City of the Day

Vicksburg, MS. 5 Players, 1 Active. First Player: Ellis Burks (1987-2004).

The historic town along the Mississippi River has produced five players, with all of them finding success. With a population of just 26,407 (as of 2000), it's not big, but a hub for recent major leaguers. Ellis Burks was the first player from Vicksburg, and possibly the most successful. Over his 18-year career, he hit 352 home runs and batted .291 with 181 stolen bases. The two-time All Star had his best year in 1996 with the Rockies. While playing in the offensive bandbox known as Coors Field, Burks hit 40 home runs, knocked in 128, and batted .344 with 32 stolen bases. He would continue his success, hitting more than 20 home runs in seven straight seasons from 1996-2002. Dmitri Young, a power hitting first baseman, was next, and went on to hit 171 home runs over his 13-year career. In 2003 with the Tigers, he had his best season, hitting 29 home runs and batting .297. After a disappointing 2006, he bounced back as a hitter for average in 2007 for the Nationals, hitting 13 home runs and batting .320 over 136 games. Next up was John Thomson, a starter from 1997-2007. He had his best year in 2004 with the Braves, going 14-8 with a 3.72 ERA over 33 starts. He finished his career 63-85 with a 4.68 ERA. Perhaps the least successful player from Vicksburg was Roosevelt Brown, who played four years for the Cubs around the turn of the millennium. His best year was 2000, when he hit three home runs and batted .352 over 45 games. He finished his career with 11 home runs and batted .251 over 228 games. Taylor Tankersley is the only active player from Vicksburg. After a dominant 2006 as a rookie where he posted a 2.85 ERA as a reliever, he was considered the Marlins' closer of the future. He hasn't gotten on track, holding a 4.58 career ERA through 168 appearances.

News

Reds minor league prospect Billy Hamilton stole his record setting 146th base of the season. The professional baseball single season stolen base record was previously held by Vince Coleman, who stole 145 bases for Class A Macon in 1983.

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter homered to pass Eddie Murray on the all-time hit list and hold 12th place alone.

With Stephen Strasburg's six innings yesterday, he now moves to 145.1 innings on the season, just 15 to 35 away from his limit of 160-180.

Game Scores

Nationals (77-46) beat the Braves (70-53) 4-1.

Angels (63-60) beat the Red Sox (59-64) 5-3.

White Sox (67-55) beat the Yankees (72-51) 7-3.

Reds (75-49) beat the Phillies (57-66) 5-4.

Giants (68-55) beat the Dodgers (67-57) 4-1.

Royals (55-67) beat the Rays (68-55) 1-0 (10 innings).

Rockies (48-73) beat the Mets (57-66) 6-2.

Brewers (56-66) beat the Cubs (47-75) 5-2.

Top Scorer: White Sox beat the Yankees 7-3, Cardinals beat the Astros 7-0, and Padres beat the Pirates 7-5.

Standings

AL East: Yankees (72-51, .585 WPCT). AL Central: White Sox (67-55, .549). AL West: Rangers (71-51, .582).

NL East: Nationals (77-46, .626). NL Central: Reds (75-49, .605). NL West: Giants (68-55, .553).

AL Wild Cards: Rays (68-55, .553) and Orioles (67-56, .545). NL Wild Cards: Braves (70-53, .569) and Pirates (67-56, .545).

Bottom Team: Astros (39-84, .317). Longest W Streak: Mariners, 7 games. Longest L Streak: Indians, 7 games.

League Leaders

Offensive: AVG: Andrew McCutchen (Pirates), .350. Home runs: Adam Dunn (White Sox), 36. RBI: Miguel Cabrera (Tigers), 105. Stolen bases: Mike Trout (Angels), 39.

Pitching: Wins: Johnny Cueto (Reds), Gio Gonzalez (Nationals), and David Price (Rays), 16. K's: Max Scherzer (Tigers), 186. ERA: David Price (Rays), 2.28 (170 innings, 43 earned runs). Saves: Jim Johnson (Orioles) and Fernando Rodney (Rays), 38.

Top Performers

Offensive: Garrett Jones (Pirates): 3-4, 2 home runs (21), 3 RBI, 2 runs, walk, AVG up .006 from .281 to .287, hitting streak to 1 game (3-4, .750 AVG).

Pitching: David Price (Rays): No decision, 8 shutout innings, 3 hits, no walks, 8 K's (167), ERA drop: 0.11 runs from 2.39 to 2.28.

Worst Pitching Performance: Lucas Harrell (Astros): Loss (10-9), 5 innings, 6 earned runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 3 K's (106), ERA jump: 0.23 runs from 3.81 to 4.04.

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Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.

HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman