Tag Archives: Jackson Mets

06 Apr

battle stations

Eli Whiteside, who retired in the off-season at 35, is now San Francisco’s bullpen catcher. Whiteside, a former Delta State star from New Albany, played 216 MLB games spread over 10 years, batting .210 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs. He was in the majors briefly with the Chicago Cubs last season and signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the off-season before opting to retire. … There are still four managers with Mississippi connections in MLB: Former Mississippi State star Buck Showalter in Baltimore, ex-Jackson Mets skipper Clint Hurdle with Pittsburgh and former JaxMets players Ned Yost and John Gibbons in Kansas City and Toronto. Coaches with connections are scattered about, as well: Bobby Dickerson (Laurel resident, Baltimore), Jim Hickey (Jackson Generals coach, Tampa Bay), Bobby Thigpen (State, Chicago White Sox), Mickey Callaway (Ole Miss, Cleveland), Dave Clark (Jackson State, Detroit), Neil Allen (JaxMets, Minnesota), Dave Hudgens (Gens coach, Houston), Alan Zinter (JaxMets, Houston), Dave Magadan (JaxMets, Texas), Roger McDowell (JaxMets, Atlanta), Jeff Branson (Waynesboro, Pittsburgh) and Chris Maloney (State, St. Louis). … Former Southern Miss and MLB star Kevin Young is now a special assistant for the Pirates and spent much of spring training working with Pedro Alvarez, who is shifting from third to first base, as Young did in his playing days. … Former Mississippi Braves managers Brian Snitker and Rocket Wheeler are still running teams in Atlanta’s system, at Gwinnett and Danville, respectively, and ex-M-Braves standout Scott Thorman will manage in Kansas City’s system in 2015. Other minor league skippers with Mississippi ties: Rick Sweet, Gary Allenson, Wally Backman, Al Pedrique, Joe Mikulik, Pedro Lopez and Jimmy Gonzalez.

03 Mar

sad news

Sad to hear about the death of Jeff McKnight, who played for the Double-A Jackson Mets in 1986 and ’87. McKnight, who spent parts of six seasons in the big leagues, lost a 10-year battle with leukemia on Sunday, according to reports. He was 52. The Arkansas native hit .252 with four home runs, 55 RBIs and 71 runs in 132 games for the ’86 JaxMets, who reached the Texas League Championship Series under manager Mike Cubbage. McKnight played five positions, mostly second base, and even pitched a little. He spent part of the ’87 season in Jackson before going to Triple-A Tidewater. He made his big league debut in 1989 with the New York Mets. P.S. On a brighter subject, Anthony Alford, the former Mr. Baseball from Petal, got in as a pinch runner today in Toronto’s spring training game and scored a run. Also showing up in the box scores from the first true Grapefruit and Cactus League games of 2015: Mississippi State product Jacob Lindgren (2/3 inning, two hits, two runs, both unearned, one strikeout) with the New York Yankees; Starkville native Julio Borbon (1-for-1 with an RBI and a run) with Baltimore; and Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton (1-for-3 with a run) and ex-Ole Miss standout Zack Cozart (1-for-2 with an RBI) with Cincinnati.

24 Feb

speed reader

Jarrod Dyson is all about that next base, which is most evident from his stolen base numbers. The Southwest Mississippi Community College product has swiped 100 bags over the last three seasons for Kansas City, with a team-high 36 in 2014. Plus, he goes first to third like a jackrabbit. His speed also plays in center field, where he gets to a lot of balls. Last season, Dyson played 691 1/3 defensive innings over 108 games, posting a .983 fielding percentage on 236 chances with four errors and four assists. Beyond those numbers, ESPN the Magazine’s March 2 issue presents a list of the American League’s top outfielders under the category of “Highest Defensive Runs Above Average in 2014.” Dyson ranked No. 1, ahead of teammates Alex Gordon (a Gold Glover) and Lorenzo Cain, who were 2 and 3. Not sure what that stat means, but it must be significant. The Royals did win the AL pennant. And Dyson, who doesn’t play regularly, got a $1.23 million contract for the coming season. P.S. A story about MLB replacement players from spring training 1995 in the Feb. 23 issue of Sports Illustrated includes references to former Jackson Mets standout Terry Blocker and Mississippians Oil Can Boyd, Chris Brown and Ted Williams. Boyd, from Meridian and Jackson State, was attempting a big league comeback in ’95 — when owners locked out the regular players from spring training — as was Jackson native Brown, aka Downtime Brown or the Tin Man. Williams, a star at Columbus’ Caldwell High who went on to play at Alabama, never made the majors but was an intriguing talent. In 10 seasons in various minor and indy leagues, Williams stole 458 bases, including 74 and 71 in back-to-back campaigns in A-ball. His nickname, the SI story notes, was the Splendid Sprinter, a clever takeoff on the Splendid Splinter moniker given to his namesake, Hall of Famer Ted Williams. … Add Brent Leach to the list of Mississippians in major league camps. The 32-year-old right-hander is a non-roster invitee with Milwaukee; he pitched the last couple of years in the Brewers’ minor league system, including stints at Huntsville in the Southern League. Leach, a Brandon High, Southern Miss and Delta State alumnus, last pitched in the majors in 2009 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who drafted him in the sixth round in 2005. … And scratch from the spring invite list ex-Hattiesburg High pitcher Robert Carson, whose 50-game drug suspension apparently cost him his spot with the Dodgers.

