umpires Archives - All Mississippi Baseball

tagging up

Colt Keith, the former state prep player of the year out of Biloxi High, doesn’t have a hit yet in his first MLB postseason, but he has had an impact for the upstart Detroit Tigers. The rookie second baseman, 0-for-6 so far, has walked five times (.455 OBP) and scored a run in the wild card win against Houston. The lefty hitter isn’t in the lineup for Game 2 today of the American League Division Series at Cleveland, which is starting left-hander Matthew Boyd, but expect Keith to get in the game at some point. The Guardians won Game 1 7-0. … Neither Hunter Renfroe nor fellow Mississippi State product Adam Frazier, both with Kansas City, played in Game 1 of the Kansas City-New York ALDS, won by the Yankees. Game 2 is tonight at Yankee Stadium. With the Yanks starting lefty Carlos Rodon, Renfroe figures to be in the lineup. … Andy Fletcher, the Ole Miss alum who lives in Olive Branch, is working the New York-Philadelphia NLDS, which is tied at 1-1. He reportedly missed 16 calls — getting a lot of unwanted attention — as the home plate umpire in Game 1, which the Mets won 6-2. He was manning the right-field line for the drama of Game 2, won by Philly 7-6. Brookhaven native Lance Barksdale is working the Kansas City-New York series. He was on the left-field line for Game 1. … The Arizona Fall League season starts tonight with Surprise playing Mesa. MSU alum Preston Johnson (Baltimore); Ole Miss product Houston Roth (Baltimore); UM’s Brandon Johnson (Kansas City); and ex-Rebel Dylan DeLucia (Cleveland) are on the Surprise roster, though not all may be active. Ex-MSU standout David Mershon (Los Angeles Angels) is on the Mesa roster. … In case you missed it, ex-State slugger Brent Rooker, who had a monstrous season for Oakland in 2024, reportedly has had elbow/forearm surgery but will be ready for spring training. … It’s cool to be a part of history, even if you’re on the “wrong” side of it. On this date in 2001, Vicksburg native John Thomson surrendered hit No. 3,000 to Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson on the final day of the regular season. Thomson was 63-85 in a 10-year MLB career and won 14 games for the 2004 Atlanta Braves. Also on this date, in 2013, Jackson native and former Ole Miss star Seth Smith homered for Oakland in an ALDS win against Detroit. It was the second of two postseason homers Smith hit in 18 career games dating back to his 2007 rookie year.

a few small details

Nathaniel Lowe, the ex-Mississippi State standout, stroked an RBI single to cap a four-run first inning for Texas in its 5-4 win against Houston in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. Lowe was 3-for-8 with a home run this season against Astros starter Framber Valdez before Monday’s big hit — and 6-for-23 career vs. Valdez. The lefty-hitting Lowe went hitless the rest of the way Monday and is 1-for-8 in the series, which the Rangers lead 2-0 heading to Arlington for Game 3 on Wednesday. Lowe, a .273 career hitter, is 5-for-33 (.152) in his postseason career. … J.P. France, MSU alum, made his postseason debut for the Astros and worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, retiring Lowe on a fly ball for the third out of the fifth inning. Rookie France, who won 11 games as a starter for Houston this year, yielded one hit, a triple, which was erased in a double play to end the sixth. He departed after issuing a one-out walk in the seventh. … Umpire Andy Fletcher, an Ole Miss alum and Mississippi resident, worked the plate in the National League Championship Series opener, his first LCS assignment. He missed 12 ball-strike calls, according to Umpire Auditor, a relatively poor 90.9 percent correct call rate. There did not appear to be a lot of complaints during Philadelphia’s 5-3 victory. Brookhaven native Lance Barksdale worked third base and is slated to go behind the plate in Game 5 at Arizona, should the best-of-7 series go that far. … Former Mississippi Braves standout Craig Kimbrel got the save for the Phillies, his third of this postseason and 10th in 10 chances (over 27 appearances) in his MLB career.