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.