BULLDOG BITS
Rafael Palmeiro has put up numbers in Major League Baseball that are among the all-time greats to ever play the game.
Over a 20-year MLB career, Palmeiro thrilled the fan bases of three franchises – the Chicago Cubs, the Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles. When Palmeiro reflects on his playing days though, Chicago, Texas and Baltimore all take a backseat to his time spent in Starkville beforehand as a Mississippi State Bulldog.
“It's unreal – I don't get embraced like this anywhere else,” Palmeiro said this past Saturday. “I played in Texas for a long time and Baltimore, but when I come back here, this is special.”
Palmeiro was in town over the weekend for the opening of the new Dudy Noble Field. Palmeiro was bestowed two honors over the course of Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Palmeiro and his former teammate Will Clark – the duo known as Thunder and Lightning around MSU – had statues unveiled that sit in front of the home plate entrance of the new ballpark. On Saturday, Palmeiro, Clark, Ron Polk, Jeff Brantley, the late David “Boo” Ferris and the late C.R. Dudy Noble were inaugural inductees into State's Ron Polk Ring of Honor.
Palmeiro enjoyed having the chance to take part in all the festivities.
“It's always great to come
Baseball
The opening weekend of college baseball could not have gone much better for Mississippi State sophomore Tanner Allen and for his efforts he was selected one of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's National Players of the Week.
Allen had a monster opening weekend, driving in 13 runs in three starts at first base. Allen posted single-game career highs for RBI (six) and runs scored (three), while equaling his career-best mark for hits (three). He posted three-straight multi-rbi and multi-hit games to start the season and added an extra base hit in each contest to help State open the new Dudy Noble Field with a three-game sweep of Youngstown State.
Allen opened the season by tying the game and plating the eventual game winning run versus the Penguins, hitting a sixth-inning two-run home run to knot the score at 3-3 and following that with an eighthinning RBI single that sparked an 11-run frame to help the Bulldogs christen the new Dudy Noble Field with a win. back here,” Palmeiro said. “We don't get to come back often, but when we do, it's always special. What we've got here now with this ballpark, it's one of a kind. It's always fun to come back home and be a part of it.”
As much as Palmeiro enjoyed being back in Starkville, MSU loved having him return just as much. It gave the Bulldog faithful time to reminisce on Palmeiro's historic State career.
Palmeiro was the first-ever Triple Crown winner in Southeastern Conference history. He remains among the MSU career leaders in several categories. He's first in home runs (67), second in total bases (530), second in RBI (239), third in batting average (.372), third in runs scored (224) and ninth in hits (268). He also owns 11 single-season MSU records.
All the success at Mississippi State served as the springboard to Palmeiro's professional career. He was a first-round pick in the 1985 MLB Draft and went on to become one of only six major league players in history to collect 3,000 or more hits and 500 or more home runs an a career. He had an amazing 10 major league seasons with 100-plus RBI and 35-plus home runs.
As outstanding as his time was in the pros though, Palmeiro says nothing compared to hitting the diamond at Mississippi State.
“If you're a player and you've gone through college and high school and the minor leagues,
Allen followed that with a career-high six-rbi effort, including his second home run of the season, in game one of a Saturday doubleheader. Allen reached base in each of his first three at-bats, walking in the first inning, hitting a three-run home run in the second inning and driving in three runs with a double in the third inning. Allen closed the weekend with a careerhigh-tying three-hit outing, adding three more RBIS to his weekend total.
In all, Allen was 7-for-13 at the plate (.583), scored five runs, drove in 13 RBI and walked once. Of his seven hits, five went for extra bases, including the two home runs, to account for 16 total bases on the weekend.
Mississippi State will continue its nine-game homestand to start the 2019 season with a midweek contest against UAB on Wednesday. First pitch between the Bulldogs and Blazers is scheduled for 4 p.m. Single game tickets are on sale now by contacting the ticket office at 1-888-GO-DAWGS.
(Photo by Elaine Thompson, AP)
once you get out of college, it becomes a job,” Palmeiro said. “It wasn't a job when we were in college. When we lost a game, it hurt. We got upset. We were mad. We had some great teams and I made some great friends and I have some great memories. Those times, I know it's not the big leagues, but there's nothing like it.”
