Tag Archives: Jackson Generals

28 Oct

cooperstown bound

Baseball pundits talk about a Hall of Fame highway when heralding players who appear to be bound for Cooperstown. Well, Freddie Freeman is on a Hall of Fame expressway. Freeman, easily the best player ever to suit up for the Mississippi Braves, delivered a walk-off home run in the 18th inning that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 6-5 win over Toronto in World Series Game 3 (which started on Monday and ended Tuesday morning). Seems so appropriate that an epic, 7-hour game that had everything would end with a Freddie Freeman bomb. Hall of Famers do things like that. Freeman’s homer was the 16th of his postseason career, which already includes two championship rings. He finished the 2025 season with a .300 career average, 2,431 hits, 367 homers, 1,322 RBIs. He’s been an MVP, a nine-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger. He also has a Gold Glove at first base — and should have earned more. On top of all that, he’s a really good guy. When Freeman arrives in the Hall of Fame, he’ll be the first former M-Braves star to make it. That franchise has produced a multitude of standout big leaguers but no others yet of Freeman’s caliber. When he arrived in Mississippi in July of 2009, he came up from A-ball along with Jason Heyward, the higher drafted player and the more highly rated prospect. Heyward had better Double-A numbers and reached Atlanta first. But as good as Heyward has been, Freeman has passed him. He dealt with injuries while in Pearl and hit just .248 with two homers in 41 games. But once he got to The Show, late in 2010, he took off, starting down a path that has become an expressway to the Hall of Fame. P.S. Billy Wagner became this year the first former Jackson Generals player to make the Hall. No former Jackson Mets are in. A ton of talented players came through Smith-Wills Stadium during the 25-year Texas League era, indicative of just how special it is for one to make it to Cooperstown.

25 Oct

check those lists

Whenever there’s a list of great baseball feats, there’s bound to be a Mississippian or two on it. Pinch-hit home run in the World Series? Check. Postseason grand slam? Check. Those lists had to be refreshed on Friday night when Toronto’s Addison Barger (no, he’s not a Mississippian) hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, powering the Blue Jays to an 11-4 win over Los Angeles in Game 1. The list of pinch-hit homers in the World Series is short, and it includes Bobby Kielty, the ex-Ole Miss standout. His bomb for Boston in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series came in his lone career at-bat in the Fall Classic, which also happened to be his final AB in a big league game. Kielty won a ring with those ’07 Red Sox, capping a seven-year MLB career that saw him hit .254 with 53 home runs. Postseason grand slams are also pretty special, even in the era of expanded playoffs. Former Mississippi State stars Will Clark and Hunter Renfroe are on that list, though neither got his big fly in a World Series. Clark’s slam came during his epic performance in the 1989 National League Championship Series, when he led San Francisco past Chicago and into the World Series. Crystal Springs native Renfroe hit his four-bagger in the 2020 American League Wild Card Series against Toronto, helping Tampa Bay sweep that best-of-3 en route to the Fall Classic. Of note: Former Jackson Generals star Lance Berkman also hit a postseason grand slam (in the 2005 NLDS) and Mississippi Braves products Ronald Acuna Jr. (2018 NLDS) and Freddie Freeman (2024 World Series) are on that list, as well.

