Tag Archives: allmississippibaseball

15 Apr

not to be overlooked

The return of Seiya Suzuki to the lineup and the return of Cody Bellinger to Dodger Stadium generated much of the buzz for the Chicago Cubs on Friday night. But when the game was done, Justin Steele deserved his share. The former George County High star shackled the Los Angeles Dodgers over seven innings as the Cubs took an 8-2 victory. “Steely looked phenomenal, really pounded the zone. Thought he was dominant,” Cubs manager David Ross told the Chicago Sun-Times. Steele allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out eight. “I was just sticking to my strengths,” said Steele, who commanded his four-seamer and slider well all night. The left-hander improved to 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in three starts. Now entering his fourth MLB season, Steele (career ERA: 3.32) is an emerging ace for the Cubs as they look to contend in the National League Central. … Also earning shout-outs in MLB: DeSoto Central alum Austin Riley, who hit career home run No. 100 (in his 464th game) as Atlanta pounded Kansas City. Riley’s third homer of the season was one of five the first-place Braves hit at Kauffman Stadium. … Ex-Mississippi State star Nathaniel Lowe drove in three runs and extended his hit streak to nine games to help first-place Texas take down Houston in an American League West clash. Lowe has 13 RBIs, tied for sixth in the AL.

14 Apr

whatever happened to …

Bobby Bradley, the erstwhile big leaguer from Gulfport, has signed with the Charleston (W.Va.) Dirty Birds of the independent Atlantic League. The lefty-hitting slugger, 26, was Cleveland’s opening day first baseman in 2022 but wound up being released out of the minors last August. Bradley was drafted in the third round out of Harrison Central High in 2014 and was ranked among Cleveland’s top prospects during his climb to the majors. He debuted in 2019. But he didn’t make enough consistent contact to stick in The Show, batting just .199 with 17 homers in parts of three seasons. He hit .246 with 163 homers and 539 RBIs in the minors, belting 33 homers in Triple-A in 2019. Many former big leaguers populate Atlantic League rosters, and Mississippi natives Stan Cliburn and Barry Lyons are managers in the league. The season starts April 28. Don’t be surprised if Bradley is among the league home run leaders.

14 Apr

watch for it

There are compelling reasons to focus on Starkville and Hattiesburg this weekend but tonight, at least, cast a glance at Orlando, Fla. John Rhys Plumlee, the former Oak Grove High and Ole Miss standout, will play a baseball game for Central Florida and then rush over to the football field to play quarterback in the Knights’ spring game. The remarkably athletic Plumlee played both sports in high school and again at UM before transferring to Central Florida. Obtuse NCAA rules kept him from playing baseball for the Knights in 2022, but the outfielder has emerged as one of the club’s better players this spring, batting .302 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 32 games. As the UCF quarterback in 2022, Plumlee rushed for 861 yards, threw for 2,586 and accounted for 25 touchdowns as he steered the Knights to the American Athletic Conference title game. And, yes, he also plays a mean piano. P.S. Shout-outs to Brent Rooker and Spencer Turnbull in MLB. Mississippi State alum Rooker hit two homers for Oakland on Wednesday and is 6-for-12 with three bombs in his last three games. Madison Central product Turnbull, roughed up in his first two outings of the season for Detroit, beat Toronto, throwing five innings and yielding a lone run while punching out six.

