Tag Archives: Jackson Generals

08 Jul

seizing the spotlight

On a Detroit team with four 2025 All-Stars, Colt Keith typically plays a supporting role. On Monday, the former Biloxi High star took center stage, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a long home run in the Tigers’ 5-1 win over Tampa Bay at Comerica Park. Actually, no player for the runaway Tigers is on a hotter streak than Keith, batting .435 (10-for-23) over his last seven games. He is batting .321 over his last 15 games with three homers, seven RBIs and 11 runs, mostly out of the leadoff spot. Keith credits a change in his approach for this surge. “Lately, I’ve been swinging, like, 75 percent and just trying to be short to the ball,” he told the Detroit Free Press. The second-year big leaguer, 23, who got a big contract before his rookie season, started slowly this year, batting .181 with a lone homer and five RBIs through April. He is currently at .264 with seven homers, 27 RBIs and 40 runs in 80 games. After playing second base in 2024 — a new position for the lefty hitter — he has bounced between second, first, third and DH this season. Mississippi’s Gatorade player of the year in 2019, Keith was drafted in the fifth — and final — round in 2020 and proved a quick study in the minors, batting .300 over his three seasons. P.S. Washington named bench coach Miguel Cairo as its interim manager after firing Dave Martinez on Sunday. Nationals pitching coach Jim Hickey, who filled that role for the Double-A Jackson Generals some 30 years ago, will stay on, for now. … Mississippi Mud Monsters Brian Williams, Victor Diaz and Travis Holt have been chosen for the Frontier League All-Star Game, set for next Wednesday at Troy, N.Y. The independent Mud-sters resume their homestand tonight against Windy City at Trustmark Park.

07 Jul

arrivals and departures

July 7 is a red-letter date for a large number of players with Mississippi ties. On this date in 2011, former Ole Miss standout Zack Cozart made his MLB debut with Cincinnati. He went 1-for-3 against Milwaukee, launching a nine-year big league career that saw him bat .247 with 85 homers and make the 2017 All-Star Game. Three former Jackson Generals debuted on July 7 (per Baseball Almanac): Todd Jones in 1993, Trent (Trenidad) Hubbard in ’94 and Wade Miller in ’99. Jones and Miller debuted with the Double-A Gens’ parent Houston Astros, Hubbard with Colorado. On July 7, 2005, former Mississippi Braves star Jeff Francoeur crashed The Show with Atlanta, homering in his first game. Two years later, M-Braves alum Jo-Jo Reyes got the call from the big Braves. Also on July 7, in 1990, former Jackson Mets ace Jay Tibbs threw the final pitch of his seven-year MLB career, and in 1996, Jeff Ware — a player/coach for the 2002 Jackson Senators — threw his last MLB pitch, capping an 18-game career. Most notably, July 7, 2012, marked the final game of Tim Dillard’s major league career — but not his pro career. The former Itawamba Community College standout posted a 4.70 ERA over four seasons with Milwaukee. The colorful right-hander, now a Brewers TV analyst, would continue pitching in various leagues until 2020, working 18 pro seasons overall. P.S. Konnor Griffin, the former Jackson Prep star, swiped three bases for High-Class A Greensboro on Sunday, running his season total to 40 over two levels in the Pittsburgh system. He is batting .333 overall with a .532 slugging percentage and 13 homers, but speed might be his best tool. He swiped a jaw-dropping 85 bases at Prep last year, when he won Gatorade national player of the year honors. … Former Southern Miss and Meridian CC star Dalton McIntyre was recently promoted by Atlanta from rookie ball to High-A Rome, where he joins forces with ex-ICC standout Will Verdung. McIntyre hit .388 at USM in 2024 and is batting .259 with 18 steals in his first pro season. Verdung, a 2023 Braves draftee after earning MACCC player of the year honors, is hitting .285 for the Emperors.

