The Jackson Mets were a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team based in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, from 1975 through 1990. As of 2010, they were the longest-tenured club to be based in the Jackson

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

. For their entire sixteen seasons of existence, they competed in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

as the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

affiliate of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, until the club moved to

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...

for the 1991 season and then to

Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

, for the 1992 season.

Early years in Jackson

The Jackson Mets came into existence in 1974 when the New York Mets moved their AA club, the Victoria Toros, after only one year in

Victoria, Texas Victoria is a small city in South Texas and county seat of Victoria County, Texas. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 as of the 2000 censu ...

. Civic leaders in Jackson had mounted a campaign to build a new stadium for a minor-league club. At the time, Jackson had not fielded a club since the

Jackson Senators The Jackson Senators was the name of at least two minor league baseball teams that played in Jackson, Mississippi. First team The first known Jackson Senators club competed in the Delta League in 1904. Jackson also played as a member of the Cott ...

last played in the Class C

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Englis ...

in 1953. Previous minor-league teams based in Jackson had played downtown at a field on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds, but the new park, which would be named Smith-Wills Stadium, was constructed on Lakeland Drive just east of

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

in the more suburban area of northeast Jackson. When the team opened play in 1975, the park still had no lights, an unpaved parking lot, no roof on its press box, and was temporarily locating its club offices in a trailer. In their first few years in Jackson, the Mets drew an average of 1,600 fans a game. Ed Kneip was the Jackson Mets original general manager, helping to lead the charge to bring the team to Jackson. 1976 and 1977 were the only two years the Jackson Mets recorded losing records for the entire season until 1988.

The 1980s

During the 1980s, the Jackson Mets emerged as one of the preeminent clubs in the Texas League. The team made the playoffs nine times between 1978 and 1987, including eight consecutive trips, and appeared in seven Texas League Championship Series, including five in row from 1983-87. They won three Texas League titles, in 1981, 1984, and 1985. Fans in Jackson responded to the team's success: more than 112,000 people flocked to Smith-Wills Stadium in 1981, the year that future big-league manager

Davey Johnson David Allen Johnson (born January 30, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played as a second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won four American League ...

piloted the Jackson Mets to their first Eastern Division title. Continued winning seasons by the Mets kept attendance above the 100,000 mark for the next six years. Several future Major-League players spent part of their minor-league careers as Jackson Mets. The 1984 championship squad included

Billy Beane William Lamar Beane III (born March 29, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and current front office executive. He is the executive vice president of baseball operations and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics of Majo ...

, who hit 20

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, and

Lenny Dykstra Leonard Kyle Dykstra (; born February 10, 1963), is an American former professional baseball center fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets (1985–1989) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989–1996). Dykstra was a thre ...

, who stole 53 bases. The Mets pitching staff was anchored by

Calvin Schiraldi Calvin Drew Schiraldi (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 through 1991 for five different teams. He is best remembered as the losing pitcher of Game 6 and Ga ...

, who went 14-3, and also featured

Rick Aguilera Richard Warren Aguilera (born December 31, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1985 to 2000. Aguilera won a world championship as a member of the N ...

Roger McDowell Roger Alan McDowell (born December 21, 1960) is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1996. He played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dod ...

Jay Tibbs Jay Lindsey Tibbs (born January 4, 1962) is a retired American Major League Baseball pitcher with a seven-year career from 1984 to 1990. Tibbs graduated from Huffman High School in 1980, the same year he was named Alabama's High School Player of t ...

, and

Floyd Youmans Floyd Everett Youmans (born May 11, 1964) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball from 1985–89. He is one of the players dealt by the New York Mets to the Montreal Expos for Hall ...

. The 1985 team that repeated as champs was led by

Dave Magadan Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

Randy Milligan Randall Andre Milligan (born November 27, 1961) is a former American Professional Baseball first baseman who played from 1987 to 1994. He is currently a scout with the Baltimore Orioles of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Milligan is nicknamed "M ...

Mark Carreon Mark Steven Carreon (born July 19, 1963) is an American former first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball. He was selected by the New York Mets in the 8th round of the 1981 draft out of Salpointe Catholic High School. Career He mad ...

, and Barry Lyons, all of whom hit over .300. In addition, at various points the Mets fielded future major-leaguers

Lee Mazzilli Lee Louis Mazzilli (born March 25, 1955) is an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and T ...

, Mike Scott,

Jeff Reardon Jeffrey James Reardon (born October 1, 1955) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1979–1994 with the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta B ...

Hubie Brooks Hubert "Hubie" Brooks (born September 24, 1956) is an American former professional baseball right fielder, third baseman, and shortstop. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1980 to 1994 for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, L ...

, Jody Davis,

Darryl Strawberry Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and author who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Throughout his career, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in th ...

, Kevin Mitchell,

Terry Blocker Terry Fennell Blocker (born August 18, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves. The 6'2" outfielder batted and threw left handed. MLB career Blocker was the Mets' fi ...

John Gibbons John Michael Gibbons (born June 8, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Gibbons briefly played in the Major Leagues as a catcher with the New York Me ...

and

Kevin Elster Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

Move

At the close of the 1990 season, the Mets organization announced their desire to move the Jackson Mets closer to the parent club. And so, the team's affiliation was moved to Binghamton, New York, where it became the

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

in the Eastern League. For the 1991 season, the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

relocated their AA affiliate to Jackson. This team would be named the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League (SL) as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliat ...

(now located in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

; not the same as the now defunct Southern League

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

) in a contest, the winning moniker representing General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

, the military army officer who later became

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

and for whom the city of Jackson is named.

Year-by-year record

References

{{Texas League Defunct baseball teams in Mississippi Defunct Texas League teams New York Mets minor league affiliates 1975 establishments in Mississippi Baseball teams established in 1975 Sports in Jackson, Mississippi Baseball teams disestablished in 1990 1990 disestablishments in Mississippi