20 Oct

northwest passage

Seattle remains one win away from the first World Series appearance in franchise history, a history of frustration that dates to 1977. After losing at Toronto on Sunday, the Mariners will play a Game 7 tonight at Rogers Centre for the American League pennant. It’s the fourth time the Mariners have reached the AL Championship Series but their first Game 7. There are no Mississippians (natives or school alums) on this Mariners club, but a number of players with state ties have worn the Seattle uniform over the years. Some surely have fond memories of their time in the Great Northwest. A couple even got to the postseason. Adam Frazier, ex-Mississippi State standout, was a regular with the 2022 Mariners, who won 90 games, beat Toronto in a wild card matchup and lost to Houston in the AL Division Series. Ole Miss alum Jeff Fassero won 33 games for the Mariners over parts of three seasons from 1997-99; the ’97 team fell to Baltimore in the ALDS. Roy Corcoran, a standout at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, pitched for Seattle in 2008 and ’09, going 8-2 with a 3.82 ERA and three saves. Neither of those teams made the postseason. MSU product Kendall Graveman was an effective reliever for the M’s in 2020-21, posting a 2.61 ERA and 10 saves before his tenure there ended with a mid-season trade to Houston. McComb native Jarrod Dyson played for Seattle in 2017 (.251, 28 steals), and Jackson native Seth Smith spent two years with the M’s, belting 28 homers with 105 RBIs in 2015-16. Former Meridian Community College star Cliff Lee spent part of the 2010 season in Seattle; Nettleton’s Bill Hall was there briefly in 2009; and Gulfport’s Matt Lawton finished his MLB career with the M’s in 2006. Also worth noting, former Mississippi Braves catcher Jesus Sucre spent parts of four years (2013-16) with the M’s, and ex-M-Braves shortstop Dylan Moore played for them from 2019 until being released this summer. Old Jackson Generals fans will recall the 1998 trade that sent Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen and John Halama from the Double-A club to Seattle for Randy Johnson. All three were on the 2001 Seattle team that won 116 games but flamed out in five in the ALCS against New York. That one hurt. A loss tonight no doubt would hurt more.

11 Oct

back on memory lane

The walk-off single by Jorge Polanco in the 15th inning (and on Saturday morning CDT) was the third postseason walk-off hit by a Seattle player, per MLB Network. Polanco’s knock in the deciding Game 5 won the American League Division Series for the Mariners over Detroit 3-2. When the graphic showing the other two walk-offs popped up on the TV screen, it rekindled some memories. Twenty-five years ago, in Game 3 of the ALDS, pinch hitter Carlos Guillen put down a surprise squeeze bunt in the ninth inning that scored Rickey Henderson with the game-winner in a 2-1, series-clinching win against Chicago. As some old Smith-Wills Stadium regulars will recall, Guillen was a standout shortstop for the Double-A Jackson Generals in 1997 and was involved in Houston’s famous trade with Seattle for Randy Johnson in 1998. Guillen, who batted .285 and was a three-time All-Star over a 14-year MLB career, was still a rookie in 2000. The other Seattle postseason walk-off is a bit more famous, of course. In the 1995 ALDS, in Game 5 at the old Kingdome, Edgar Martinez delivered a two-run double in the 11th inning that scored Ken Griffey Jr. with the game-winner against New York. The 6-5 victory set off a celebration that some say saved baseball in Seattle in a wobbly time for the franchise. In the grainy video from that moment, you can catch a glimpse of Sam Perlozzo, the M’s third-base coach, frantically waving Griffey home. Perlozzo, as Smith-Wills cranks will remember, managed the Jackson Mets to back-to-back Texas League titles in 1984-85 before going on to coach and manage in the big leagues. Note: Both the 1995 Mariners and the 2000 club lost in the AL Championship Series; Seattle has never made it to the World Series.

