Four years and 15 days ago, in Omaha at the College World Series, Brayland Skinner was a human blur.
The score was tied at three apiece in the bottom of the ninth inning when Skinner entered the game as a pinch runner for Mississippi State against mighty Texas. First, Skinner stole second base easily. Yogi Berra, himself, couldn’t have thrown him out. One pitch later, Skinner sprinted home with the winning run on Tanner Leggett’s sharp single to vault the Bulldogs into the CWS championship series against Vanderbilt. Skinner slid into the plate but he didn’t have to do so. Willie Mays couldn’t have thrown him out.
And you know what happened over the next three days. State won it all. Skinner and Leggett, who had been teammates at Northwest Community College, were two the most unlikely heroes. “My juco bandits,” Chris Lemonis called them.
So I was telling Mississippi Mud Monsters manager Jay Pecci that story Thursday night about how Skinner, a reserve outfielder from Lake Cormorant, had been one of the stars of State’s amazing College World Series championship run.
“Well, Brayland is my hero now,” Pecci responded. “He was the first player I signed when I got this job back in January. He’s been one of best players, a key to the success we’ve had. He’s not only an outstanding player, but he’s a first-class person, one of our leaders. He hustles all the time. He does a little of everything and he does it all well.”
Pecci told a story about a postgame dugout scene after a tough Mud Monsters loss a couple weeks ago. “They walked us off and all everybody was moping around, all in the dumps, and then I look around and there Brayland is, cleaning up the trash in the dugout. He just does what he is supposed to do,” Pecci said.
Skinner, the team’s leadoff hitter and centerfielder, is hitting .286 with eight doubles, two triples and two home runs. His singles often turn into doubles because he leads the team with 27 stolen bases. And as good as he has been offensively, his range in centerfield has been equally impressive. Many of his catches have been ESPN SportsCenter Play of the Day quality, including this one in which he dove over the wall to complete a long-running catch. Of course, SportsCenter does not choose many of its highlights from the Frontier League.
Some background is probably necessary here because some readers might not know a Mud Monster from Muddy Waters. The Mississippi Mud Monsters are a professional baseball team in the Pioneer League, an independent league team loosely affiliated with Major League Baseball. They play home games in Pearl at Trustmark Park, former home of the Mississippi Braves. Often, they play before small crowds. They average just over 2,000 customers per game. On special promotions nights, such as the July 4 fireworks night, they’ll go over 5,000.
Put it this way: The owners, nor the players, are getting rich. It’s a bus league, and the bus rides are long. The Mud Monsters play in the West Division Midwest Conference of the Frontier League with teams mostly located in suburban Chicago, Cincinnati and St. Louis.
“The bus rides can be a grind, but it’s baseball,” Skinner said. “The competition in this league is good. There are some dudes who can really throw it. I have been surprised by how good this league is.”
Skinner played his last season at State in 2022 and upon his graduation with a business degree, he transferred to Memphis where he played one season as graduate student and hit .270 as a full-time starter. He spent 2024 playing for a California team in the Pioneer League, another independent baseball league. Skinner hit .298 and stole 48 bases in 90 games. When the chance came to return to Mississippi and continue to play baseball, he jumped at it.
The Mud Monsters, who did not have a player or a coach six months ago, have won eight of their last nine games, including a 4-2 victory Thursday night ($2 beer night) before a crowd of 2,386. The current home stand continues through Sunday night. Monday is a travel day before the Monsters begin series at Florence, Kentucky (a Cincinnati suburb) and then Schaumburg, Illinois (a Chicago suburb).
“I think we are playing our best ball right now,” Skinner said. “We were all so new to one another, but we’ve bonded together pretty well. We’re winning.”
Independent professional baseball, such as the Frontier League, is peppered with players who have elite talent in one facet of the sport, but lack the overall skill level to make it to the a Major Leagues. For instance, Skinner has Big League speed, base running abilities and defensive range, but lacks the power — “the pop,” as they say — that Major League teams seek from outfielders. Pitcher Michael Fowler, who recently joined the Mud Monsters from Southern Miss, has Big League velocity and stuff, but needs to refine his pitching skills and control.
More than 1,000 players Frontier League have signed contracts with MLB farm systems over the years. A minuscule percentage have made it all the way to the highest level.
“There’s always a shot,” said Skinner, who will turn 26 later this month and knows his is a very long shot. “I know I’m playing right now mostly for the love of the game and I know there’s going to come a time when I have to quit playing. But right now, I’m still trying to go out there every night and try to help my team win and try to get better. I still love playing this game.”
-- Article credit to Rick Cleveland for Mississippi Today --