13 Jan

totally random

Today’s subject: Chico Walker. Jackson native Walker, given name Cleotha, had a rather unremarkable big league career. Drafted out of a Chicago high school by Boston in 1976, he played parts of 11 years in The Show but got into only 526 games. A 5-foot-9 switch-hitter, he batted .246, hit 17 homers, stole 67 bases. However, Walker’s name does appear on a noteworthy list — a list that includes Ole Miss alum Steve Dillard and ex-Jackson Mets star Dave Magadan, other familiar names like Ryne Sandberg, Bill Madlock, Davey Lopes and Ron Cey and forgettable ones such as Carmen Fanzone, Domingo Ramos, Ty Waller and Augie Ojeda. Chicago Cubs fans might recognize these names as belonging to the subset of players who toiled at third base at Wrigley Field between Ron Santo’s departure in 1974 and Aramis Ramirez’s arrival in 2003. Among the throng who got that opportunity, 44 of them appeared in at least 50 games at the hot corner. Chico Walker was one of them. His best season was 1991, when he batted .257 with six homers, 34 RBIs and 13 steals in 124 games for the Cubbies. He made 47 starts at third that year and 10 more appearances there. P.S. Former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn, now with the St. Louis Cardinals, could get a record reward in salary arbitration if he goes that route. The record, as mlb.com reports, is $4.35 million for a first-year arbitration-eligible starting pitcher. Right-hander Lynn won 15 games for the Cards in 2014 and has 49 W’s in four years; he’s going to get a nice contract, whether in arbitration or pre-arbitration negotiation.

18 Oct

spirit of ’76

The most famous player on the 1976 Jackson Mets arguably was pitcher Mike Scott, who became a Cy Young award winner. You could make a case for outfielder Lee Mazzilli, who played briefly in Jackson that season and went on to be a fairly successful big leaguer. A few others from that team also made the majors, including Roy Lee Jackson, Dwight Bernard and, of course, Ned Yost, who is certainly the most talked-about former JaxMets player at the moment. The Kansas City Royals manager played 83 games for Jackson in ’76, which was the second year the New York Mets’ Double-A club operated at Smith-Wills Stadium. Yost, a catcher, batted just .199 with three homers and 25 RBIs for manager John Antonelli. Yost was back in Jackson to start the 1977 campaign, batted .309 in 30 games and was promoted to Triple-A Tidewater, where he hit .299 with 12 homers in 60 games. He made it to the big leagues in 1980 with Milwaukee. Yost married a Jackson girl, and their son, former minor league player Ned Yost IV, was born in the Capital City in 1982. P.S. Gavin Collins, a catcher who made the All-SEC Freshman team in 2014 for Mississippi State, clubbed a walk-off homer Friday night as the Gray beat the Maroons 4-3 in a fall ball scrimmage in Starkville. The Bulldogs will play an intrasquad game at Smith-Wills today at 4 p.m. … Former State star Tyler Moore hit his first homer on Friday in the Dominican Winter League.