09 Sep

cheers for snit

Brian Snitker, manager of the first Mississippi Braves team 20 years ago, picked up his 800th victory Monday night as manager of the Atlanta Braves, a celebratory moment in what has been a tough season. “I never thought I’d get one (win),” the ever-humble Snitker said in a TV interview following the 4-1 win against the Chicago Cubs at Truist Park. Expected to retire after this season, “Snit” has spent virtually all of his baseball life — back to his pro playing debut in 1977 — in the Braves’ system. “I find him to be the torchbearer of the tradition of the Atlanta Braves,” team GM Alex Anthopoulos told USA Today back in the spring. Snitker’s MLB resume includes a World Series title, three manager of the year honors, six division championships and seven playoff appearances in 10 seasons. He is second only to Hall of Famer Bobby Cox on the list of career victories by Braves managers in the modern era. Snitker’s ’05 M-Braves team was loaded with prospects — McCann, Francoeur, Boyer, Blanco, et al. — at the start, but most of them were promoted during the season and the Double-A team finished 64-68 overall, missing out on the Southern League postseason. P.S. Ocean Springs’ Garrett Crochet had that Cy Young Award look on Monday night, blanking the A’s over seven innings (three hits, no walks) with 10 strikeouts. The Boston ace is 15-5, 2.57 ERA, and leads the majors in K’s with 228. Former Mississippi State star Brent Rooker went 0-for-3 with a punchout vs. Crochet. … Former Southern Miss standout Chuckie Robinson was optioned back to Triple-A by the Los Angeles Dodgers without getting into a game. He has made 51 MLB appearances (in 2022 and ’24) in his long pro career. … Braden Montgomery, the ex-Madison Central star and current Chicago White Sox prospect, was placed on the seven-day injured list at Double-A Montgomery. … On this date in 2000, the Houston Astros set a franchise record with seven homers in a 14-4 win over Chicago at Wrigley Field. Here’s the part that old Smith-Wills Stadium cranks will find more interesting: Houston’s entire starting lineup consisted of players who wore a Jackson uniform during the city’s Texas League era. Seven were former Generals, one was a former Met and the other was Jeff Bagwell, who did a rehab assignment in Jackson in 1995. Ex-Gens Lance Berkman and Richard Hidalgo and former JaxMet Tim Bogar belted two home runs each in that Sept. 9 game and Daryle Ward hit one out. Julio Lugo had three hits that day, and Chris Holt got the win.

25 Aug

details, details …

Sunday stuff: Two more hits and RBIs for Nathaniel Lowe. That’s seven knocks in 16 at-bats with seven RBIs for the ex-Mississippi State star in six games with Boston. The Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees on Sunday and are 3-3 in Lowe’s appearances. … Two more hits, an RBI, a run, three different positions and a win for Kansas City’s Adam Frazier. The former MSU standout is hitting .295 with 14 RBIs and 12 runs in his 29 games for the wild card-chasing Royals, 19-12 since the All-Star break. … Konnor Pilkington, MSU product from Pascagoula, struck out the Philadelphia side in the seventh inning of Washington’s 3-2 loss; he has 18 punchouts in 14 2/3 innings — with a 5.52 ERA — in 16 games this season. … Blaze Jordan, DeSoto Central High product, drove in a run for Triple-A Memphis, his 16th RBI in 17 games since joining the St. Louis affiliate in a trade. He is batting just .129. … In his first week in Double-A, ex-Jackson Prep standout Konnor Griffin batted .286 with four RBIs, four runs and four steals for Pittsburgh’s Altoona club. … Former Southern Miss star Dustin Dickerson scored one run for Northwest Arkansas, but it was the game-winner in a walk-off victory by the Royals’ Double-A club. … MSU product Kamren James hit his first homer of the season and fellow Bulldogs alum Colton Ledbetter added his sixth in a win for Double-A Montgomery, a Tampa Bay affiliate. … Patrick Lee, former William Carey University star, hit his fourth homer for West Michigan, one of six bombs Detroit’s High-Class A club belted in a 16-0 win. … Luke Hill, a 2025 draftee out of Ole Miss, got three more hits and is batting .417 in seven games for Low-A Lynchburg in Cleveland’s chain. He has a homer, four RBIs, five runs and five bags. … Michael Fowler took a loss for Low-A Carolina but still has yet to yield an earned run in five appearances for the Milwaukee affiliate. He pitched for USM and the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters this season before the Brewers signed him on July 29. P.S. Fun flashback: On this date in 1995, former Jackson Mets star Gregg Jefferies hit for the cycle and ex-Jackson Generals ace Jeff Juden threw a complete game and clubbed a grand slam as Philadelphia whipped the Los Angeles Dodgers (and Hideo Nomo) 17-4.

