Tag Archives: 2024 All-Star Game

17 Jul

there and here

Down in Mexico on Tuesday night, Harrison Central High product Bobby Bradley took a star turn, hitting a game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth for Tijuana, which went on to win the Mexican League game 3-2 over Saltillo. Former big leaguer Bradley is batting .281 with 12 homers and 48 RBIs in his first season in Mexico. He hit 17 homers in 97 MLB games with Cleveland between 2019-22 and has 228 in his pro career. … Over in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, Southern Miss alum and ex-big leaguer Kirk McCarty is 2-2 with a 1.37 ERA in four starts for CTBC Brothers. The little left-hander from Hattiesburg took a loss despite allowing just one run in eight innings on Sunday. … Back in the USA, in the MLB All-Star Game, Ocean Springs High product Garrett Crochet threw a scoreless inning (striking out Home Run Derby champ Teoscar Hernandez) and Mississippi State product Jordan Westburg went 0-for-1 as a late sub at second base in the American League’s 5-3 win in Arlington, Texas. … Jurrangelo Cijntje, the (situational) switch-pitcher from Mississippi State, reportedly has signed with Seattle for $4.9 million. He was the 15th overall pick on Sunday. … Ex-MSU star Ethan Small made a rehab appearance — his first of 2024 — with San Francisco’s Arizona Complex League team, allowing a run in his one inning. Lefty Small, a first-round pick in 2019, has four MLB appearances on his resume, all with Milwaukee. … Up in the Cape Cod League, Ole Miss’ Campbell Smithwick went 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs for Chatham in a win vs. Falmouth on Tuesday and is batting .375 in 15 games in the college summer loop. Southern Miss’ Josh Och notched a save on Tuesday, his second in three scoreless appearances for Hyannis. Also in the Cape: USM’s Davis Gillespie, playing for Bourne, is at .283 with a homer in 14 games. Jones College alum Beau Bryans, who signed with Alabama in the fall, is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA over 15 innings for Bourne. Mississippi State alum Cam Schuelke, a 19th-round draft pick by Cleveland on Tuesday, is 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA for Cotuit, and Ole Miss’ Patrick Galle is 2-0 with a save despite a 7.59 ERA for Wareham. … Jacques Pucheu, a Gulfport native and East Mississippi CC product, has been selected to the American Association All-Star Game. The left-hander is 5-3 with a 4.33 ERA for Cleburne in the independent league. Also on the Cleburne club is ex-UM star Thomas Dillard, batting .282 with 10 homers. Delta State product Trent Giambrone, now with Kansas City in the AA, is batting .292 with four homers. … Ex-Pontotoc High and Itawamba CC standout Delvin Zinn, who scuffled in the AA this season, has found a comfort zone in the indy Frontier League, hitting .318 with 10 steals in 19 games for Evansville. … Ex-Ole Miss star Errol Robinson, in his eighth pro season, has been released by Baltimore; he was hitting .208 at Triple-A Norfolk.

