| 1996 | October | November | December |
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01/27/97 - Received email today, stating that Miss College never received Blake Holley's basketball questionnaire. According to my source, Blake will sign with Miss State and play second base. He has qualified.
01/23/97 - It appears Blake Holley, who Miss State is recruiting for baseball, prefers basketball over baseball. At the Ole Miss-State basketball game, he told a source of mine he is leaning to playing basketball at Miss College. Hopefully, the Miss State baseball staff can change his mind.
01/23/97 - According to a source of mine, Miss State signee Roy Oswalt was throwing 92-94 this past summer. He also has a good curve. Just needs to work on his mechanics. In fact, if he can get his mechanics down pat, he may be able to throw even harder.
01/22/97 - Just got my latest edition of Baseball America. We have three players listed in the top 100 college players. Eric DuBose #2, Rob Hauswald # 40 and Adam Piatt #70.
01/22/97 - There also was a great Eric DuBose article by Rusty Hampton of The Clarion-Ledger in Baseball America. I'll post it this weekend. Here are a few tidbits from it: He is throwing 93-94 MPH; now has a cut fastball to go along with his regular fastball; he may be the first player taken in this summer's Major League Draft; major league scouting directors rate him as the top college pitching prospect; according to Polk, Eric has more stuff than any of the former great Miss State pitchers.
01/22/97 - Baseball America also had their list of the top 100 prep players, and yes, Miss State sign some of them. The highest was Aaron Capista, ss from Joliet, IL. He came in at #21. Can you sing "We hardly knew you"? Don't look for him on campus next year. The other one was Phil Willingham, 3b from Mobile, AL. He was 96th. We have a solid chance of keeping him.
The highest rated player from the state of Mississippi was Donnie Bridges, pitcher from Hattiesburg, MS. He was 16th. He was signed by Alabama. We'll never have to face him, since it is very unlikely he will go to college. The only other Mississippi player listed was Blair Varnes, pitcher from Pascagoula, MS. He was ranked 88th and he signed with Florida State. He grew up a FSU fan. Miss State came in second with him.
01/18/97 - For those of you who are interested in Rafael Palmeiro, USA Today Baseball Weekly has an oustanding cover article about him in their most recent issue. It should be on the newsstands until January 21st. I would post it on my page but it is a HUGE article; 2 1/2 pages long in fact. After the recruiting season is over with, I'll try and post it, because it is an outstanding article about one of the all-time great players. One thing I can post is how he compares to the other greats in MLB during the 90's.
Games Played - 2nd; 1,048
Hits - 2nd; 1,225
Runs - 3rd; 676
Doubles - 1st; 253
Home Runs - 11th; 200
Runs Batted In - 7th; 689
He is the only MLB player who was in the top 11 in all six of these categories. The most appearances by any other players were 3 by Frank Thomas, Roberto Alomar and Barry Bonds. Raffy has been the most consistent of all of the MLB players but he is also one of the least appreciated by the fans considering he has been voted into only one All-Star game during the 90's.
BTW, he and his wife have two sons. Mmmmmm.....future Bulldogs baseball players in the making?
01/18/97 - Blake Holley, former Bulldog pitcher Chuck Holley's little brother, will be a Miss State Bulldog next year, according to a couple of sources. He is 6-2 160. Not sure at this time what position he plays. He is also a very solid basketball player who is being recruited by Miss College, Millsaps and North Alabama in that sport. He is also an excellent student who will be his school's Valedictorian. He has many other intangibles you don't teach: great leadership skills, excellent quickness, tenacity and accepts a challenge with gusto. Based on the info I have received about him, he could help Miss State in basketball as well as baseball. Could he be a smaller version of Whit Hughes? I'm really looking forward to seeing this kid in maroon and white next year.
01/14/97 - From what I have been hearing and seeing, this could very well be Coach Ron Polk's last year. If so, I want to see all of you get behind him and his baseball team like never before. Let's show everyone why Miss State baseball fans are considered the best in the country. Isn't that what Ron has always said? Let's prove him right. Our season opener isn't that far off. How about being there and bringing two friends with you. Wouldn't it be great to have the largest opening day crowd in Miss State history?
01/10/97 - Here's an outstanding article about Rob Hauswald. Go to this page to read it.
01/10/97 - Guess who's the pitching coach for Team USA? Yes, our very own associate head coach, Pat MaMahon.