01 Oct

speed thrills

Is it safe to assume that Jarrod Dyson will never forget the first postseason game of his MLB career? The former McComb High and Southwest Mississippi Community College standout got a piece of a record in addition to the thrill of a dramatic victory in Kansas City’s first postseason game in 29 years. The Royals beat Oakland 9-8 in 12 innings in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Game at a raucous Kauffman Stadium. KC trailed 2-0, 7-3 and 8-7 but used seven stolen bases and four sac bunts to claim the win-or-go-home contest. “That’s the most incredible game I’ve ever been a part of,” Royals manager Ned Yost, the former Jackson Mets catcher, told mlb.com. The seven steals tied a postseason record, held by two other clubs, and seven different players with steals set a postseason mark. Dyson got one of those bags. He entered the game in the ninth inning as a pinch runner, with the Royals down 7-6. He was bunted to second, stole third and scored the tying run on a sac fly. Dyson, rated the fastest player in the AL in a Baseball America survey, swiped 36 bases in 43 attempts this season. He led the league with 10 steals of third base. In 359 MLB games, the former 50th-round draft pick has 120 steals. Speed, it would appear, is back as a weapon in the big leagues. And on that subject, it wouldn’t be surprising to see former Mississippi Braves star Gregor Blanco have an impact on tonight’s NL Wild Card Game with his legs. Blanco, who figures to hit leadoff for San Francisco at Pittsburgh, stole 16 bases in 21 tries this year and also banged out six triples.

30 Sep

a touch of history

The last time before today that the Kansas City Royals were on the field for a postseason game was Oct. 27, 1985. It was Game 7 of the World Series, and Greenville native Frank White was playing second base for the host Royals when Bret Saberhagen got the final out of an 11-0 win against St. Louis. White batted fifth that day, behind George Brett, and went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run. The eight-time Gold Glove award winner also had five assists. White, a five-time All-Star, spent all 18 of his MLB seasons with the Royals, from 1973-90, batting .255 with 160 home runs and 168 stolen bases. He is currently living in the KC area and running for a seat in the county legislature, according to a recent New York Times story. McComb native Jarrod Dyson will be on the roster for the Royals’ wild card game in KC today against Oakland. Dyson, a left-handed hitter, won’t start vs. A’s lefty Jon Lester, but he’s likely to get in the game as a defensive replacement or pinch runner. P.S. Former Ole Miss standout Drew Pomeranz, a lefty who can start or relieve, has a good chance to make Oakland’s postseason roster. He put up a 2.38 ERA in 20 games. … There are a handful of managers and coaches with Mississippi ties involved in the postseason. Former Mississippi State standout Buck Showalter manages Baltimore, ex-Jackson Mets star Ned Yost Kansas City and former JaxMets skipper Clint Hurdle Pittsburgh. Jackson native and MSU alumnus Chris Maloney is St. Louis’ first-base coach; Tupelo native and Jackson State product Dave Clark is Detroit’s third-base coach; Waynesboro native Jeff Branson is the Pirates’ hitting coach; Laurel resident (and former Southern League manager) Bobby Dickerson is the Orioles’ third-base coach; and Southern Miss product Jim Davenport is a special assistant with San Francisco. Davenport, in his 50th year with the organization, is a former Giants player, coach and manager. … Sad to see former JaxMets infielder Ron Gardenhire ousted as Minnesota’s manager, but he had a good run with six division titles during his 13-season stint.

27 Sep

central casting

Kansas City, managed by former Jackson Mets catcher Ned Yost and with Mississippi natives Jarrod Dyson and Louis Coleman on its roster, celebrated — quite exuberantly, it should be noted — its first playoff berth in 29 years on Friday after beating the White Sox 3-1 in Chicago. The Royals, currently in a wild card position, can still win the American League Central title outright, and they can give some thanks to Brian Dozier, the former Southern Miss star from Tupelo, for that. Dozier, with Minnesota, went 3-for-5 with a home run (No. 22), three RBIs and three runs to spark the visiting Twins to an 11-4 win over AL Central leader Detroit. The Tigers are 89-71, up just one game on the 88-72 Royals with two left in the regular season. … St. Louis can clinch the National League Central title today with a win at Arizona and a loss by second-place Pittsburgh at Cincinnati. Ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn is on the bump for the Cardinals. He is 15-10 with a 2.73 ERA and can notch his 50th career win today. Lynn and the Cardinals could get some help from UM product Zack Cozart and Taylorsville High alumnus Billy Hamilton, who suit up for the Reds. Hamilton’s status for today is unclear; the rookie outfielder suffered a mild concussion making a sensational catch on Wednesday and has not played since. P.S. Congratulations to Steve Knight, the William Carey University basketball coach and a onetime USM baseball player, on his election to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