16 Jul

of local interest

One player who cut his teeth in the minors in Mississippi will throw the first pitch in tonight’s MLB All-Star Game and another will catch the much-anticipated first offering from Paul Skenes in the bottom of the first inning. There’s a former Mississippi prep standout and another who starred in college in the Magnolia State on the American League squad. Corbin Burnes, who pitched for Double-A Biloxi in 2017, will start for the AL at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. William Contreras, who caught for the Mississippi Braves in 2019, is the NL’s starting catcher. Former M-Braves star Freddie Freeman (class of 2009) is a reserve on the NL roster. Ocean Springs High alum Garrett Crochet likely will pitch for the AL at some point, and ex-Mississippi State star Jordan Westburg — who finished second in the fan voting at third base — is a reserve infielder for the AL. Those two are among the 39 first-time All-Stars. “It means just as much to (my family) as it does to me because they’re the ones who sacrificed so much through my youth and amateur baseball career,” Westburg, a Texas native, told masnsports.com. There are other reasons to watch the 94th Midsummer Classic (7 p.m., Fox), of course: rookie sensation Skenes, Aaron Judge, Home Run Derby champ Teoscar Hernandez, Gunnar Henderson, Elly De La Cruz, Mason Miller, Jose Ramirez … to name a few. For the Mississippi baseball aficionado, there are several All-Star anniversaries of note. In 1934, in the second All-Star Game 90 years ago, adopted Mississippian Dizzy Dean made the first of his four appearances, pitching three innings (one run) in the NL’s loss at the Polo Grounds. In 1974, Don Kessinger, former Ole Miss player and coach, made the last of his six All-Star appearances, going 1-for-1 with an RBI for the NL squad. (Kessinger turns 82 on Wednesday.) In 1984, Jackson native Chet Lemon played in his third and final All-Star Game, going 1-for-2 (and getting picked off) for the AL. In 1994, ex-MSU standout Will Clark played in his sixth and last Midsummer Classic, going 2-for-2 for the NL team. Clark was 5-for-13 in his All-Star career. In 1999 — 25 years ago — MSU product Rafael Palmeiro went 1-for-2 with an RBI for the AL stars at Fenway Park, where the All-Century Team (with Ted Williams) was honored pregame. In 2004, Gulfport native Matt Lawton went 1-for-2 for the AL in the second of his two All-Star Games. The only other time the Texas Rangers hosted the All-Star Game was in 1995, when former State standout Buck Showalter, then with the New York Yankees, managed the AL team in a 3-2 loss. P.S. Purvis High’s Jacob Parker hit a literal last-second blast to earn a tie for the title in the high school home run derby final held at Globe Life on Monday night. The State commit hit 24 homers (with a metal bat) in the preliminary round on Saturday.

13 Jul

three stars — plus one

Adam Frazier: The former Mississippi State standout, in one of several marquee games on the MLB docket Friday, went 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI as Kansas City beat fellow American League wild card contender Boston 6-1 at Fenway Park. Frazier led off the game with a single and scored the first run, then rapped an RBI single in the second inning and later scored to give the Royals a 4-0 lead. Frazier is batting .213 for Kansas City (52-43).
Kemp Alderman: The Ole Miss product from Decatur went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and five RBIs to pace Low-Class A Jupiter to a win in the Florida State League. The 2023 Ferriss Trophy winner has a six-game hit streak (10-for-24) with three homers and 10 RBIs in that span for the Miami affiliate. He is at .247 on the season.
Tim Elko: The ex-Ole Miss slugger banged out three hits and scored a run in Double-A Birmingham’s 7-4 win against Mississippi at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Elko, who is 5-for-15 in the Southern League series, is batting .298 on the season with eight homers and 36 RBIs for the Chicago White Sox’s farm club.
Kellum Clark: The MSU alum from Brandon went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run for High-A Brooklyn in the South Atlantic League. After a frigid start for the Cyclones — a New York Mets affiliate — Clark has nine hits in his last four games and is batting .417 in July. He’s at .210 for the season with six RBIs and nine runs in 22 games.
P.S. Former Ocean Springs High star Garrett Crochet, in a possible tune-up for an MLB All-Star Game start, threw two perfect innings for the White Sox against Pittsburgh. The big left-hander, throwing 22 of 28 pitches for strikes, struck out four. He has a 150 K’s and a 3.02 ERA. … Atlanta moved Southern Miss alum Landon Harper from Double-A Mississippi back to High-A Rome. Harper has a 1.17 ERA in 10 games with the M-Braves. … In the HBCU Swingman Classic at Globe Life Field, Jackson State alum Robert Tate Jr. tripled and scored a run, JSU’s Lenny Montesano went 1-for-2 and Tigers ace Christian Womble allowed a run in two innings with four K’s for the victorious AL stars. Mississippi Valley State’s Dreylin Holmes was 2-for-2 with a run and JSU alum Rodney Hibler Jr. hit a sac fly for the NL squad.

