Tag Archives: Jackson Mets

20 Jun

seeing stars

The stars will come out to play on Tuesday at Trustmark Park in Pearl, sometime around 7:30 p.m. The 2016 Southern League All-Star Game will feature a bunch of “local talent,” with Mississippi Braves Dansby Swanson and Dustin Peterson and Biloxi Shuckers Brett Phillips, Garrett Cooper and Jacob Nottingham expected to be in the starting lineup for the South stars, managed by Luis Salazar. Biloxi’s Josh Hader, who leads the league with a 0.95 ERA, and hard-throwing Atlanta prospect Mauricio Cabrera are on the South pitching staff. League home run leader Daniel Palka (Chattanooga), stolen base leader Yefri Perez (Jacksonville) and pitching strikeout leader Jacob Faria (Montgomery) are also on the rosters, along with highly rated MLB prospects such as Amir Garrett (Pensacola), Willy Adames (Montgomery) and Jake Peter (Birmingham). This is the second SL All-Star Game to be held at the TeePee. The other was in 2007, when eight M-Braves played for the South Division team managed by Phillip Wellman. J.C. Holt and Carl Loadenthal had three hits apiece, but the South stars lost the game before an announced 4,555. Jackson hosted two Texas League All-Star Games at Smith-Wills Stadium, in 1984 and 1992. Both were decided by walk-off home runs by East Division stars, the first by the Jackson Mets’ Billy Beane, the second by Greenville native Adell Davenport, who was playing for Shreveport.

29 May

champs like us

The play at the plate – following two relay throws – long will be remembered in Hattiesburg. Southern Miss won its first Conference USA Tournament title since 2010 today, cutting down a Rice runner at home to preserve a 3-2 victory at Taylor Park. And so this remarkable season for Magnolia State baseball barrels ahead. USM’s tournament title is the second for the state in 2016; Delta State won the Gulf South Conference crown. Mississippi State won the regular season title in the SEC, and the Bulldogs will join the Golden Eagles and Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament, all three possibly hosting regionals. And don’t forget that Jones County Junior College, which claimed its region tournament, is still playing in the NJCAA Division II World Series, having won its opener on Saturday. DSU reached the championship round of the NCAA Division II South Region tourney, and William Carey did the same in its NAIA regional, both coming up just short of the World Series in their divisions. P.S. In case anyone was wondering: There were 18 former Jackson Mets who played for the New York Mets during the 1986 championship season, which was celebrated at Citi Field this weekend. The Mets’ Double-A club had been in Jackson for 12 years by 1986 and would play at Smith-Wills Stadium for four more. … In case anyone hadn’t noticed: Jeff Francoeur, the former Mississippi Braves star, was batting .292 for Atlanta heading into today’s game. It’s good to see – and hear – Francoeur getting cheers again at Turner Field. … Debut alert: Former MSU standout Chris Stratton from Tupelo, now in the big leagues with San Francisco, will be the 18th Mississippian (native or college alum) to play in MLB this year when he makes his first appearance.

03 Apr

happy anniversary

Fifty years ago this month, on April 12 to be exact, George Scott made his debut for the Boston Red Sox. The Greenville native, nicknamed Boomer, did not go deep against Baltimore that day, but he did get the first of his 1,992 hits in a career that rates among the best among Mississippians who’ve played major league baseball. Scott, who died in 2013, hit 271 home runs over his 14 MLB seasons, batted .268 and played in three All-Star Games. More than just a slugger, the big first baseman, who also played some third, won eight Gold Gloves. Other anniversaries of note: Eighty years ago, two players from the Coast broke into the big leagues, both in Philadelphia. Biloxi native Red Bullock played 12 games for the A’s in 1936, and Leo Norris, the pride of Bay St. Louis, started a two-year stint with the Phillies. Norris hit 20 homers in his brief time in the majors. In 1946, Jackie Price of Winborn debuted with Cleveland. Flash forward to 1976 for the debut of Hattiesburg native Bobby Myrick, one of the original Jackson Mets of 1975 who pitched parts of three seasons for the New York club. In 1986, Ricky Jones, a Tupelo native, got into 16 games with Baltimore. Vicksburg’s Dmitri Young made the big leagues with St. Louis in 1996 and went on to belt 171 home runs in a 13-year career. And 10 years ago, another Vicksburg product, left-hander Taylor Tankersley, debuted with the Florida Marlins.