13 Apr

two weeks notice

Two weeks — 14 days — into the MLB season, the Atlanta Braves are living up to their billing as one of the best teams — and Austin Riley is living up to his billing as one of the best players. The former DeSoto Central High standout, a 2022 All-Star, went 2-for-3 on Wednesday to lift his average to .340 as the Braves beat Cincinnati and improved to 9-4, best mark in the National League. Riley has two homers, seven RBIs and eight runs, having started every game at third base and in the 3-hole in the lineup. Hunter Renfroe, the Crystal Springs native and Mississippi State alum, also has gotten off to a hot start with yet another new team. He is batting .295 with three homers and nine RBIs as a middle-of-the-order bat for the Los Angeles Angels, who have broken out at 7-5. Ex-MSU star Adam Frazier, now with Baltimore, is hitting .273 for his new club; he earned the distinction as the first Mississippian to homer in 2023, going yard on April 2 for his only bomb to date. Nathaniel Lowe, a State alum, went deep for Texas in a loss on Wednesday and is batting .260 with two homers and 10 RBIs. Brent Rooker, the former Bulldogs slugger, got a rare start for Oakland on Wednesday, batting cleanup, and hit a three-run homer in the first inning to help the woeful A’s beat Baltimore. The much-traveled Rooker is batting .294. Former Ole Miss standout Chad Smith, just called up from Triple-A, got the win for the A’s with two innings of scoreless relief. Several Mississippi-connected pitchers have scuffled. Madison Central alum Spencer Turnbull, who had not pitched in 666 days before his 2023 debut, is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA heading into a start for Detroit today at Toronto. Ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn is 0-1, 7.31, in three starts for the Chicago White Sox, and MSU product Kendall Graveman has a 5.79 ERA in five relief outings for the ChiSox. … Three Mississippians have already landed on the injured list: Corey Dickerson, Tim Anderson and Brandon Woodruff. Drew Pomeranz, the Ole Miss alum who hasn’t pitched in a big league game since August of 2021, is slated for a rehab appearance today for San Diego’s Triple-A El Paso club.

08 Apr

flashing back

Flash back a hundred years, if you will. In 1923, on Sept. 17 to be precise, Guy Bush made his big league debut for the Chicago Cubs, launching a decorated career that saw the Aberdeen native win 176 games, still the most by a Mississippi native. Fifty years ago, in 1973, seven-time All-Star Dave Parker of Grenada and five-time All-Star Frank White of Greenville broke in with Pittsburgh and Kansas City, respectively. Ten years ago, Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton first appeared on an MLB field and took off on a path that made him the all-time stolen base leader from the state. Those are just a few of the significant anniversaries of significant Mississippians in the majors that warrant celebration in 2023. In 1913, Reb Russell, a Jackson native, made his debut as a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox and threw three shutout innings. An arm injury forced him to become a position player in 1922 with Pittsburgh; he homered in his final game in 1923. Russell is one of just four players in MLB history to win 10 or more games in a season and hit 10 or more homers in a season. Also in 1913, John Howard “Lefty” Merritt, from Plantersville, got into one game (no at-bats) for the New York Giants; he had a long minor league career thereafter but never got another look in the majors. In 1963, Mickey Harrington of Hattiesburg got into one game as a pinch runner for Philadelphia. He never got into another. Seventy years ago, Dave Hoskins, a pioneering black pitcher from Greenwood, made his big league debut for Cleveland at age 35. Forty years ago, Al Jones, a Charleston native, became the only Alcorn State alum to play in the majors when the White Sox called him up. Twenty years ago, Greenwood native Matt Miller debuted for Colorado. He might be remembered by some for getting the final out, as a pitcher for Tulsa, in the final game of the Jackson Generals era at Smith-Wills Stadium in 1999.

05 Apr

pennant fever

Friday is opening day No. 18 for the Mississippi Braves, who’ll take on the Biloxi Shuckers at 6:35 p.m. at Trustmark Park in Pearl. A championship is the ultimate goal, of course, for a franchise that has won two Southern League pennants (2008 and 2021). The 2023 roster is expected to be released today, when the team holds its first workout. The talent in Atlanta’s minor league system has been thinned out in recent years, but the organization has a true knack for scouting and development, so expect a competitive team. Jackson-area Double-A teams have won eight pennants all told, and this year marks a notable anniversary of two of those titles. Twenty years ago, the independent Jackson Senators won the Central Baseball League championship. In one of the most dramatic moments in Smith-Wills Stadium’s long history, Keto Anderson delivered a game-winning hit in the bottom of the 10th inning of the decisive fifth game against Amarillo. That Senators team included Jeremy McClain, Gerard McCall, Ryan Creek, Kenny Rayborn, Robbie Kison, Vernon Spearman and onetime big leaguer Lonnie Maclin. Thirty years ago, the Double-A Jackson Generals won the Texas League championship, the first for the franchise as a Houston Astros affiliate. League MVP Roberto Petagine was the star of that team, which also included Brian Hunter, Jim Dougherty, Alvin Morman, Ray Montgomery, Lance “Bam-Bam” Madsen and Jackson native Fletcher Thompson.