24 Sep

managerial material

If you haven’t noticed, Tim Bogar, the former Jackson Mets shortstop, has done a pretty impressive job as the interim manager in Texas. After a slow start under Bogar, the injury-thinned Rangers have won 10 of 11 and are 11-6 overall since Bogar stepped in for Ron Washington, who resigned on Sept. 5. Surely Bogar, a successful minor league manager, will be considered for the job next season. … Meanwhile, ex-JaxMets catcher John Gibbons will return in Toronto in 2015, according to reports. Gibbons is 154-165 in his second stint with the Blue Jays, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday. Toronto, which faded this year after a great start, hasn’t made the postseason since 1993. … Clint Hurdle, the 1990 Jackson Mets skipper, celebrated the clinching of a second straight playoff appearance on Tuesday after his Pittsburgh club beat Atlanta. … Former JaxMets catcher Ned Yost has Kansas City on the brink of its first playoff berth since 1985 yet still seems to attract more than his share of criticism for his game management. The Royals won their 86th game on Tuesday, matching last year’s total with five games left, and have posted their best back-to-back years since 1979-80. Yost is in his fifth season at the KC helm. … In Minnesota, the last-place Twins have clinched a fourth straight 90-loss season, but former JaxMets shortstop Ron Gardenhire reportedly will return as manager in 2015 – if he wants to. Gardenhire, 56, steered the club to six division titles in a nine-year stretch, but hasn’t sniffed the postseason since 2010, when he was the American League’s manager of the year. … The only question about the future of Buck Showalter, the onetime Mississippi State star, is whether he’ll win AL manager of the year for the job he has done in Baltimore. … Wondering what the shakeup in Atlanta will mean for the minor league field personnel. Aaron Holbert has done a good job as manager of the Double-A Mississippi Braves the last three years and would seem deserving of a promotion. But who knows how much change is coming for the Braves?

20 Sep

glory days

It would be remiss to let September end without another nod to the 1984 Jackson Mets. Thirty years ago this month, the JaxMets won the Texas League championship, the second of five pennants the franchise would claim during its 25-year run at Smith-Wills Stadium. The ’84 OJMs (from the “Our Jackson Mets” pregame intro) went 83-53 overall and won both halves handily in the TL East with a roster that included, at one time or another, 19 players who made it to the big leagues. There were so many players who made huge contributions that season it’s hard to note them all. Calvin Schiraldi went 14-3 with a 2.88 ERA and was the league’s pitcher of the year. Lenny Dykstra led the league in runs with 100; he also stole 53 bases while batting .275 with six homers and 52 RBIs. Billy Beane, in what he called his “junior year” in Jackson, had a breakout season: .281, 20 homers, 72 RBIs, 26 steals. Bill Max, who never made the majors, had a TL-best 16 game-winning RBIs plus 11 bombs. Al Pedrique led the league’s shortstops with a .961 fielding percentage. He also hit .285. Dave Cochrane led the team with 22 home runs. Ed Hearn — a platooning catcher — batted .312 with 11 homers and 51 RBIs. Randy Milligan hit .275 with nine homers and 34 RBIs in half a season before being injured. Joe Graves had 17 saves and nine wins out of the bullpen. Jeff Innis notched eight saves. Floyd Youmans won six games and fanned 87 batters in 86 innings. Other pitchers of note included Jay Tibbs, Randy Myers, Rick Aguilera and Roger McDowell. There was even a Mississippian on the club: ornery left-hander Rich Pickett, of Crystal Springs, who went 5-0 with four saves and a 2.27 ERA in 23 appearances. The JaxMets beat a very good Beaumont team — a San Diego Padres affiliate that went 89-47 that season — in six games in the TLCS. Sam Perlozzo earned TL manager of the year honors. The next year, he took a very different club (led by Biloxi’s Barry Lyons) and won the pennant again. Those truly were the glory days at old Smith-Wills. P.S. Props to Williams Perez and Kyle Kubitza for being named by the Atlanta Braves as the pitcher and hitter of the year at Double-A Mississippi. There were several others who could have won the awards on a very talented club that missed making the Southern League postseason by a hair.