01/08/97 - Baseball America rated the top 100 college baseball progams in the nation for the 1990s based on various categories and Miss State was rated 21st. LSU was rated 1st, followed by Fla. St., Arizona State, Texas, Cal-St Fullerton, Miami, Wichita State, Clemson, Stanford and OK State rounding out the top ten. Other SEC schools in the top 100 were Florida 18th, Tenn 19th, Arkansas 26th, Georgia 31st, Auburn 32nd, Alabama 36th, Kentucky 38th, Ole Miss 50th, South Carolina 53rd. Southern Miss was 48th.
01/08/97 - Baseball America also rated the Top 25 programs for the future and Miss State was 13th. LSU was again 1st, with Tenn 15th, Florida 17th, Alabama 20th and Auburn 24th. No other SEC was on the list.
01/08/97 - Here's what Baseball America says about their 9th pick, Miss State: "Polk, who built the Bulldogs into the first Southeastern Conference power from scratch, may or may not hand the program over to associate head coach Pat McMahon after the season. If Polk decides to leave, what he calls one of his better teams could send him out in style.
"All-America junior Eric DuBose (11-4, 3.11) is the top lefthander in the nation and will get plenty of pitching support from senior righhander Keith Dilgard (6-4, 5.11), junior lefthander Jeremy Jackson (1-1, 4.96) and sophomore closer Brian Wiese (1-1, 6.23).
"All-America second baseman Rob Hauswald (.354-16-63) anchors an all-junior infield of first baseman Richard Lee (.322-6-55), shortstop Adam Piatt (.370-4-34) and third baseman Brad Freeman (.285-4-43). Senior center fielder Damian Scioneaux (.310-2-20, 15 SB) won the Shenandoah Valley League batting title last summer."
01/07/97 - Just got my latest Baseball America in today. I'll be posting tidbits of info throughout the week. Here's the first post. Here's what they say about Eric DuBose:
"DuBose is the top college lefthander in the draft and could be the first pitcher selected. He's also Division I's leading returning strikeout pitcher. He fanned 174 in 133 innings for the Bulldogs in 1996, but ran out of gas down the stretch and eventually was bumped from the U. S. Olympic team.
"His stuff and delivery remind scouts of Anaheim Angels southpaw Mark Langston. His fastball is routinely in the 92-94 mph range and his curveball also rates as an above-average pitch, though he needs to sharpen his command of both. Six-foot-2 and 217 pounds, DuBose tends to overthrow his fastball and gets his pitches up in the strike zone at times."
01/07/97 - The number two player in the JUCO ranks is Roy Oswalt, RHP from Holmes CC and a Miss State signee. He was drafted by the Astros in the 23rd round last year and they still control his rights. Therefore he can be signed by them at any time up until the next draft. (If anyone has seen him play, let me know what you thought of him - Gene)
01/02/97 - In the lastest issue of the USA Today Baseball Weekly, the top minor league prospects of the Milwaukee Brewers were listed, and included in that list was none other than former Bulldog first baseman Drew Williams. He is listed in the sleeper catagory. Here's what the article says about him: "In his first two years of pro ball, Williams was known more for his defensive prowess than for his bat, but he turned that around in 1996. Despite playing in one of the tougher parks in the California League to homer in, Williams hit a career-high 24 longballs and batted a career-best .305. The left-handed slugger finished third in the league in slugging (.550) while leading the league in fielding percentage (.991). He hit .348 with 11 doubles and six homers in April, and never hit below .278 in any month though he missed about three weeks in July with a broken nose. Signed by the Brewers in 1994 out of Mississippi State, Williams doesn't have the size desired of a first baseman (5-11, 200) and does not run well, but he has a great understanding of the strike zone."
01/02/97 - Bulldog signee Josh West recently completed his fall baseball season with the Mississippi Stars, an American Legion All-Star team made up of the cream of the American Legion crop. The Stars finished the season 29-2. Josh was primarily used as an infielder; although, he will be used as a pitcher at Miss State. He finished the season with a .373 average, with 25 hits in 67 at bats. He also had 5 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 3 HRs, 31 Runs, 17 RBI, 9 SOs, and 17 BBs. He was occasionally used as a relief pitcher, with nine Ks in six innings of work. He allowed two earned runs. Source: Don Rowe, Sports Editor of the Aberdeen Examiner
01/01/97 - According to the latest Collegiate Baseball, three of Miss State's fall signees are expected to be high draft picks:
3B Phil Willingham of UMS in Mobile, AL
SS Aaron Capista of Joliet, IL
3B/C Jason Barkley of Lexington, KY