01 Apr

just stuff

South Carolina is the SEC leader in home runs, but Mississippi State beat the highly ranked Gamecocks at their own game on Friday night in Starkville. The Bulldogs won their first SEC game of the season, 13-3, behind an 18-hit barrage that included four homers, two by Slate Alford and one each by Hunter Hines and Dakota Jordan. MSU is 16-12, 1-7. South Carolina, which homered once Friday, is 25-3, 7-1. … Meanwhile, Ole Miss fell at Texas A&M and is still seeking its first conference W, and Southern Miss won at Troy to move to 4-3 in the Sun Belt. … Former USM ace Nick Sandlin, working 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief on Friday, notched a win in his first appearance of 2023 with Cleveland, which beat Seattle. .. After getting the win in relief on Thursday, ex-MSU standout Kendall Graveman got knocked out and took the L in the Chicago White Sox’s loss to Houston. Ole Miss alum Lance Lynn pitched into the sixth and stood to get the win until the ChiSox’s bullpen melted down. … Billy Hamilton, the ex-Taylorsville High star, is in Triple-A for the White Sox and went 0-for-3 in his season debut. Other Mississippi-connected ex-big leaguers sent to Triple-A include Mike Mayers, Demarcus Evans and Jonathan Holder. … Former Mississippi Braves Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake played shortstop and second base, respectively, for Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday. Shewmake hit a walk-off, three-run homer in the ninth. Grissom had a hit, scored three times and made a fielding error. … Jones College (26-6, 11-1) continues to rule in the MACCC after bashing Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College 17-4 and 12-0 last Wednesday behind Beau Bryans’ eight RBIs. But hot on the Bobcats’ heels is East Central, which has won seven in a row and stands 9-1 in the conference. ECCC won two one-run games at Copiah-Lincoln on Wednesday. Leighton Jenkins drove in three runs in a 4-3 win, Manny Huffman went 4-for-4 with four RBIs in an 8-7 victory and David Burton saved both games.

31 Mar

opening acts

One of the most disappointing MLB teams in 2022, the Chicago White Sox needed to get off to a good start this season. With the aid of Mississippi products Tim Anderson and Kendall Graveman, they did exactly that on Thursday, beating the world champion Houston Astros 3-2. Anderson, former East Central Community College star, went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run — both in a ninth-inning rally — and Mississippi State product Kendall Graveman earned the win after throwing a scoreless eighth inning. Ole Miss alum Lance Lynn, like Anderson and Graveman a star in the WBC, gets the start for the ChiSox today at Minute Maid Park. Elsewhere on Opening Day, MSU alum Adam Frazier, in his Baltimore debut, went 2-for-4 with three runs and a stolen base as the Orioles beat Boston 10-9. Ex-Bulldogs standout Nathaniel Lowe had a hit, an RBI and a run, all in a nine-run fourth inning that propelled Texas past Philadelphia 11-7. Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central High star, went 0-for-2 with three walks and an RBI in Atlanta’s 7-2 victory against Washington. Meridian CC product Corey Dickerson was 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter in his Nationals debut. Hunter Renfroe was 0-for-4 (with a nice catch in right field) for the Los Angeles Angels and fellow former State standout Brent Rooker 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter for Oakland in the A’s 2-1 surprising win. P.S. The exhibition game between the Double-A Mississippi Braves and Jackson State scheduled for April 5 has been cancelled, reportedly due to concerns about field conditions at Trustmark Park in Pearl. (Tuesday night’s Southern Miss-Ole Miss game was cancelled in the fourth inning because recently installed infield sod was not holding up, and Belhaven University’s weekend series against Covenant College has been moved to Holmes Community College’s field in Goodman.) The M-Braves-JSU game — billed as the Hank Aaron Tribute Game by the Hank Aaron Sports Academy — was originally slated for Smith-Wills Stadium, home of the Double-A Jackson Mets and Generals from 1975-99. It would have been the first such contest between JSU and a Jackson-area pro team since 1991, when the Generals — a Houston affiliate — beat Jackson State 6-3 in an April exhibition at Smith-Wills. The M-Braves, Atlanta’s Double-A club now in its 19th year at Trustmark Park, open their Southern League season April 7 at home against Biloxi. The Shuckers, Milwaukee’s Double-A club, have slated an exhibition vs. Pearl River Community College on April 5 at MGM Park.

