tagging up

A toast to the late Boo Ferriss on the occasion of what would have been his 104th birthday. Ferriss, born in Shaw in 1921, is deeply intertwined in the state’s baseball fabric, having played at Mississippi State for Dudy Noble, helped the Boston Red Sox reach the World Series in an abbreviated pro career and coached consistent winning teams at Delta State for 26 years. The Ferriss Trophy is given each year by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum to the best college player in the state. Ferriss, who is in the Red Sox’s Hall of Fame, would be more widely known outside of Mississippi had his MLB career not been curtailed by illness and injury. He won 21 games as a rookie for the 1945 BoSox and 25 for the ’46 World Series team. He won only 19 more games. As the coach at Delta State, where he earned ABCA Hall of Fame recognition, he not only won a ton of games and championships but also produced a sprawling tree of prep and college coaches. The DSU field is named for him, and the program still thrives. In addition to all that, Ferriss was the consummate gentleman, gracious to all. He died in 2016 and is buried in Shaw. … Interested to see how the signing of Cedric Mullins impacts Jake Mangum in Tampa Bay, which now has a glut of outfielders. Mullins is a center fielder, which is Mangum’s best position, though the ex-Mississippi State star played all three outfield spots as a rookie in 2025. Mangum, a switch-hitter, batted .296 and stole 27 bases but provided little power (three homers) in 118 games. In the field, he had 90 putouts, including some highlight-caliber catches, and two assists with no errors. He may well prove a nice trade piece during the winter meetings. … Northeast Mississippi Community College product Tyler Samaniego was traded by Pittsburgh to Boston on Thursday as part of a five-player deal. Just added to the Pirates’ 40-man roster last month, left-hander Samaniego has a career 3.82 ERA and pitched in Double-A last season. … Five players at state schools are ranked in the Top 100 in MLB Pipeline’s new 2026 MLB draft prospects list. MSU third baseman Ace Reese is No. 18; Oak Grove High outfielder Eric Booth Jr. is ranked 28th; Ole Miss righty Cade Townsend is 78th; Jackson Prep outfielder Kevin Roberts Jr. is No. 86; and Magnolia Heights third baseman Cole Prosek checks in at 97.