22 Aug

table is set

Thursday’s appetizer was good, and the metaphorical salad and dessert that will follow should be also. But the main course, to be served up Saturday at Yankee Stadium, promises to be downright delicious. Boston beat New York 6-3 Thursday night in Game 1 of a four-course series. In Game 2 tonight, the menu gives us Brayan Bello (9-6, 3.23 ERA) against three-time All-Star Max Fried (13-5, 3.26), the former Mississippi Braves standout. And on Saturday, we get a tantalizing matchup of Mississippi natives: Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet vs. Will Warren, an unsung hero in pinstripes. Knives out. Crochet, from Ocean Springs, is a big left-hander, a former first-round pick out of SEC power Tennessee with a huge contract. Warren, from Brandon, is a second-year rookie right-hander, a former eighth-round pick out of Southeastern Louisiana. Crochet is 13-5, 2.43, and a Cy Young Award contender. He beat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 7. Warren is 7-5 with a 4.25, with six of those wins coming at Yankee Stadium, one of them vs. the Red Sox. The series will wrap up as the Sunday night ESPN game. Thursday’s opener, which drew a rowdy crowd of 47,036, was a taut affair, ultimately settled in the ninth inning when Boston’s Roman Anthony mashed a two-run homer into the right-field stands. It was the Red Sox’s sixth straight win against the Yankees. “I love playing in an atmosphere,” rookie Anthony told mlb.com. “We know the rivalry, and it was exciting.” Nathaniel Lowe, the Mississippi State product who signed with Boston on Aug. 18, drove in two runs and made a couple of nice plays with his glove. It was the veteran first baseman’s first taste of Red Sox-Yankees. “It’s like a dream come true,” Lowe told yahoo.com of moving from last-place Washington to the heat of a playoff race. “It’s so exciting to join a team that’s as promising and as talented as what we have going on here.” The second-place Yanks are a half-game ahead of the Red Sox in the American League East, and they sit 4-5 in the wild card standings. P.S. Biloxi Shuckers alum Brice Turang’s 14th homer helped Milwaukee beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1, snap a three-game skid and maintain a 7-game lead in the National League Central. Turang had nine hits, six RBIs and four runs in the Wrigley Field series as the Brewers won two of the five games. … Atlanta announced that Austin Riley had surgery for his abdominal injury, ending the season for the former DeSoto Central star. He hit .260 with 16 homers this year. … Houston, having lost closer Josh Hader for an extended period, signed Craig Kimbrel, the former M-Braves star who has been released by Atlanta and Texas this season. … In the minors, MSU alum J.P. France got the win and ex-Madison Central star Spencer Turnbull took the loss as Triple-A Sugar Land beat Iowa 5-2. France, who just came off a rehab assignment, went five innings (no earned runs) in relief and improved to 1-1 with a 5.52 ERA in his fourth appearance for Houston’s Triple-A club. Turnbull, signed by the Cubs as a free agent on July 12, is 0-5, 8.16, for the I-Cubs after yielding five runs in 4 2/3 on Thursday. … Congrats to Rick Sweet, Jackson Generals manager in 1991-92, for moving into third place on the all-time list with 2,418 minor league wins. Sweet is currently running Milwaukee’s Triple-A Nashville club in his 35th season as a skipper.