21 Jun

big league chew

Matt Wallner’s sixth home run of the season, a rather modest 370-footer, came in the seventh inning Friday night with his team down 8-0. But it was a significant hit for the Minnesota slugger out of Southern Miss. Milwaukee rookie and former Biloxi Shuckers ace Jacob Misiorowski had a no-hitter going at the time. In fact, the 6-foot-7 right-hander had entered the seventh with a perfect game, following up the five no-hit innings he threw in his big league debut last week. A walk to Byron Buxton ended the perfecto and Wallner then took a hanging slider out of the park to end Misiorowski’s night. The Brewers won the game 17-6. … Former state prep stars Austin Riley and Colt Keith also went deep Friday in losing causes, Riley hitting his 12th for Atlanta, Keith his sixth for Detroit. … Spencer Turnbull, the ex-Madison Central standout, made his first start for Toronto — and first since last season with Philadelphia — and it did not go well: The Chicago White Sox touched him up for five runs (four earned) in two innings. Turnbull now has a 7.11 ERA in three games for the Blue Jays, who lost 7-1 Friday. Ex-USM star Nick Sandlin came off the injured list and tossed a scoreless inning in relief for the Jays in his first MLB game in two months. … Former Jackson Generals standout Ray Montgomery is serving as the Los Angeles Angels’ acting manager with Ron Washington sidelined by health concerns. It’s the second time in the four years Montgomery, the team’s bench coach, has stepped in as acting skipper. The Angels lost to Houston 3-2 on Friday. … Will Clark, the former Mississippi State star now a special assistant with San Francisco, is helping Rafael Devers learn the ropes at first base, per reports. Devers, recently acquired from Boston, has never played the position. Clark was a five-time All-Star at first base with the Giants. “He’s very eager to help,” Giants manager Bob Melvin told The Mercury News of San Jose.

08 May

for openers

Opening day for the Mississippi Mud Monsters, the new independent team, is Thursday at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Opening day is always special. When it is punctuated with a win by the home team, it is even moreso. Over the last 50 years, there have been a lot of opening days for pro teams in central Mississippi, every year since 1975, in fact, save for 2001 (no team) and 2020 (COVID shutdown). There are some around who might recall the very first opening day, 50 years ago, at Smith-Wills Stadium, where the Double-A Jackson Mets beat Arkansas 6-4 in a Texas League game. A crowd of 2,800 turned out on a rainy day — and a love affair between city and team began. If you were there in 1984, when Lenny Dykstra put on a show for the JaxMets in a 6-0 win over Tulsa, you remember it. In 1985, Biloxi’s own Barry Lyons belted a walk-off homer for the JaxMets. Both the ’84 and ’85 Mets teams, stocked with future big leaguers, would win league titles. The Jackson Generals, the Houston affiliate that followed the Mets into Smith-Wills in 1991, won their inaugural game at Smith-Wills, 3-2 over Shreveport on a Rusty Harris pinch-hit single in the eighth inning. The 1993 Generals won their first five home games, all against Tulsa, managed by Jackson native Stan Cliburn. The ’93 Gens, featuring Roberto Petagine, Brian Hunter and Jackson’s own Fletcher Thompson, would go on to win the TL pennant. On opening day in 1995, Hattiesburg’s Kary Bridges hit a memorable walk-off bomb for the Gens. The independent Jackson DiamondKats won their first and only home opener in 2000, getting a game-winning hit in the eighth inning from Tupelo’s Willie Gardner. In 2003, the indy Jackson Senators won their opening day game, behind the pitching of Purvis native and staff ace Kenny Rayborn, and would go on to win the Central League championship. Trustmark Park formally opened 20 years ago in April, when the Double-A Mississippi Braves played their much-anticipated home opener. The game drew a crowd of 6,000-plus. That 2005 opening day lineup featured future big leaguers Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, Gregor Blanco, Scott Thorman, Anthony Lerew and Luis Hernandez. The manager was Brian Snitker. Alas, the M-Braves lost to Montgomery 11-6. But it was opening day, and it was still special. Thursday will be, too.

12 Apr

on this date

Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia officially opened on this date in 2004, and Bobby Abreu, the former Jackson Generals standout playing for the Phillies that year, hit the first home run there. Abreu, who played in Jackson in 1994, had a flair for home runs. He hit 16 for the Gens in ’94 and 288 in an MLB career that has gained Hall of Fame attention. He put up nine 20-homer seasons, two of them 30-homer campaigns. He won the All-Star Game Home Run Derby in 2005 with a performance that fans and media still buzz about. The homer he belted on April 12, 2004, against Cincinnati’s Paul Wilson came in a year in which he would win a Silver Slugger award. Alas, the crowd at Citizens Bank, which has become one of the majors’ most raucous venues, didn’t have a lot to roar about that day. Abreu’s bomb was the only run the home team scored in a 4-1 loss.

