there’s a catch

The recently released watch list for Ferriss Trophy candidates is an impressive one. The pool of players having big years at schools across the state may be as deep as it has ever been. By no coincidence, five Magnolia State colleges are currently ranked in national polls, including the Big 3 NCAA Division I schools. It’s hard not to notice that none of the players on the Ferriss Trophy watch list is a catcher from the Big 3 — but don’t get the impression that this is a position of weakness among state schools. Far from it, actually. The Big 3 wouldn’t be where they are today without the play of the men in the mask. At Mississippi State, that’s Elih Morrero. At Southern Miss, it’s Chuckie Robinson. And at Ole Miss, Henri Lartigue. Lartigue and Marrero are on the watch list for the Johnny Bench Award, which goes to the nation’s top catcher, and Robinson certainly ought to be. Lartigue leads the Rebels and ranks among the SEC’s best in hitting at .344. The former Southaven High star also has two homers and 20 RBIs. Robinson, from Illinois, is the reigning C-USA hitter of the week. He is batting .305 with five homers and 37 RBIs, seven of which came in one game against Western Kentucky over the weekend. Robinson’s father played minor league baseball, and Marrero’s father, Eli, played 10 years in the majors, including a stint with Atlanta. The younger Marrero, a true freshman from Florida, is batting .252. Behind the plate, each has been solid. Robinson has thrown out 20 base stealers at a rate of 43.4 percent. Marrero is at 28 percent, Lartigue 26. There are four pitchers on the Ferriss Trophy watch list, plus another two-way player. If one of those five should win the award on May 23, you can bet he’ll give a nod of appreciation to his catcher.