Football
With the start of spring practice two weeks away, second-year Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead has finalized his on-field coaching staff roles for the 2019 season, it was announced Monday.
Moorhead's 10 assistants feature a combined 150-plus years of full-time experience, in the college and/or National Football Leagiue ranks.
The 10 assistants are associate head coach/tight ends Tony Hughes, assistant head coach/run game coordinator/running backs Terry Richardson, defensive line Deke Adams, pass game coordinator/quarterbacks Andrew Breiner, cornerbacks Terrell Buckley, offensive line Marcus Johnson, wide receivers Michael Johnson, special teams coordinator Joey Jones, linebackers Tem Lukabu and defensive coordinator/safeties Bob Shoop.
Moorhead, the 2016 and 2017 National Offensive Coordinator of the Year, will once again serve as the offensive playcaller. Shoop, the
With his new statue and spot in the Ron Polk Ring of Honor, now many more generations will get the opportunity to look back on Palmeiro's years and reflect on one of the greatest Bulldogs to ever play the game. Even after all he's experienced, it's wild for Palmeiro to think about how he's treasured in Starkville. coordinator of the nation's No. 1 defense in 2018, returns after becoming MSU'S first Broyles Award finalist since 1999. Shoop was picked National Defensive Coordinator of the Year by Football Scoop last fall after his unit led the nation in eight different categories.
Four of Moorhead's assistants have also served as head coaches in their careers, including Breiner, Shoop, Jones and Hughes, who rejoined the staff in December after a two-plus-year stint at Jackson State. In his seven previous seasons in Starkville, Hughes signed some of the greatest players in Bulldog history, including NFL Allpros Fletcher Cox, Darius Slay, Benardrick Mckinney and Chris Jones.
Moorhead's group is coming off a second-straight top 25 signing class led by fivestar offensive tackle prospect Charles Cross. Cross, who is the highest-rated offensive lineman signee in school history, is one of five players who enrolled early at Mississippi State in January.
“To have a statue in front of a stadium, who could ever imagine something like that?” Palmeiro said. “I mean, a statue? No one ever thinks of that. I'm so honored. It's just such an incredible thing. It makes it even more special that (Clark) gets to have the same thing as me as well. He deserves
In 2018, Moorhead became the first Bulldog head coach to win eight or more games in his debut season since Allyn Mckeen in 1939. The squad reached the Outback Bowl and finished ranked No. 25 in the Coaches poll. A total of 41 letterwinners return from that team led by ALL-SEC defenders Erroll Thompson and Cameron Dantzler, as well as running back Kylin Hill and offensive lineman Darryl Williams.
State begins spring practice on Tuesday, March 5, and it culminates with the Maroon and White Spring Game on Saturday, April 13 in Davis Wade Stadium. Kickoff is 1 p.m. and admission is free.
Men's Basketball
“SEC Inside” spotlights Mississippi State men's basketball giving viewers an allaccess look at the Bulldogs' games against No. 21 LSU and No. 5 Kentucky from earlier this month.
The 30-minute program initially aired twice on Monday and four more times it as much, then coach Polk with his Ring of Honor and Will. That makes it a lot more special for me.”
(Editor’s Note: The Starkville Daily News will highlight each member of the inaugural class of the Ron Polk Ring of Honor. Today Rafael Palmeiro was featured.) early this morning, but the episode can also be viewed at 1 p.m. today.
“SEC Inside” chronicles a behind-the-scenes look at MSU'S preparation for the LSU and Kentucky games as well as all-access footage from practices and in-game action. In addition, pregame and postgame interviews from coach Beb Howland and student-athletes will be shown as part of the program.
Track and Field
With the 2019 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships just days away, three Mississippi State men's track and field event groups remained in the top 25 of their respective USTFCCCA #Eventsquad Rankings.
The men's 800-meter group once again leads the way at No. 2 in the nation with an average time of 1:49.31, highlighted by sophomore Canadian national record holder Marco Arop's