21 Jan

a breakthrough

The Texas League era lasted 25 years at Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium, and a parade of talented players — All-Stars and World Series champs — passed through with the Double-A Mets and Generals. Billy Wagner, who pitched for the Generals 30 years ago, became the first player from that era (1975-99) to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Results were announced tonight on MLB Network. In his final year on the writers’ ballot, Wagner got 82.5 percent of the vote, clearing the 75 percent threshold. Wagner was a seven-time All-Star who registered 422 saves with a 2.31 ERA over 16 seasons in the big leagues. He ranks first all-time (live-ball era) in opponents batting average (.187), hits allowed per nine innings (6.0) and strikeouts per nine (11.9). In making a case for Wagner’s election, Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci called the little left-hander “historically difficult to hit.” Wagner was a first-round pick by Houston in 1993 out of NCAA Division III Ferrum College. He reached the Double-A Generals in 1995, going 2-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 12 starts, fanning 77 batters and walking 36 in 70 innings. He debuted with the Astros later that year. … Former Generals outfielder Bobby Abreu, in his fifth year on the ballot, got 19.5 percent of the vote, topping the 5 percent mark needed to remain on the ballot for next year. Surprisingly, Brian McCann, one of the best players to pass through Pearl’s Trustmark Park during the Mississippi Braves’ 20-year run, got just 1.8 percent in his first year of eligibility. McCann, a catcher, batted .262 with 282 homers and 1,018 RBIs with seven All-Star Game appearances in a 15-year career. He was the first M-Braves alum to reach the majors, going up to Atlanta in 2005. P.S. Mississippi native Dave Parker previously was elected to the Hall by the Classic Era Committee and will join Cool Papa Bell (Starkville) as the only state natives in Cooperstown. The induction ceremony is set for July 27.

26 Sep

just stuff

The good news for the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday: They beat Miami 8-3 to keep pace in the American League wild card chase, 2 games back of sizzling-hot Detroit and Kansas City. The bad news: Former Southern Miss standout Matt Wallner, one of the Twins’ top power threats, went on the injured list with an oblique injury. “It sucks. Definitely not something I foresaw happening, so not ideal,” Wallner said in a Sports Illustrated story. Wallner has 13 homers and a .523 slugging percentage in 75 games. … Kansas City, which has won two straight after a seven-game skid, is missing ex-Mississippi State star Chris Stratton and Ole Miss alum James McArthur, both on the IL, from its bullpen. McArthur won’t pitch again in 2024. … J.T. Ginn, rookie righty out of MSU, will get the dubious honor of starting today in the A’s final game at Oakland Coliseum, their home since 1968. They’ll play in Sacramento next season. Ginn is 0-1 with a 4.40 ERA in seven MLB games. He’ll face a Texas club that suits up ex-MSU stars Nathaniel Lowe and Justin Foscue. … MSU alum Eric Cerantola, a Kansas City prospect, pitched the last two innings, allowing one unearned run, as Omaha beat Columbus 5-4 in 11 innings to even the International League Championship Series at 1-all. The deciding game is tonight in Omaha. … Former State and Jackson Prep star Jake Mangum won the IL batting title with a .317 average. The fifth-year pro, 28, finished with six homers, 56 RBIs and 20 steals for Durham in the Tampa Bay organization. … On the occasion of Arkansas winning the 2024 Texas League crown on Wednesday night, here’s a tip of the cap to the 1984 TL champion Jackson Mets and the 1994 Jackson Generals, who reached the finals in dramatic fashion. The ’84 JaxMets, featuring the likes of Lenny Dykstra, Billy Beane and Randy Myers, dominated the TL East in the regular season and beat Beaumont for the pennant in six games. The ’94 Generals, the defending league champs, won the TL East playoffs in one of Smith-Wills Stadium’s most memorable games. Down 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth of the decisive Game 5, the Generals got back-to-back home runs from Tom Nevers and Jeff Ball to stun rival Shreveport 2-1. The Gens, whose best player was Bobby Abreu, lost in the TL Championship Series.

13 Aug

what might have been

There were no box scores in the newspapers on this date 30 years ago. The MLB players’ strike started on Aug. 12, 1994, and the season never resumed. No playoffs. No World Series. Zip. Perhaps no team was more devastated by the strike and its fallout than the Montreal Expos, a club loaded with talent — including former Ole Miss star Jeff Fassero – that had the best record (74-40) in MLB. Left-hander Fassero, in his fourth big league season, was 8-6 with a 2.99 ERA when the season was halted. He was part of a staff that included Pedro Martinez, Ken Hill and John Wetteland. The lineup featured Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom, Moises Alou and Cliff Floyd. Felipe Alou was the manager. They were good. Their fans were left to wonder what might have been for a club that only once had made the postseason since its birth in 1969. Some say the lost season was the beginning of the end for the Expos in Montreal, where they never drew well. Ownership began to purge the roster in 1995. Fassero left after the ’96 season. The franchise shifted to Washington in 2005. Fassero pitched 16 years all told in the majors, winning 121 games and striking out 1,643 batters. A fine career. He pitched for three teams that made the postseason, though it’s safe to say none were as talented as the ’94 Expos. P.S. Will Wagner, son of former Jackson Generals standout Billy Wagner, went 3-for-4 in his big league debut Monday for Toronto.

