Michael Harris II (2022), Ronald Acuna (2018) and Craig Kimbrel (2011). … On June 19 in baseball history, Vicksburg native Ellis Burks hit three homers in a game for Cleveland in 2001, Louisville native Marcus Thames hit two bombs for Detroit in 2009 and Greenville native George Scott homered for Boston in 1977. Burks, with 352 career homers, is the all-time leader among Mississippi natives, while Scott, with 271, ranks third. Thames, currently the Chicago White Sox’s hitting coach, clubbed 115 in just 640 career games, averaging a homer every 15.9 at-bats, comparable to David Ortiz, Frank Thomas and Willie McCovey.