29 Mar

mlb role-playing

Austin Riley is the 3-hole hitter and third baseman for Atlanta, picked by some experts as the 2023 World Series favorite. That’s a key role, perhaps the most important role held by any Mississippi product heading into the new MLB season that launches Thursday. Here are some others of note: Kendall Graveman, the ex-Mississippi State star, is penciled in as the closer for the Chicago White Sox, who are looking to rebound from a disappointing 2022 season. Graveman, replacing Liam Hendriks (cancer treatment) as the bullpen stopper, has a 4.04 career ERA with 16 saves in 28 opps since converting from starter to reliever in 2020. … Nathaniel Lowe, a former State standout, is the first baseman and a middle-of-the-order hitter for Texas, which has spent a lot of money of late and expects to contend for the postseason. Lowe had a breakout year in 2022 (.302, 27 homers, .850 OPS). … Louisville native and former East Central Community College slugger Marcus Thames is the new hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels. With a lineup featuring Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout and MSU alum Hunter Renfroe, the Angels are fairly desperate to make the playoffs in Ohtani’s potential walk year. Thames worked with the New York Yankees previously, so he knows pressure. … Buck Showalter, the State star of yesteryear, is entering his second season as manager of the New York Mets, another big spender with World Series aspirations. Showalter won manager of the year honors in 2022 — his fourth such honor — but saw his club fall short — again — in the playoffs. … That brings us back to Riley, the ex-DeSoto Central High standout and Mississippi Braves alumnus. He batted .273 with 38 homers and 93 RBIs last season — finishing sixth in MVP voting and winning All Mississippi Baseball’s Cool Papa Bell Award — and will be counted on for similar numbers this year. P.S. Roster news: Former MSU standout Brent Rooker has made Oakland’s opening day roster. The outfielder/DH, who has 10 MLB homers on his ledger, got very limited at-bats with San Diego and Kansas City last year. Cut from the A’s active roster was Ole Miss alum Chad Smith, who debuted with Colorado last season. Right-hander Smith, a 2016 draftee by Miami, posted a 7.50 ERA in 15 games for the Rockies in 2022. Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton did not make the Chicago White Sox’s roster. The veteran outfielder was in spring camp as a minor league invitee. … Pitchers Taylor and Tyler Rogers of the San Francisco Giants are the 10th set of twins to play in the majors and may soon become the fourth set to play for the same team in the same game. They opposed each other in a game last April but are now teammates with the Giants. Among the 10 sets of twins to reach the majors are Jackson natives Stan and Stewart Cliburn. Stan, a catcher, played for the California Angels in 1980 and Stewart, a pitcher, was with the team in 1984-85 and ’88. Both were with the Angels’ Triple-A club in 1986-87, though Stewart was injured during that time. Their dream of becoming the first twins to serve as batterymates in the majors never materialized.

29 Mar

dramatic endings

Scoring four runs in a wild ninth inning, Belhaven University rallied to beat Millsaps 8-7 Tuesday night at Twenty Field and retained the Maloney Trophy. There was drama of a different sort at Trustmark Park in Pearl, where the Southern Miss-Ole Miss game was cancelled in the fourth inning due to unplayable field conditions. Recently installed sod on the infield at the home of the Double-A Mississippi Braves was not holding up. Both coaches reportedly agreed with the decision to halt the rivalry game but were obviously disappointed not to get it in, as were thousands of fans who packed the park. Meanwhile, over at Twenty Field on the Millsaps campus, before a listed crowd of 190, Belhaven players and fans celebrated their 11th straight win, which moved the Blazers’ record to 14-9. Millsaps is 14-12. BU has won the series between the NCAA Division III rivals four straight seasons. P.S. The next scheduled event at Trustmark Park would appear to be the April 5 exhibition between the M-Braves and Jackson State, a game originally slated for Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium. The M-Braves open their Southern League season with a three-game home set against Biloxi April 7-9. The annual Governor’s Cup game between Ole Miss and Mississippi State at the TeePee is April 25. … JSU plays local rival Tougaloo tonight at Braddy Field.