06 Jul

all in a day

On this date in 1994 — 30 years ago — former Pontotoc High star Steve Pegues made his big league debut. Playing for Cincinnati, he pinch hit — for ex-Mississippi State standout Jeff Brantley — and drew a walk against Florida. Funny thing about July 6. A whole bunch of Mississippi-connected players did some pretty interesting things on this date, according to baseball-reference.com. In 1958, Southern Miss alum Jim Davenport got a walk-off RBI HBP for San Francisco against St. Louis. … In 1986, former Jackson Mets standout Jeff Reardon surrendered the last of four home runs mashed by Atlanta’s Bob Horner at Fulton County Stadium; Reardon got the save in an 11-8 Montreal victory. … In 1997, ex-State star Rafael Palmeiro homered, tripled and singled for Baltimore in a 14-9 loss against Detroit; he had two chances to complete the cycle and struck out both times. … In 2001, Vicksburg’s Roosevelt Brown registered a five-hit game, including a homer, for the Chicago Cubs against Detroit in the Cubs’ first game in the Motor City in 56 years. … In 2002, Jackson Generals alum Daryle Ward, playing for Houston, became the first player to hit a ball out of PNC Park and into the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh; the homer traveled an estimated 479 feet. … In 2004, ex-Gens star Richard Hidalgo, playing for the New York Mets, homered for the fifth straight game, a club record. … In 2008, Mississippi Braves alum Yunel Escobar got four hits in nine at-bats in Atlanta’s 7-6, 17-inning win vs. visiting Houston. Eight former M-Braves played in the game, the longest ever at Turner Field. … In 2010, ex-Ole Miss star Seth Smith hit a three-run walk-off bomb for Colorado, capping a nine-run ninth-inning rally against St. Louis. … Also in 2010, Mets ace Johan Santana smacked the only homer of his career, a solo shot off Ole Miss product Matt Maloney, in a 3-0 win over Cincinnati. … In 2011, Stone County High product Fred Lewis hit one of four homers by the Reds, who blew an 8-0 lead but won 9-8 in the 13th against St. Louis.

19 Jun

picks of the lot

For baseball fans who love lists and rankings — and that’s virtually all of us — Bleacher Report has put together an interesting list/ranking of the best players drafted at each of the top 30 slots since 1965. Two of them played their Double-A baseball in the Jackson area: Jason Heyward, rated the best 14th overall pick, and Lance Berkman, pegged as the best at No. 16. Both were impressive during their time in Double-A; if you saw them, you know. Berkman was plucked by Houston out of Rice in 1997 and played for the Jackson Generals at Smith-Wills Stadium the very next season. He hit .306 with 24 homers and 89 RBIs for the Gens en route to a big league career that warranted Hall of Fame consideration. Heyward was drafted by Atlanta out of an Atlanta area high school in 2007 and arrived in Mississippi and Trustmark Park in mid-2009. He hit .352 with seven homers in 49 games for the M-Braves. Still playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Heyward — who homered in his first MLB at-bat in 2010 — has enjoyed a decorated 15-year career in the majors. … Rafael Palmeiro, drafted 22nd overall out of Mississippi State by the Chicago Cubs in 1985, was rated the second-best pick at that spot. Hall of Famer Craig Biggio was No. 1. Will Clark, drafted second overall out of State by San Francisco in 1985, fell somewhere behind Justin Verlander and Reggie Jackson on the list of best No. 2’s. BR named Alex Rodriguez — over Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Chipper Jones, among others — as the best overall No. 1 pick. Some baseball fans would beg to differ. P.S. The infield at Trustmark Park in Pearl has been re-sodded; a crew appeared to be finishing up the work today. Because of “unplayable field conditions” (not related to rain), the M-Braves had to relocate their last homestand (June 11-16) to Madison, Ala., home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas. The team’s next homestand is slated for June 25-30; they last played at the TeePee on June 2.