12 Jul

star trekkin’

Buckle up. Lots of All-Star stuff coming in the next few days. The HBCU Swingman Classic is set for tonight (7 p.m., MLB Network) at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Jackson State had a bunch of offensive standouts this past season, and several are in the game: Joseph Eichelberger (.375 hitter), Robert Tate Jr. (.352, .458 OBP), Lenny Montesano (11 homers, 16 doubles) and Rodney Hibler Jr. (34 steals). Tigers pitchers Christian Womble and Isaiah Williams are also on the rosters, along with Mississippi Valley State’s Dreylin Holmes and Alcorn State’s Garrett Palladino. … On Saturday, there is a high school home run derby competition at Globe Life in which Jacob Parker of Purvis will compete. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound lefty hitter has slugged 24 homers the past three years at Purvis. Later Saturday (3:10 p.m., MLB Network), former Magnolia Heights star Cooper Pratt is slated to play in the All-Star Futures Game. Shortstop Pratt, a second-year pro and the state’s Gatorade player of the year in 2023, is Milwaukee’s No. 4-ranked prospect and is batting .295 with 19 bags at Low-Class A Carolina. … Sunday brings the first day of the MLB draft (4 p.m., ESPN) from Fort Worth, Texas. If Baseball America’s mock draft is accurate, four Mississippi-connected players could be chosen among the first 26 picks. Among them are three of the last four Gatorade state players of the year — Konnor Griffin, Dakota Jordan and Jordan Montgomery — plus Mississippi State switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje. Montgomery and Cijntje reportedly will attend Sunday’s event; Griffin is having a watch party at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Expect several more players from the state to be called on Monday and Tuesday as the 20-round draft continues. … MLB’s Home Run Derby is set for Monday, though, regrettably, there is no Austin Riley, Brent Rooker or Hunter Renfroe in the field. … On Tuesday, it’s the main event, the 94th All-Star Game, with Ocean Springs High product Garrett Crochet (Chicago White Sox) and ex-MSU standout Jordan Westburg (Baltimore) suiting up for the American League squad.

07 Jul

star gazing

Garrett Crochet, the Ocean Springs High product who leads the American League in strikeouts, was justly rewarded with a spot on the American League All-Star team. Crochet is 6-6 with a 3.08 ERA and 146K’s for the Chicago White Sox. The rosters were announced Sunday on ESPN; there will be changes before the game is played on July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Also making the AL team was former Biloxi Shuckers pitcher Corbin Burnes, now with Baltimore. He is 9-3, 2.32. Former Mississippi Braves star Freddie Freeman, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, made the National League roster as a reserve. Ex-M-Braves catcher William Contreras, now with Milwaukee, previously was voted in as a starter by fans. … The full list of Home Run Derby (July 15) participants has yet to be revealed. It would be a treat to see Nathaniel Lowe of the hometown Texas Rangers, Brent Rooker, Hunter Renfroe or Austin Riley in the derby. Each of those Mississippi products has light-tower power. … Magnolia Heights High product Cooper Pratt is slated to participate in the July 13 All-Star Futures Game for minor league prospects at Globe Life. He is No. 4 on Milwaukee’s chart. … The All-Star festivities get started on July 12 with the HBCU Swingman Classic. The Magnolia State will be well-represented with six Jackson State players and one each from Mississippi Valley State and Alcorn State on the rosters. This is the second annual all-star game for players from NCAA Division I historically black schools. JSU’s Joseph Eichelberger, Robert Tate Jr., Lenny Montesano, Rodney Hibler Jr., Christian Womble and Isaiah Williams are joined on the rosters by Valley’s Dreylin Holmes and Alcorn’s Garrett Palladino. Former big leaguers Ken Griffey Sr. and Lloyd McClendon will manage the two teams. … Of note: The only other time the Texas Rangers hosted the All-Star Game was 1995, when former Mississippi State standout Buck Showalter managed the AL team in a 3-2 loss at The Ballpark in Arlington. He was manager of the New York Yankees, who had the best record in the AL when the 1994 season was halted by a players strike.