29 Jan

winter warriors

The Charros de Jalisco, with Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton batting leadoff and playing center field, won the Mexican Pacific League championship on Tuesday night and advanced to the Caribbean Series. The MPL champs will play Friday (10 p.m., MLB Network) against the champion of the Puerto Rican Winter League — Indios de Mayaguez — in Mexicali, Mexico. Hamilton, a longtime major leaguer with 326 career stolen bases, batted .246 with a league-best 38 steals and 49 runs in 64 games for Jalisco this season. He hit .243 in the MPL postseason, scoring 12 runs and swiping six more bags. The 34-year-old Hamilton last played in the big leagues in 2023 (three games with the Chicago White Sox). Former Mississippi Braves and big league star Julio Teheran pitched for Jalisco this season. … Incidentally, the dramatic home run by Junior Caminero that won the Dominican Winter League title on Monday night — and became a viral sensation — was hit off former M-Braves closer Jairo Asencio. Asencio played under the name Luis Valdez in 2008, when he saved 28 games for the Southern League champion M-Braves. Caminero’s Leones de Escogido team plays Venezuela on Friday (3:30, MLBN) in Mexicali. … The Venezuelan Winter League champ is the Cardenales de Lara. Former M-Braves Gorkys Hernandez — who spent parts of six years in the big leagues — and Hendrik Clementina played for Lara this season. Rosters for the Caribbean Series have not been announced. P.S. Regi Grace, former Madison Central High standout, has signed with Washington of the independent Frontier League. Grace put up a 3.94 ERA in 133 career games over six seasons in the Minnesota system, working at the Double-A level in 2024.

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.

16 Jan

taking a dip

Austin Riley tumbled in MLB Network’s ranking of the Top 10 Third Basemen Right Now, from No. 1 last year to No. 5. But that ranking ought to come with an asterisk. The former DeSoto Central High standout’s ’24 season was limited by injuries to 110 games — he went down for the year on Aug. 18 with a broken hand — but he still managed to hit 19 home runs while playing top-notch defense. He batted .256 and drove in 56 runs, scored 63 and posted a .783 OPS. He finished behind Jose Ramirez, Rafael Devers, Alex Bregman and Manny Machado in the MLB Network ranking. In 2023, when he was tops on that chart, Riley was an All-Star and batted .281 with 37 homers and 97 RBIs. Atlanta will be counting on a bounce-back year from the 27-year-old Riley, one of several Braves stars who were injured in 2024. … Another former Mississippi Braves star, William Contreras, now with Milwaukee, was ranked as the No. 1 catcher by MLB Network, and Biloxi Shuckers alum Devin Williams, now with the New York Yankees, was ranked No. 1 among relief pitchers. Ex-M-Braves star Michael Harris II checked in at No. 4 on the center field chart. P.S. Ex-Mississippi State standout J.P. France, now with Houston, told mlb.com that he hopes to be back in action in July after having shoulder surgery last summer. Right-hander France went 0-3 with a 7.46 ERA in five starts for the Astros in 2024 after winning 11 games as a rookie in 2023.

