Bobby Myrick Archives - All Mississippi Baseball

a significant debut

On this date in 1976, Bobby Myrick made his big league debut for the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. The Hattiesburg native and Blair High grad retired the only batter he faced — St. Louis’ Hector Cruz — for the final out of the fifth inning. Myrick was the 13,755th player to play in MLB, but his debut was an historic one: The left-hander, a member of the original Jackson Mets in 1975, became the first JaxMets player to advance from the Double-A team to the majors. A flood of players would follow that trail, several others off the ’75 team. Drafted in the 20th round out of Mississippi State in 1974, Myrick’s rise was rapid. He played parts of three seasons (’76-78) with the Mets, going 3-6 with two saves and a 3.48 ERA in 82 games. He pitched in the minors until 1981. He died in 2012. … The Mets left Jackson and Smith-Wills Stadium after the 1990 season and were followed by the Generals, a Houston affiliate. Tony Eusebio was the first Gens player to get a call-up in 1991. The first Mississippi Braves player to go up was Brian McCann in 2005, during the Atlanta Double-A affiliate’s first season at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

stocking stuffer trivia

The Jackson Mets arrived at newly constructed Smith-Wills Stadium in 1975 and proceeded to send a boatload of players to the big leagues during the team’s 16-year run on Lakeland Drive. Lee Mazzilli, who was on the second JaxMets team in 1976, is generally regarded as the Double-A club’s first “star,” and he made the majors in September of ’76. But he was not the first JaxMets alum to reach the big leagues. Who was? The first Jackson Generals player to get the call was catcher Tony Eusebio, who went up briefly with Houston in 1991, the first year the Astros’ Double-A team played at Smith-Wills. (Neither the Jackson DiamondKats nor the Jackson Senators had a player advance to the big leagues, though both independent clubs employed a former big leaguer. Mark Carreon played for the D-Kats, and Jeff Ware pitched for the Sens.) Brian McCann was the first Mississippi Braves star to make The Show, going up to Atlanta in 2005, the first year the franchise operated in Pearl. Which brings us back to the trivia question: Who was the first Jackson Met to get the call? Answer: Bobby Myrick, the Hattiesburg native and former Mississippi State star who was on the original JaxMets roster in ’75. New York called him up from Triple-A in May of 1976, and the left-hander pitched parts of three seasons in the majors, posting a 3.48 ERA in 82 games. Injuries ultimately ended his pro career in 1981. He passed away in 2012.