13 Aug

straw’s record falls

There’s a new king of Queens: Darryl Strawberry, Jackson Mets star of 1982, has been displaced as the New York Mets’ all-time home run leader by Pete Alonso, who hit No. 253 — and then 254 — on Tuesday night in a romp against Atlanta. Strawberry’s record stood for almost 35 years. The biggest star to come out of the JaxMets’ 16-year run at Smith-Wills stadium, “Straw” hit a franchise record 34 bombs for the Texas League club in ’82. He was in New York the next year, won rookie of the year honors and stayed with the team until 1990, hitting 252 bombs over those nine seasons. For the record, the most homers by a Jackson Generals alum in a Houston Astros uniform is 326 by Lance Berkman. That ranks second on the Astros’ all-time list behind Jeff Bagwell. Berkman hit 24 homers for the 1998 Gens and made The Show the next year. Mississippi Braves alum Freddie Freeman hit 271 homers for the Atlanta Braves, ranking sixth all-time on their impressive list. (Hank Aaron, of course, is far-and-away No. 1.) Freeman hit just two homers in 41 games for the M-Braves in 2009, playing hurt part of that time. … Brandon Woodruff will start today for Milwaukee, which pounded Pittsburgh — and Paul Skenes — 14-0 Tuesday for its 11 straight win. Former Mississippi State and Wheeler High star Woodruff is 4-0 since coming off the injured list on July 6, and the Brewers are 6-0 in his starts and 25-4 since he returned after a year on the shelf. Interesting to note that back in early April, Milwaukee was No. 22 in USA Today’s MLB power rankings. The Brewers are now No. 1 — with the best record in the majors. It’s been that kind of magical run for this club, which features several Biloxi Shuckers alumni, Woodruff among them. P.S. Down on the farm: Brewers No. 3 prospect Cooper Pratt, a Magnolia Heights grad, homered and delivered a walk-off single in the ninth as Biloxi beat Columbus 7-6 at Keesler Federal Park. Pratt, who has faced some challenges in Double-A, is batting .237 with six homers, 48 RBIs and 24 steals. … Ex-Ole Miss star Tim Elko homered twice for Triple-A Charlotte (Chicago White Sox system) and now has 25 on the year, including four in the big leagues. … Landon Tomkins, a Northwest Rankin and Hinds Community College product, got a win in relief in his Double-A debut for Altoona (Pittsburgh). … Luke Hill, 2025 draftee out of Ole Miss, got a hit in his first pro game with Low-Class A Lynchburg (Guardians).

08 Aug

they also serve …

Dave Clark and Travis Chapman won’t throw a pitch or swing the bat this weekend, but they’ll be on the field at Yankee Stadium and involved in the action. Clark, the former Jackson State star from Shannon, and Chapman, a Mississippi State alum, are first-base coaches for Houston and the New York Yankees, respectively. Those teams, rivals with a history and 2025 playoff contenders, will face off in a three-game series. With the likes of Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa and Jazz Chisholm taking hacks in this series, Clark and Chapman figure to be plenty busy playing traffic cop at first base. They are among a sizable group of former players with Mississippi connections who now work in managerial or coaching roles in the big leagues. At one time in 2018, there were seven major league managers with a Mississippi tie, either a school alum or a player or manager for Jackson’s old Texas League club. Today, Brian Snitker, 2005 Mississippi Braves skipper, and Ray Montgomery, who played for the Jackson Generals in the 1990s, are the only two. Snitker is retiring after this season on the heels of a great run in the ATL, the 2025 season notwithstanding. Montgomery is the interim manager for the Los Angeles Angels, presumably just keeping the seat warm for the return of Ron Washington next year. For the Milwaukee Brewers — MLB’s hottest team — Chris Hook, a former Biloxi Shuckers coach and a Jackson Generals pitcher, serves as pitching coach for an outstanding staff, and Starkville native Julio Borbon is the Brewers’ first-base coach. The Crew is hosting the New York Mets this weekend. John Gibbons, former Jackson Mets catcher, is the Mets’ bench coach, and Antoan Richardson, who starred for the Mississippi Braves, is their first-base coach. Laurel native Bobby Dickerson is the infield coach for Philadelphia. Marcus Thames, the Louisville native and East Central Community College star, is the hitting coach for the Chicago White Sox. Jim Hickey, a former Jackson Generals pitching coach, is the longtime pitching coach of the Washington Nationals. The Colorado staff includes Clint Hurdle, skipper of the last JaxMets team in 1990, as bench coach and ex-JaxMets first baseman Ron Gideon as first-base coach. Chris Truby, who manned third base for the Jackson Generals in the mid-’90s, is now a coach for Pittsburgh. P.S. Former Southern Miss standout Landon Harper came within one out of a seven-inning perfect game Thursday for Double-A Columbus in Atlanta’s system. Harper finished with a one-hitter and improved to 3-6 with a 3.67 ERA after the 2-0 win over Rocket City. … Former Jackson Prep star Konnor Griffin homered — his 15th overall this season — for High-Class A Greensboro (Pittsburgh). The minor leagues’ No. 1 prospect is batting .332 with 64 RBIs, 87 runs and 50 steals in 92 games over two levels of A-ball. … Blaine Crim, Mississippi College alum, hit his 19th homer of the year, his first for Triple-A Albuquerque since Colorado claimed him off waivers from Texas. The bomb came against his former team, Round Rock, and erstwhile big leaguer Craig Kimbrel. … The Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly will call up Justin Dean, who played center field for the 2021 Double-A South champion M-Braves. … The North Delta Dealers, behind the two-hit pitching of Eli Akins, won the Cotton States League championship last Sunday, beating regular season champ Tallahatchie 2-1. Hayden Short and Patrick Mangels drove in runs for North Delta. Akins, a 6-foot-6 righty at Delta State, went 6-1 in the New Albany-based college summer league. Tallahatchie finished 14-5-1 this season and led the loop in hitting and pitching.