12 Nov

ring the bell

It’ll come as no surprise if Brent Rooker is awarded the Silver Slugger at DH in the American League. The former Mississippi State star hit .293 with 39 homers, 112 RBIs, 82 runs, 26 doubles, 11 steals, a .927 OPS and a 5.6 WAR for the (no longer Oakland) Athletics. All of those numbers were easily career-highs for the fifth-year big leaguer. He was tied for fourth in the AL in homers and ranked third in RBIs. No other Mississippian (native or school alum) came close to Rooker’s production this season, making Rooker a slam-dunk choice for the Cool Papa Bell Award. Other winners of the Bell — given here for the best performance by a Mississippian in MLB — include Justin Steele, Austin Riley, Tim Anderson, Corey Dickerson, Mitch Moreland, Brian Dozier, Desmond Jennings, Lance Lynn, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Chris Coghlan. For the record, Rooker made $750,000 this past season; he is due for a big jump in salary arbitration. P.S. Vicksburg native Dmitri Young was a guest on MLB Network’s Hot Stove show today and did an engaging interview ranging from his baseball card collection to his rising star nephew Quentin to his first MLB game against studio host Al Leiter. Young hit 171 homers in a 13-year big league career. … Jared Johnson, who powered Class 1A Smithville High to a state championship back in 2019, has been traded by Atlanta to the A’s for infielder Nick Allen. Johnson, 23, posted a 2.60 ERA as a reliever at High-Class A Rome in 2024 and has a 3.98 over his five minor league campaigns. The 6-foot-2 right-hander has 225 strikeouts in 183 1/3 career innings. Allen is a good defensive shortstop who hasn’t hit in limited big league time. … Former Biloxi Shuckers star Jackson Chourio, now with Milwaukee, was named a finalist for National League rookie of the year. He hit .275 with 21 homers and 22 steals. … Shuckers alum Brice Turang, a Gold Glove winner at second base, won the NL’s Platinum Glove as the best overall defensive player in the league. Turang was a first-round pick by Milwaukee in 2018 and played for the Double-A Shuckers in 2021. He posted a .989 fielding percentage with just seven errors at second base in 2024. He had 379 assists and a hand in 78 double plays. He led all major league players with 22 Defensive Runs Saved in 2024 per mlb.com and all NL fielders in Baseball Reference’s Defensive Wins Above Replacement stat. … Louisville native Marcus Thames apparently will be retained as hitting coach of the Chicago White Sox, who recently named Will Venable as their manager for 2025. The ChiSox went 41-121 last season, worst record in modern MLB history. … Brett Wellman, son of former Mississippi Braves manager Phillip Wellman, has been named manager of the Down East Bird Dawgs, who’ll join the Mississippi Mud Monsters as an expansion team in the independent Frontier League next year. Brett Wellman, a bullpen catcher for the M-Braves when his dad was manager, played three years in the Toronto system.

08 Nov

odds and ends

Former Ole Miss standouts Derek Diamond and Kemp Alderman made the National League roster for Saturday’s Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game (7 p.m., MLB Network), though Alderman will not participate. Right-hander Diamond, a 2022 draftee by Pittsburgh, has a 2.45 ERA in seven AFL games; he pitched at the High-Class A level this past season. Alderman, a Miami prospect drafted in 2023, is second in the league with six homers but is not currently active. The list of Mississippians who have participated in the AFL’s showcase game en route to the big leagues over the years includes Austin Riley, Hunter Renfroe, Colt Keith, Brian Dozier, Chris Stratton, Billy Hamilton, Zack Cozart, Anthony Alford and Braxton Lee. … Also on Saturday, Ole Miss product Tim Elko will suit up for Team USA in the opener of the World Baseball Premier 12 Tournament in Mexico. The U.S. plays Puerto Rico. Elko had been playing in the AFL following a strong season in Double-A and Triple-A for the Chicago White Sox. Mississippi Braves alum Drake Baldwin, a touted catching prospect, is also on the Team USA roster. … Former Mississippi State stars Brent Rooker and Jordan Westburg along with Biloxi High alum Colt Keith are among the American League finalists for Silver Slugger Awards, honoring the top hitters at each position in each league. The winners will be announced on Tuesday. Rooker, who hit 39 home runs this year with the Athletics, is a finalist at DH; Westburg, a 2024 All-Star with Baltimore, is up for the award as a utility player; and Keith, who batted .260 as a rookie with Detroit, is one of three candidates at second base. Other finalists include former M-Braves Freddie Freeman (first base, Los Angeles Dodgers), William Contreras (catcher, Milwaukee) and Shea Langeliers (catcher, A’s). … Cooper Pratt, the former Mississippi prep player of the year at Magnolia Heights, won a Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove award at shortstop, one of just nine honorees from all of the minors. The second-year pro made only eight errors in 338 chances at two levels of A-ball in Milwaukee’s system. The Brewers’ No. 2-rated prospect by MLB Pipeline, he also batted .277 with eight homers, 45 RBIs and 27 steals. … Former Madison Central standout Regi Grace was among the 500-plus players who became minor league free agents this week. Grace, a 6-foot-2 right-hander, was 1-4 with a 4.19 ERA in 31 games at the Double-A level in Minnesota’s system. Drafted by the Twins in 2018, Grace has a 3.94 career ERA. Onetime big league pitchers Konnor Pilkington, a Mississippi State alum, and Michael Rucker, a Columbus native, also hit the market, as did ex-MSU standout Hunter Stovall. Stovall, 28, is a .277 career hitter who spent the last two seasons with Colorado’s Triple-A team. … Former Biloxi Shuckers Sal Frelick, Milwaukee’s right fielder, and Brice Turang, Brewers second baseman, won 2024 Gold Gloves in the National League, while Mississippi Braves alum Dylan Moore, who played six different positions for Seattle, picked one up as a utility player in the American League. All three were first-time winners. … Dave Parker, the Grenada native and seven-time MLB All-Star, is up for the National Baseball Hall of Fame again as part of the Classic Baseball Era ballot. The electees will be announced Dec. 8. MLB Network’s Dan Plesac, who played with Parker in Milwaukee, says “The Cobra” should be in the Hall, calling him a “marvelous teammate” who was “full of life” and “brought energy to the clubhouse.” Over a 19-year career (1973-91), Parker batted .290 with 339 home runs, 1,493 RBIs, 154 stolen bases and 143 outfield assists. Parker “knew he was good,” Plesac said in a recent broadcast, “and he was good.”

