These baseball greats all played in Macon. Is the next MLB star on the Bacon’s roster?
The Macon Bacon’s season kicked off last week and the roster is starting to fill out as players wrap up their college seasons. Some of the nation’s top baseball players over the last six decades have come through the city of Macon.
So it’s possible some of the Bacon players could go pro in the next few years.
The Coastal Plain League has produced players like Justin Verlander, a former MVP and Cy Young winner, and Russell Wilson, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.
Before you head out to Luther Williams Field to grab a bacon-inspired dish and take in a game, here is a look back at some of the all-time greats to play in Macon.
1. Chipper Jones
Before his Hall of Fame career for the Atlanta Braves, Jones was a star in Macon for their minor league affiliate by the same name after being drafted first overall in the 1990 MLB draft. In 1991, he appeared in 136 games for the Macon Braves and hit 15 home runs and had a .326 batting average.
He didn’t stick around for long. He was playing in the majors by 1993 but a torn ACL cost him the 1994 season. In 1995, Jones returned and continued on a path to Cooperstown, home of the Hall of Fame.
He finished up his career after 19 seasons with the Atlanta Braves in 2012. Some of his career highlights include winning the 1999 MVP award in the National League and helping the Braves secure the 1995 World Series win over the Cleveland Indians.
Kevin, the Bacon mascot, would have enjoyed cheering this guy on.
2. Andruw Jones
Arguably one of the greatest center fielders in this history of baseball, Andruw Jones got his start in Macon in 1995.
While playing for the Macon Braves, Jones smashed 25 homers and had a slugging percentage over .500. He made his major league debut in August of 1996 for the Atlanta Braves. He was 19.
He helped get the Braves back in the World Series in 1996 and put his power on display with a homer in game one against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium. The Braves would go on to lose the series, but a star was born in Jones.
Jones played for the Braves for 12 seasons before finishing the last few years of his career playing for a number of other MLB teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.
He retired in 2012 with over 400 home runs. His defense was also strong on the filed — he routinely made acrobatic catches all over the diamond while patrolling center field.
3. John Smoltz
Imagine facing off against one of the game’s greatest pitcher’s in a minor league game. Scary thought. Due to “Smoltzie” starting his career in the Detroit Tigers farm system, he didn’t get groomed in Macon, but he did make appearances after already establishing himself as an all-time great.
In 1998, Smoltz was in Macon for two games to get a tune-up before returning from injury and again in 2001 where he pitched in one game.
In those three games here, he allowed five runs and struck out 19 batters. By this time, Smoltz was part of a notable rotation with Atlanta Braves players Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux.
Smoltz would in 2009 sign as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals after spending nearly his entire 21-year career with the Braves. He is regarded as one of the game’s best because he was both an effective start with over 200 wins and a closer with over 150 saves.
4. Jackie Robinson
In 1947, Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball when he became a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1949, he became the first black professional baseball player to compete on the same field as white players in Georgia, according to an article in The Telegraph.
Robinson faced off against the Macon Peaches in an exhibition game that his Dodgers won 11-2. “42,” a film about Robinson’s life, had parts filmed at the historic Luther Williams Field in Macon. Robinson had played there.
Robinson’s earned the Rookie of the Year award in 1947 and the MVP award in 1949.
He finished his career with a .311 batting average and over 130 home runs. He is enshrined in Cooperstown in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 1962.
5. Pete Rose
Pete Rose was the star player for the Macon Peaches when they took home a baseball championship in 1962.
The whole team, though, was stacked with talent.
Twelve of those players made it to the majors, but hit king Rose was the headliner. The Peaches, led by Rose, won South Atlantic League championship with Dave Bristol as the manager. Bristol later managed the Atlanta Braves in the 1970s.
Rose’s time in Macon set the stage for one of the most prolific careers in Major League Baseball history. He has the most hits in MLB history (4,256) and held .303 batting average over the course of his 24-year career.
He remains out of the Hall of Fame as he received a lifetime ban from MLB because he had bet on baseball games, which is strictly outlawed. He has petitioned for years to have his lifetime ban lifted without much progress in that direction.
This story was originally published June 5, 2019 at 5:00 AM.