Dream Bracket Archives - All Mississippi Baseball

nostalgia

Mississippi baseball aficionados may get a dose of nostalgia today if they follow the semifinals of mlb.com’s Dream Bracket 2, the computer-generated tournament matching some of the outstanding teams of recent years. The 1986 New York Mets, loaded with former Jackson Mets, are in the National League semis against the 1975 Cincinnati Reds. On the American League side, the 2001 Seattle Mariners, featuring three ex-Jackson Generals, take on the 2004 Boston Red Sox. The ’86 Mets, feeding on a farm system that had produced three Texas League titles (1981, ’84 and ’85), trotted out former OJMs Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, Jesse Orosco, Mookie Wilson, Wally Backman and Rick Aguilera, to name a few. The Generals, Houston’s Double-A club, claimed two TL pennants during their nine-year run at Smith-Wills Stadium and produced a long list of major leaguers. Three of them – Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen and John Halama — were on the ’01 Mariners club that won an MLB-record 116 games in the regular season before falling to the New York Yankees in the ALCS. Those three were part of the blockbuster trade in July of 1998 in which the Astros acquired Randy Johnson from the M’s. Johnson went 10-1 for the Astros down the stretch but was 0-2 in the NLDS and then departed as a free agent to Arizona. Seattle, meanwhile, got long-term returns on the trade. All three ex-Gens were impactful players on the ’01 club. Garcia, a starting right-hander, went 18-6 with a 3.05 ERA and logged 238 2/3 innings, most on the staff. Halama, a lefty swingman, was 10-7 with a 4.73 in 31 games, 17 starts. Guillen, a good fielding shortstop, batted .259 with five homers and 53 RBIs as a complimentary piece in a loaded lineup with Ichiro Suzuki, Edgar Martinez and Bret Boone. P.S. On June 2, 1935, Babe Ruth announced his retirement at age 40. On July 11, 1914, Ruth, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, struck out in his first career at-bat against Pleasant Grove native Willie Mitchell. On May 30, 1935, batting third for the Boston Braves, Ruth grounded out against Jackson native Jim Bivin in the first inning. It was Ruth’s final career at-bat; he was replaced in left field by Ludlow native Hal Lee. In between those two ABs, Ruth belted 714 home runs, which stood as the record for almost 40 years.

dream a little dream

Mitch Moreland, the pride of Amory, has played in three World Series. Two of his teams — the 2011 Rangers and 2018 Red Sox – are included in “Dream Bracket 2: Dream Seasons,” another mlb.com production that starts next week. The 64-team computer-generated tournament features some of the best teams in history (two from each current franchise post-World War II, plus three Negro League clubs and the 1994 Expos) in single-elimination best-of-7 series. And, yes, Mississippians abound on the rosters. Like Mississippi State alum Moreland, Grenada native Dave Parker is on two teams: the ’79 Pirates and the ’88 A’s. The ’84 Tigers feature Jackson native Chet Lemon and Sunflower’s Larry Herndon as starting outfielders. Joe Gibbon of Hickory and Ole Miss and Vinegar Bend Mizell, from Leakesville, are on the ’60 Pirates, who shocked the Yankees in the World Series. The ’97 Marlins, another surprise champion, list Southern Miss product Pat Rapp and MSU alum Jay Powell on their pitching staff. The ’35 Pittsburgh Crawfords, a truly great Negro League team, also had two Mississippians: Hall of Famer Cool Papa Bell (Starkville) and Bill Harvey (Clarksdale). The ’61 Yankees, one of the best teams of all-time, deployed Silver City’s Jack Reed from their bench. The Royals’ two world title winners featured Magnolia State natives: Greenville’s Frank White on the ’85 club and McComb’s Jarrod Dyson on the ’15 team. Fulton and USM product Brian Dozier is on the roster of the reigning champion, the ’19 Nationals, and Ole Miss alum Jeff Fassero was a starting pitcher for the ’94 Expos, who were denied a postseason opportunity by the players’ strike. There are other natives and college alums scattered among these teams, and quite a few ex-state minor league products, as well. The champion ’86 Mets roster shows 13 former Jackson Mets. Might be a team to watch.