25 Nov

now hiring

There figures to be plenty of interest in the Jones County Junior College coaching job, which came open Monday when Christian Ostrander was named pitching coach at Louisiana Tech. JCJC sits in the heart of an area with many strong prep programs. It has a first-rate facility in Community Bank Park. And Ostrander built a winning tradition, going 255-109 in seven seasons with two state championships and a national runner-up finish in 2011. Among the players returning from last year’s 30-16 club is NJCAA Division II second-team All-America catcher Mason Irby, a Southern Miss signee. JCJC officials hope to have Ostrander’s replacement named at the December Board of Trustees meeting, according to a school release. Ostrander is a Monroe, La., native who played at Delta State when current LaTech coach Greg Goff was the pitching coach there. P.S. Kudos to former Jackson Mets star Dave Magadan, who is expected to be named hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

02 Nov

reaching the top

The time came. In the 12th inning of Sunday night’s Game 5, after a leadoff single by Salvador Perez, Jarrod Dyson’s time came. Inserted as a pinch runner by manager Ned Yost, the McComb native stole second base on a 2-0 pitch. He motored to third on a ground out. Then he trotted home on a hit by Christian Colon, putting Kansas City on top of the New York Mets 3-2. That trickle became a flood of runs. The Royals won 7-2, claiming their second World Series title and first since 1985. After a rather muted postseason to that point (five games, four at-bats, two steals, no runs), the ever-adrenalized Dyson seized his moment. He got a bag. Scored the game-winning run. Earned a ring. “This is what you play for,” Dyson, quoted by the Kansas City Star, shouted as he carried the Commissioner’s Trophy around Citi Field. “This is what you play for, baby, right here.” The 50th-round draft pick from Southwest Mississippi Community College was on top of the baseball world. P.S. Props also go to Yost, the old Jackson Mets catcher. Though the Royals made it to Game 7 of the 2014 Series, very few prognosticators had the team even getting into the playoffs again, much less winning it all this fall. Sports Illustrated, for one, pegged KC fourth in the American League Central. Yost’s club plays hard and smart and is really fun to watch.

30 Oct

a memorable moment

Back in 1986, the New York Mets faced a situation similar to the one they face today: Down 0-2 entering Game 3 of the World Series. But while the current club gets Game 3 against Kansas City at its own Citi Field, the ’86 Mets were on the road, at Fenway Park. And one could argue that their comeback in the series was fueled by the outcome of the very first at-bat on Oct. 21, 1986. Lenny Dykstra, the former Jackson Mets star, belted a home run against Boston’s Oil Can Boyd, the Meridian native and Jackson State alum. The Mets would score three more times in the first inning en route to a 7-1 victory. Boyd, in the only World Series appearance of his career, battled for six more innings but wound up with an ugly line: nine hits, a walk, six runs, all earned. (Boyd would be passed over for a possible Game 7 start when a rain delay enabled the Red Sox to roll out Bruce Hurst again. Hurst pitched OK, but the Sox bullpen faltered in the 8-5 loss.) Dykstra went 4-for-5 in Game 3 and scored twice. For all of his faults – and the list seems to keep growing – “Nails” was a money player. He batted .321 in 32 postseason games (with the Mets and Philadelphia), with 10 homers, 19 RBIs and 27 runs.

28 Oct

there and here

Though you won’t find his name on the top prospect charts, former Mississippi State standout Adam Frazier would seem to be a player on the rise. Currently playing in the talent-laded Arizona Fall League, the left-handed hitting shortstop is hitting .333 (8-for-24) for Glendale. Batting leading on Tuesday, he went 2-for-3 with an RBI, two runs and a steal. Frazier, 23, hit .324 at Double-A Altoona in Pittsburgh’s system this season, his third pro campaign, and made the Eastern League’s midseason All-Star Game. He is at .291 for his career with a .353 on-base percentage. … Richton High product JaCoby Jones, a shortstop prospect in Detroit’s system, has been playing some third base in the AFL. “I love short,” Jones told the Detroit Free Press. “I played there all my life … . But if third base is where my future’s at, I’ll start getting better at it.” The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Jones is batting .364 to date for Scottsdale. … Of Atlanta’s top 10 prospects on Baseball America’s recently revealed chart, it’s possible none will be in Pearl to start the 2016 season. No. 1 Hector Olivera already has made the big league club, three of the others were in low Class A in 2015 and three more were just drafted in June. (One of those, Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central High star, checks in at No. 5 after a strong debut season at the lowest levels of the system.) Max Fried pitched in low A in 2014 and missed all of last season with an injury; it seems unlikely the Braves would start him in Double-A. Mallex Smith opened 2015 in Mississippi but finished at Triple-A Gwinnett, and Lucas Sims went 4-2, 3.21 for the M-Braves and is a candidate to be promoted next spring. However, there could be an influx of talent to Mississippi from just outside the BA top 10: Johan Camargo, Connor Lien, Dustin Peterson and Rob Whalen, to name a few. All played at high A Carolina last season. … Former Jackson Generals pitching coach Jim Hickey has signed an extension with Tampa Bay to remain the Rays’ pitching coach through 2018. He has been with the club since 2007. … Ex-Jackson Mets star Dave Magadan, who “parted ways” with Texas after three years as hitting coach, is expected to land another job in the big leagues sometime soon. In a published report, Magadan said he would like to get closer to his Florida home. … East Central Community College product Marcus Thames has been mentioned as a candidate for hitting coach with the New York Yankees. He was the Triple-A hitting coach in their system in 2015. The Yanks are one of four teams Thames played for in his 10-year MLB career.