31 Oct

a memory evoked

Los Angeles rallied from a five-run deficit Wednesday night to win Game 5 — and the World Series — evoking a painful memory for Atlanta fans but no doubt a thrilling one for Hattiesburg native Charlie Hayes. According to baseballreference.com, the only other time a team has squandered a lead of five runs or more after five innings and lost a Series game was in Game 4 in 1996. The Braves, up 2-1 in the Series, led 6-0 after five innings but fell to the New York Yankees 8-6 in 10 at old Fulton County Stadium. Hayes played a role in the rally. He had an RBI hit in the three-run sixth and another knock in the eighth, when Jim Leyritz’s three-run homer off Mark Wohlers crushed the soul of Braves fans and tied the score 6-6. Hayes also reached on an error that scored the final run in New York’s two-run 10th. The former Forrest County AHS star went 3-for-5 in Game 4 — his only hits in the six-game Series — and three days later at Yankee Stadium caught the foul pop that closed out the Yankees’ championship. A midseason pick-up by the Yankees in ’96, Hayes played 14 years all told in the big leagues (1998-2001), batting .262 with 144 homers and winning the one ring. P.S. Dodgers first baseman and Mississippi Braves alum Freddie Freeman, 6-for-20 with four homers and 12 RBIs against the Yankees, was named the MVP of the 2024 Fall Classic, becoming the first Mississippi-connected player to win that award. No native or college alum has done so. … In the Arizona Fall League on Wednesday, Ole Miss product Tim Elko went 3-for-5 with a double, a homer (his fourth), four RBIs and three runs for Glendale. The Chicago White Sox prospect is hitting .267 in the AFL.

