Tag Archives: Jackson Mets

28 Aug

into the wild

Joey Butler celebrated his return to The Show with a couple of hits, a game-tying RBI and the go-ahead run in Tampa Bay’s 5-4 win over Minnesota, which had won six straight. Pascagoula native Butler was recalled by the Rays on Thursday when Itawamba Community College alum Desmond Jennings went back on the disabled list. The Twins, along with the Rays two of the eight American League teams (excluding current division leaders) within 5 games of a wild card, got a 1-for-3 effort from ex-Southern Miss star Brian Dozier, who scored his 87th run. … In another battle of AL playoff contenders, Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland went 1-for-4 with an RBI (No. 67) to help Texas to a 4-1 victory over Toronto, the AL East Division leader managed by former Jackson Mets catcher John Gibbons. … Former State star Buck Showalter’s Baltimore club, another playoff hopeful, fell to AL Central leader Kansas City 5-3. Southwest Mississippi CC’s Jarrod Dyson had a tough day for ex-JaxMets star Ned Yost’s Royals: 0-for-4 with an error (just his second of the year). … In the slightly less crazy National League, Washington, which was supposed to run away with the East Division title, kept pace (though still 6.5 games out) with the first-place New York Mets by holding off San Diego 4-2. Former State standout Jonathan Papelbon notched his fourth save for the Nationals but yielded a run, a hit, a walk and a balk in his one inning. … Ex-JaxMets skipper Clint Hurdle’s Pittsburgh Pirates grinded out a 2-1 win over Miami and tightened their grip on the first NL wild card spot. The Chicago Cubs lost 9-1 to San Francisco, another postseason contender, and dropped 4 games back of the Bucs, who are trying to keep NL Central leader St. Louis in range. … September is coming, and it’s only going to get better for MLB fans.

16 Aug

celebrate, celebrate …

The party was at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Before a packed house and a national TV audience on Saturday, the first-place Royals celebrated win No. 70 on the season, win No. 900 of Ned Yost’s managerial career and birthday No. 31 for Jarrod Dyson. Dyson, the McComb native and ex-Southwest Mississippi Community College star, partied hard during the game, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs, two steals and an outfield assist to fuel the Royals’ 9-4 victory against the Los Angeles Angels. KC broke the game open with a six-run second inning during which Dyson slapped a two-run single and scored a run. “Any time you get the win, that’s a great day for us,” Dyson, who usually offers something much more colorful, told the Kansas City Star after the game. It was also a great day for Yost, the former Jackson Mets catcher who hushed a lot of doubters by steering this club to the World Series last year. The current Royals have won seven of nine and are running away with the American League Central. P.S. The Houston Astros celebrated their 2005 World Series team on Saturday at Minute Maid Park. Among the stars of that club were Holmes Community College product Roy Oswalt, a 20-game winner, and Jackson Generals alum Lance Berkman, who hit .293 with 24 home runs.

23 Jul

here and there

Jonathan Papelbon worked two scoreless innings and got the victory in Philadelphia’s 5-4 win over Tampa Bay on Wednesday, dropping his ERA to 1.63. He has 16 saves. And yet reports are that interest from other clubs in acquiring the disgruntled former Mississippi State star has waned. Isn’t this odd? … Former Southern Miss star Connor Barron, who went undrafted in June after his senior year, remains unsigned, which raises the question of whether he is healthy. Barron can play. He was an All-State shortstop at Sumrall High, where he played on four Class 3A championship teams. Injuries plagued his first three years at USM, but, after a strong 2014 summer season in the Texas Collegiate League, he put up good numbers for the Golden Eagles this season. A lefty-hitting outfielder, Barron batted .290 with eight homers, 40 runs and 13 steals for a good team. … The first-place Mississippi Braves (16-9) took a six-game win streak, matching their season-best, into Wednesday’s game against Mobile at Trustmark Park in Pearl. When you look at their lineup and stats, you have to wonder, How does this team do it? … Biloxi native Barry Lyons threw out the first pitch at the Biloxi Shuckers game at MGM Park on Tuesday night. Lyons, who starred for Delta State and the Jackson Mets before going on to the big leagues, played an unsung part in bringing pro baseball to the Coast. … Mississippi State’s Jacob Robson is scheduled to play in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game on Saturday. Canada native Robson, a CCBL player of the week earlier this month, is batting .297 with eight RBIs and 11 runs in 24 games for the Bourne Braves. Robson batted .324 with 41 runs in 54 games for the Bulldogs this past season.

15 Jul

exclusive company

The first list is fairly long and includes the likes of Johnny Bench, David Ortiz, David Wright, Bo Jackson, former Atlanta Braves star Javy Lopez and ex-Jackson Mets standout Lee Mazzilli. The second is shorter but no less impressive: Kirby Puckett and Harmon Killebrew. Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier put his name on both lists on Tuesday night when he homered, in his first at-bat, in the All-Star Game. Dozier went deep against Pittsburgh closer Mark Melancon in the eighth inning, helping the American League take a 6-3 victory at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark. It was the 16th time a player has homered in his first career All-Star at-bat; the last player to do it was J.D. Drew in 2008. Dozier became the third Minnesota player to homer in the Midsummer Classic, joining Hall of Famers Puckett and Killebrew. “I might say I don’t deserve to be in that company, I can tell you that,” the ever humble Dozier told mlb.com. For the record, Dozier has 19 homers this season and 42 over the last two. … The idea of having the All-Star Game “count” seemed silly to a lot of people when it first started in 2003. But that’s changing. Listening to Ned Yost, the former Jackson Mets catcher who managed the AL squad, talk about preparing his lineup and game plan, you get a different perspective. He took this thing very seriously. “We tried to punch holes in (the game plan) every which way we could, and we worked it to perfection,” he told mlb.com after the game. Yost’s Kansas City team had home-field advantage in the 2014 World Series, and even though the Royals lost in seven games to San Francisco, he wanted to have that edge again should his team, which currently has the best record in the AL, get there this year. A change is still needed, however. If the game is going to count, fans should not be voting in the starting lineups.

13 Jun

picks who clicked

The record for most players drafted in one year by one team to reach the majors is 17 (1982, New York Mets), this according to Baseball America, which did a splendid retrospective on the MLB draft in a 50th anniversary tribute in the June 19-July 3 issue. Many of the players drafted that year by the Mets turned up on the Jackson Mets teams of 1984-87 that won two Texas League pennants and played for two more. Dwight Gooden, who didn’t play in Jackson, was the Mets’ top pick in ’82, and Rafael Palmeiro, who didn’t sign out of high school and went on to Mississippi State, was their eighth pick. Barry Lyons, the ex-Delta State star from Biloxi, was the 15th pick and starred on the ’85 JaxMets title team before going on to the big leagues. Other players of note in that draft include Roger McDowell, Greg Olson, Floyd Youmans, Steve Springer, Mickey Weston, Kyle Hartshorn, Joe Redfield and Al Carmichael, all of whom played at Smith-Wills Stadium. McDowell, Olson and Youmans enjoyed nice MLB careers. P.S. Ole Miss products Lance Lynn (St. Louis) and Aaron Barrett (Washington) have been put on the disabled list, leaving just five Mississippi-connected pitchers on active rosters in MLB. There have been as many as 11 this season. … Right-hander Mike Broadway, who pitched for the Mississippi Braves from 2009-11, was called up to the big leagues by San Francisco. He didn’t pitch on Friday, but Jesus Sucre did make his mound debut. The ex-M-Braves catcher worked a scoreless inning for Seattle in its 10-0 loss to Houston.

05 Jun

whatever happened to …

Jarrod Dyson still plays for Kansas City, he just doesn’t play very much. The former Southwest Mississippi Community College standout from McComb has appeared in three games since May 17. In 25 games total, Dyson, an outfielder, is batting .219 with five stolen bases and nine runs. Dyson led the Royals with 36 steals in 2014, when he hit .269 in 120 games. He appeared frequently as a defensive replacement (for the since departed Nori Aoki) or pinch runner, but those opportunities have been limited this year. The Royals’ starting outfield of Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Alex Rios (recently back from the disabled list) is pretty solid in all phases of the game. KC, the defending American League champ, is currently 30-21, a game back of Minnesota in the Central. P.S. Oakland reportedly has called up switch-pitcher Pat Venditte, who may soon become the first pitcher to throw both right-handed and left-handed in the same MLB game since Jackson Mets alumnus Greg Harris did it in 1995. Harris, who spent 15 years in the majors, got outs with both arms in a game for Montreal in September of his final season. A natural righty, Harris went 14-20 with a 3.29 ERA for the JaxMets from 1977-79.

08 Apr

so much to remember

The year 2015 brings a bonanza of significant anniversaries for Mississippi pro baseball teams.
On April 19, 1975, 40 years ago, the Jackson Mets played their first game at Smith-Wills Stadium, beating the Arkansas Travelers 6-4 before a crowd of 2,862. Managed by John Antonelli, the original JaxMets went 65-65 and did not make the Texas League postseason. It was not a club of future big league stars. It was a club of Mike Agosto, Craig Casek and Angel Cantres, the team leaders in homers, average and RBIs. There was also Craig Clark, Rich Miller, Randy Trapp and Carlos Sagredo. Jeff Grose went 13-8 with a 3.54 ERA, and Mississippian Bobby Myrick won seven games.
In 1985, 30 years ago, the Jackson Mets won a Texas League championship, the franchise’s third pennant and second in a row under manager Sam Perlozzo. The tone was set in the home opener at Smith-Wills, when Biloxi native and Delta State product Barry Lyons hit a walk-off home run. Lyons, who batted .307 with 11 bombs and 108 RBIs, was one of a bunch of future big leaguers on that club. Some others: Mark Carreon, Keith Miller, Greg Olson, Randy Milligan, Stanley Jefferson and DeWayne Vaughn.
Fifteen years later — in the year 2000 — after Jackson’s Texas League team had moved away to Round Rock, Texas, the DiamondKats took up residence at Smith-Wills for one largely forgettable campaign. The independent club, managed by ex-Ole Miss and MLB star Steve Dillard, posted a 38-74 record and was outscored by almost 200 runs. Crowds were sparse. Some players did manage to shine, however. Mark Carreon, at age 36, joined the team late in the season and hit .340 in 42 games. Casey Myrick batted .329 with nine homers and 56 RBIs, and Jeremy McClain, another Delta State product, went 7-9 with a 3.27 ERA. The roster also included Popeye Cole, Willie Gardner, Jimbo Pinnix, Perry Miley and Rusty Camp, all Mississippi natives.
And 10 years ago, a new era dawned when Double-A baseball returned to central Mississippi. The Mississippi Braves trotted out a team on opening day at brand new Trustmark Park in Pearl that would produce 10 major league players, including Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, Gregor Blanco, Blaine Boyer, Luis Hernandez, Scott Thorman, Macay McBride and Zack Miner. But that original group wasn’t together for very long. McCann went to Atlanta in June, and many others would also move up over the next few weeks. The ’05 M-Braves, managed by Brian Snitker, finished 64-68 overall, failing to make the Southern League postseason. Still, it was a great debut act, one that started a steady stream of talent flowing through Pearl to the big leagues.

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.