27 Jul

famous connections

Dave Parker was born in Mississippi and Billy Wagner pitched for the Jackson Generals en route to the big leagues. CC Sabathia, also being formally inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame today, has a peripheral Mississippi connection that is certainly worth noting. When he was making his pro debut in the low minors, pitching for Burlington in August of 1998, Sabathia faced a kid from Meridian named Brian Cole, batting cleanup for Kingsport. “Of course I remember,” Sabathia said in a 2013 Sports Illustrated story, “The Best Player You Never Saw.” “It was my first start as a professional.” The 6-foot-7 Sabathia, the 20th overall pick by Cleveland in the 1998 MLB draft, was already throwing in the upper 90s at age 18. According to Michael McKnight’s wonderful piece, the 5-foot-8 Cole, in his first at-bat, doubled off the wall on a Sabathia fastball. They met again in July of 1999, Sabathia throwing for Columbus, Cole batting for Capital City. Cole took him deep. Sabathia said he never forgot that bomb off the scoreboard. “Brian Cole was the player who showed me I needed to develop an off-speed pitch,” Sabathia, who would win 251 games in The Show, said in the SI story. Cole was one of the most promising players Mississippi has ever produced, but his life was cut tragically short in a 2001 car wreck. He was 22. After starring at Meridian High, he played a year at Navarro Junior College in Texas, hit a reported .524 with 27 homers and was named Baseball America’s juco player of the year. The New York Mets drafted him in the 18th round in 1998, and two years later he was their minor league player of the year and No. 3-rated prospect. P.S. Wagner, who pitched for the Double-A Generals 30 years ago, is the first player from Jackson’s Texas League era (1975-99) to be elected to Cooperstown. A flame-throwing left-hander, he was a seven-time All-Star who registered 422 saves with a 2.31 ERA over 16 seasons in the big leagues. … Grenada native Parker, being inducted posthumously, is the first MLB player born in Mississippi to make the Hall; Starkville’s Cool Papa Bell played in the Negro Leagues during the game’s segregated era. Parker, who should have been elected a long time ago, was a seven-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, three-time Silver Slugger winner, two-time batting champion, two-time World Series champ and one-time National League MVP over 19 seasons (1973-91). … Ichiro Suzuki and the late Dick Allen also are going in today. The ceremony will be televised by MLB Network beginning at 12:30 CDT.