26 Oct

beyond the goats

The last time – the only time, actually — the Kansas City Royals won a World Series, Greenville native Frank White played a big role for the champs. That was 1985. The last time the New York Mets won a World Series, a host of ex-Jackson Mets had a hand in claiming the ring. That was 1986. Of course, there are famous “goats” associated with both of those Series, umpire Don Denkinger for his missed call in Game 6 in ’85 and Boston first baseman Bill Buckner for his mishandled grounder in Game 6 in ’86. But remembering those Series for the so-called goats does a disservice to the players who shined in those seven-game Fall Classics. White, a five-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner over his 18 seasons, batted .250 with a homer, six RBIs and four runs for the Royals in the ’85 Series against St. Louis. In the ’86 Series, the second of the two titles won by the Mets, Wally Backman hit .333 with four runs, Lenny Dykstra batted .296 with two homers, Mookie Wilson hit .269 with three runs, Jesse Orosco pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and Roger McDowell and Rick Aguilera botch notched wins. All these years later, mention the World Series of 1985 or 1986, and the names of Denkinger and Buckner will come up. That’s understandable, perhaps, but those two names shouldn’t be all we remember.

22 Oct

remembering red

On this date in 1992, Hall of Fame broadcaster Red Barber, a Columbus native, died at the age of 84. Barber called major league games on the radio for 33 years, including stints with the Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. Best known for his many pet phrases – “sittin’ in the catbird seat,” “tearin’ up the pea patch,” “tied up in a croker sack” — Barber also broadcast Jackie Robinson’s historic debut season with the Dodgers in 1947. Barber was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978. P.S. The Jackson Mets, who produced a boatload of big league talent in their time, left Mississippi in 1990, 10 years before the New York Mets made their last World Series appearance. For the record, there was a JaxMets alumnus on the New York club in 2000. Left-hander Rich Rodriguez, who played in Jackson in 1986 and ’88, appeared in 37 games that season but was not on the postseason roster. Drafted by the Mets in 1984, he first made the big leagues in 1990 with San Diego, one of eight clubs he pitched for. Also with the ’00 Mets was ex-Jackson Generals star Melvin Mora, who did play in the Series loss to the Yankees. … Former JaxMets standout Ron Gardenhire has interviewed for Washington’s managerial job. He also interviewed in San Diego. Gardenhire won over 1,000 games and directed six playoff teams in a 13-year stint as Minnesota manager.

18 Oct

cue the highlights

It was a week of chill. Seafood, sunshine and siestas. And baseball on the tube. Lots of it. The past week gave us three Game 5’s in MLB division series play, plus an historic Game 4 clincher at Wrigley Field. There was a season’s worth of highlights in a few short days. We’re left with two former Jackson Mets catchers – Ned Yost and John Gibbons – matching wits as managers in the American League Championship Series, and two Mississippians – Jarrod Dyson and Chris Coghlan – still playing. Alas, the season is over for Tony Sipp, who was almost perfect for Houston; Mitch Moreland, who had a rough ALDS for Texas; and Lance Lynn, who pitched just one inconsequential inning for St. Louis.
To recap the week: On Monday, Pascagoula native Sipp was saddled with a hard-luck loss in the Astros’ pivotal Game 4 loss to Kansas City. That was the game in which the Astros squandered a four-run lead in the eighth inning, hurt by a weird hopper that ticked off Sipp’s glove and bounded past shortstop Carlos Correa for an error. The lone run charged to Sipp was unearned. That same day, ex-Ole Miss standout Coghlan had a hit and a run in the Chicago Cubs’ Game 3 win against St. Louis. … On Tuesday, the Cubs took the series by winning Game 4; it was the first series-clinching win ever at Wrigley. Coghlan, in the postseason for the first time in his career, didn’t play but celebrated with gusto. Lynn, the former Ole Miss ace, had originally been scheduled to start Game 4 for St. Louis, but the Cardinals went with John Lackey on short rest. He got shelled early. … On Wednesday, Toronto beat Texas in a Game 5 that already has become a TV special. Gibbons’ Blue Jays came from behind in the wild and wacky seventh inning, aided by errors on three consecutive plays by the Rangers. Former Mississippi State star Moreland made one of the errors; he also went 0-for-3 in the game and finished the ALDS 0-for-13. That same day, Yost’s Royals beat Houston to win that ALDS in the fifth game. Sipp pitched again. All told, the left-hander made six appearances in his first postseason and allowed no earned runs on a hit and a walk with four strikeouts. Dyson, the Southwest Mississippi Community College product from McComb, got into two ALDS games for the Royals and stole two bases. That’s what he do. … On Thursday, the New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of that series to advance to play the Cubs for the NL pennant. The Mets won the series opener on Saturday and will throw the brilliant Noah Syndergaard tonight against Cubs ace Jake Arrieta. Coghlan is in the lineup for the Cubs, playing right field. … Meanwhile, Yost and Gibbons are plotting strategies for their next meeting in the ALCS, set for Monday at the Rogers Centre launching pad. Yost’s Royals are up 2-0, bidding for a second straight World Series trip.