It’s time for a bit of baseball jeopardy, if you don’t mind.
Question: Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs.
Answer: What are the teams former Little Rock Central and University of Arkansas pitcher Drew Smyly has played for during his major league career.
Smyly tops our list of players with Arkansas ties currently in the big leagues, especially after he threw seven perfect innings and allowed one measly hit during a 13-0 win over the Dodgers. Here’s a peek at Smyly and some others in the Major Leagues with Arkansas ties.
Drew Smyly, Chicago Cubs
The baseball Gods were evil, pure evil, in the way Smyly lost his bid for a perfect game on Friday.
David Peralta sent a broken-bat grounder down the third base line, where Cubs catcher Yan Gomes crashed into Smyly as Smyly was reaching down to grab the ball. Whether Smyly would have made the throw in time to get the runner at first is uncertain. But at 33, Smyly is still a quality pitcher 11 years after he made his major league debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2012.
Atta boy, Drew.
Andrew Benintendi, Chicago White Sox
Across town from Smyly and the Cubs, Benintendi is playing left field and batting at the top of the lineup for the White Sox. Benintendi is a career .279 hitter who began his major league career with the Boston Red Sox in 2016.
Brian Anderson, Milwaukee Brewers
Being able to play multiple positions has benefited Anderson, who was signed by Milwaukee as a free agent after spending six years with the Miami Marlins. Anderson’s best season came in 2018 when he batted .273 with 11 home runs while sparkling defensively at third base and right field for the Marlins.
Jalen Beeks, Tampa Bay Rays
I’ll never grow accustomed to the way Tampa Bay uses its starters, guys like Jalen Beeks, who pitched three innings recently before being pulled. But Tampa Bay must know what its doing, considering the Rays won 13 straight to open the season and lead the Major Leagues with a 17-3 record.
Beeks has revived his career after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020. He pitched in 42 games and made seven starts last year when he was 2-3 with a 2.80 ERA.
James McCann, Baltimore Orioles
James McCann is clearly a backup now after mostly starting at catcher during stints with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets. McCann is a career .240 hitter who has spent half of his 10-year MLB career in Detroit. The Tigers wanted to make him their long-term catcher, but he did not make enough contact at the plate to keep him in the lineup.
Ryne Stanek, Houston Astros
Stanek is in his third year with Houston, where he’s 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA as a middle reliever.
Houston badly wanted to keep Stanek and he signed for $3.6 million after going 2-1 with a minuscule 1.15 ERA in 59 games last season with the Astros.
Zach Jackson, Oakland Athletics
Zach Jackson is in his second year with the Athletics, where he’s 3-4 overall with a 2.81 ERA in 65 games.
Jackson is a graduate of Berryhill High School in Tulsa, where he carried a 4.0 grade point average and was the valedictorian of his senior class. He then attended the University of Arkansas, where he pitched three seasons for the Razorbacks before being drafted by Toronto in the third round of the 2016 MLB draft.