28 Oct

save the date

Mississippi’s new pro team has announced a schedule for 2025, with opening day set for May 8 at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The Mud Monsters, yet to announce a manager or a roster, will play a 96-game schedule — 48 home dates spread over nine homestands — in the independent Frontier League, an 18-team league comprised mainly of teams in the Midwest and East Coast (plus three in Canada). The Mud Monsters’ inaugural game will be against the Florence (Ky.) Y’alls. The Mud Monsters are moving into the 5,500-seat stadium vacated by the Mississippi Braves, the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Diamond Baseball Holdings, the franchise owner, has moved the club to Columbus, Ga., presumably because of flagging attendance. (Baseball America noted that the 20-year-old Pearl ballpark needed some upgrades to meet MLB’s minor league standards.) … The Mud Monsters will be the seventh pro team to play in central Mississippi going back to 1953, when the original Jackson Senators pulled up stakes after their downtown stadium was destroyed by a tornado. Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium hosted the Mets, Generals, DiamondKats and Senators before the M-Braves arrived in Pearl in 2005. The Mud Monsters franchise is owned by Joseph Eng, an executive with Billtrust who also owns a franchise in the indy American Association. TBH Sports and Entertainment has been managing the ballpark, which is owned by Bloomfield Equities, a subsidiary of Yates Construction, which built the stadium.

26 Oct

celebrate, celebrate …

There were two wild celebrations in baseball on Friday, the one at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and another at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taiwan, where Kirk McCarty and his CTBC Brothers teammates celebrated a Chinese Professional Baseball League title. McCarty, the former Southern Miss standout from Hattiesburg, won Game 3 for the Brothers, working 5 1/3 shutout innings in a 10-0 win over Uni-President that put the club up 2-1 in the best-of-7 Taiwan Series. CTBC won the clincher 12-6 on Friday for the franchise’s 10th CPBL crown. McCarty went 5-3 with a 2.76 ERA for CTBC in his first season in Taiwan after a year in the Korean Baseball Organization, where the little lefty won nine games in 2023. Drafted by Cleveland out of USM in 2017, McCarty made the big leagues in 2022 and posted a 4-3, 4.54, ledger for the Guardians. He won two C-USA titles with the Golden Eagles. P.S. Former Mississippi Braves pitcher Evan Phillips was a late scratch from Los Angeles’ World Series roster, reportedly because of minor arm soreness. The Dodgers added pitchers Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol to the 26-man squad, and both worked effectively in the 6-3 win capped by M-Braves alum Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning. … Brennon McNair, Magee High product, had a disappointing fourth year in pro ball, batting .193 for Low-Class A Columbia in the Kansas City system. The 22-year-old outfielder, who can also play third base and shortstop, will get a chance to redeem himself in the Australian Baseball League, where he’ll play for Brisbane starting next month. McNair did have some highlights in 2024, hitting eight homers, 15 doubles and two triples and swiping nine bases in 87 games. His career average is .207 with 18 bombs.

25 Oct

names to know

There are no Magnolia State natives or school alums on the active rosters for this year’s World Series, though there are some significant state connections. Former Mississippi Braves star Freddie Freeman plays first base and Evan Phillips, another M-Braves alum, pitches for Los Angeles. Trent Grisham, who played for the Biloxi Shuckers, is a reserve outfielder for New York. Ex-Mississippi State star Travis Chapman also suits up for the Yankees and enjoys the privilege of slapping hands with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, et al., as they start their home run trek. Chapman, the Yankees’ first-base coach, was an outstanding third baseman who played on two College World Series teams at State before enjoying a nice pro career (.286 average) that included one at-bat in The Show in 2003. He played his last game in 2006 and then became a manager and coach in the Yankees’ minor league chain. He joined the big club in 2022. Grisham belted 20 homers in 79 games for Biloxi in 2017-18 and hit nine this year for the Yankees, but the lefty hitter has yet to appear in this postseason. Freeman, who has pronounced himself a “100 percent go” for tonight’s Game 1 despite an ankle injury, played for the M-Braves in 2009; he hit .248 with two homers and 24 RBIs in 41 games. He made the big leagues in 2010 and is an eight-time All-Star and former MVP. Phillips did two stints in Pearl (2016 and ’17), appearing in 37 games as a reliever. He reached Atlanta in 2018 and was traded to Baltimore during that season. The right-hander has yet to allow a run in 12 postseason appearances over four years with the Dodgers. … Andy Fletcher, an Ole Miss alum and Olive Branch resident, is on the umpiring crew for the Series and will be behind home plate for Game 2 at Dodger Stadium. A 25-year vet in MLB, Fletcher was behind the plate in Korea for Game 2 of the 2024 season when the Dodgers played San Diego. … Brent Rooker, MSU alum now with Oakland, will serve as a correspondent for MLB Network in Game 3 of the Series at Yankee Stadium, doing pre- and postgame interviews. P.S. In the previous 11 World Series matchups featuring the Dodgers and Yankees, the only one in which a Mississippian played any type of role was the 1941 meeting. Morton native Atley Donald, nicknamed Swampy, started Game 4 for the Yankees and stood to get the loss before Mickey Owen’s infamous ninth-inning passed ball allowed the Yankees to mount a winning rally en route to taking the Series 4-1. Right-hander Donald pitched eight years with the Yankees from 1938-45 and compiled a 65-33 record with a 3.52 ERA. He was a three-time world champion with the Bronx Bombers.

