21 Oct

a dose of history

The Houston Astros, who are celebrating their 60th anniversary this season, gave a nod to their first World Series team by having a star pitcher from that club, Mississippi native Roy Oswalt, throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Thursday’s Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. Oswalt, the ex-Holmes Community College standout from Weir, was a 20-game winner for the 2005 Astros, who won the National League pennant — Oswalt won the clincher vs. St. Louis — before falling to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. That it took 43 years for Houston to make that first Fall Classic seems hard to fathom now. Up 2-0 on the New York Yankees in the current ALCS, the Astros are on the cusp of a fourth World Series appearance since 2017, when they won their first and only championship (under controversial circumstances). They’ve been in the ALCS six straight years. Yet this franchise had an inglorious start. Houston’s first team, the expansion Colt .45s, were managed by Ellisville native and former big leaguer Harry Craft. They went 64-96 in ’62. Craft was dismissed late in the 1964 season with a 191-280 record. The team became the Astros in 1965, moving into the Astrodome, and finally posted a winning season in 1972. Pascagoula native Harry Walker was the manager of that team — until he was fired in August despite having a winning record. In 1980, the Astros finally made the playoffs for the first time. Houston’s Double-A team, the Jackson Generals, took up residence at Smith-Wills Stadium in 1991 and helped fuel the Astros teams that won four NL Central titles in a five-year stretch (1997-2001) before finally reaching the World Series in 2005. They didn’t make the postseason again for 10 years, going through a rough rebuilding process that is now bearing fruit year after year. P.S. On this date in 1986, former Jackson Mets star Lenny Dykstra led off Game 3 of the World Series at Fenway Park with a home run off Meridian native Oil Can Boyd. The New York Mets, down 0-2 in the Series, won the game 7-1 over Boston and ultimately won the title in seven games. Boyd allowed six runs in seven innings in his only Series appearance.

27 Oct

good ol’ days

On this date in 1986, the New York Mets – led by a host of former Jackson Mets – won Game 7 of the World Series, claiming the franchise’s second and last championship to date. The Mets, who had stayed alive with their unforgettable comeback in Game 6, won the clincher over Boston 8-5 at Shea Stadium. The New York roster was replete with former JaxMets: Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, Mookie Wilson, Jesse Orosco, Kevin Mitchell, Roger McDowell, Lee Mazzilli, Wally Backman and more. Davey Johnson, the manager, managed the JaxMets to a Texas League crown in 1981, and coach Greg Pavlick played for the OJMs in the first game at Smith-Wills Stadium in 1975. The big Mets came to Smith-Wills for an exhibition against their Double-A club prior to the ’86 season. In Game 7 of the Series, the Mets fell behind 3-0 early but roared back to break the Red Sox’s hearts again. McDowell got the win, Orosco the final out and Strawberry hit a monstrous eighth-inning home run that made it a 7-5 game.

30 Oct

a memorable moment

Back in 1986, the New York Mets faced a situation similar to the one they face today: Down 0-2 entering Game 3 of the World Series. But while the current club gets Game 3 against Kansas City at its own Citi Field, the ’86 Mets were on the road, at Fenway Park. And one could argue that their comeback in the series was fueled by the outcome of the very first at-bat on Oct. 21, 1986. Lenny Dykstra, the former Jackson Mets star, belted a home run against Boston’s Oil Can Boyd, the Meridian native and Jackson State alum. The Mets would score three more times in the first inning en route to a 7-1 victory. Boyd, in the only World Series appearance of his career, battled for six more innings but wound up with an ugly line: nine hits, a walk, six runs, all earned. (Boyd would be passed over for a possible Game 7 start when a rain delay enabled the Red Sox to roll out Bruce Hurst again. Hurst pitched OK, but the Sox bullpen faltered in the 8-5 loss.) Dykstra went 4-for-5 in Game 3 and scored twice. For all of his faults – and the list seems to keep growing – “Nails” was a money player. He batted .321 in 32 postseason games (with the Mets and Philadelphia), with 10 homers, 19 RBIs and 27 runs.

26 Oct

beyond the goats

The last time – the only time, actually — the Kansas City Royals won a World Series, Greenville native Frank White played a big role for the champs. That was 1985. The last time the New York Mets won a World Series, a host of ex-Jackson Mets had a hand in claiming the ring. That was 1986. Of course, there are famous “goats” associated with both of those Series, umpire Don Denkinger for his missed call in Game 6 in ’85 and Boston first baseman Bill Buckner for his mishandled grounder in Game 6 in ’86. But remembering those Series for the so-called goats does a disservice to the players who shined in those seven-game Fall Classics. White, a five-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner over his 18 seasons, batted .250 with a homer, six RBIs and four runs for the Royals in the ’85 Series against St. Louis. In the ’86 Series, the second of the two titles won by the Mets, Wally Backman hit .333 with four runs, Lenny Dykstra batted .296 with two homers, Mookie Wilson hit .269 with three runs, Jesse Orosco pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and Roger McDowell and Rick Aguilera botch notched wins. All these years later, mention the World Series of 1985 or 1986, and the names of Denkinger and Buckner will come up. That’s understandable, perhaps, but those two names shouldn’t be all we remember.