22 Oct

minor matters

Though Jake Mangum’s numbers weren’t — for whatever reason — enough to rate a call to the big leagues, they were certainly good enough to rate a spot on the all-Mississippi minor league All-Star team for 2024. The Mississippi State product led the Triple-A International League in batting at .317 with six homers, 56 RBIs and 20 steals in the Tampa Bay system. Pencil Mangum in as one of the outfielders, joined by two other Tampa Bay farmhands: ex-MSU standout Colton Ledbetter (.273, 16 homers, 34 bags at the High-Class A level) and Southern Miss alum Matthew Etzel (.272, 11 homers, 66 RBIs and 45 steals at two levels, finishing in Double-A in the Rays’ chain after a trade from Baltimore). Behind the plate, former MSU standout Gavin Collins had a resurgent season at Triple-A Memphis (.264, nine homers, 35 RBIs) in the St. Louis organization. Former Ole Miss star Tim Elko is the pick at first base; he batted .289 with 18 homers and 73 RBIs between Double-A and Triple-A for the Chicago White Sox. At second base, it’s minor league vet Hunter Stovall, an MSU alum who hit .271 with seven homers and 41 RBIs for Colorado’s Triple-A club. The shortstop is rising star Cooper Pratt, the former Gatorade player of the year from Magnolia Heights who batted .277 with eight homers, 45 RBIs and 27 bags at two Class A levels in Milwaukee’s organization. (Pratt is likely to start 2025 at Double-A Biloxi.) R.J. Yeager, another former State standout, gets the nod at third base after batting .254 with 15 homers and 65 RBIs in Double-A in St. Louis’ system. Put ex-Mississippi College star Blaine Crim (.277, 20 homers, 86 RBIs for Texas’ Triple-A team) at DH. Justin Foscue, a former MSU standout who made the majors in 2024, would make a fine utility player; he hit .276 with nine homers in Triple-A for Texas in an injury-curtailed season. On the mound, Ole Miss alums Doug Nikhazy (7-4, 2.98 ERA, at Double-A and Triple-A for Cleveland) and Gunnar Hoglund (9-7, 3.44, in Double-A and Triple-A for Oakland) make for a fine lefty-righty combo. The closer: former MSU closer Landon Sims, who went 4-0 with nine holds, two saves, a 3.07 ERA and a bunch of punchouts at two A-ball levels in Arizona’s system. P.S. On the news front: Elko has been selected to the U.S. roster for the World Baseball Premier 12 tournament. Team USA begins play on Nov. 9 in Mexico. Also on the roster are former Mississippi Braves Drake Baldwin and Touki Toussaint, the latter an MLB veteran. … Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product Brandon Parker, who played for the M-Braves in 2024, has been released by Atlanta, and ex-USM standout Ben Ethridge (3.38 ERA in two A-ball seasons) was released by Minnesota. … Happy 45th birthday to Eli Whiteside, the New Albany native and Delta State alum who won a World Series ring as the backup catcher (to Buster Posey) with the 2010 San Francisco Giants.