The University of Mississippi Athletics
Smith, Tolbert Representing Rebels In MLB Playoffs
10/7/2009 | Baseball
Now that the playoffs are here, the Rebels continue to be represented on the diamond when Seth Smith and the Colorado Rockies take on the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies, and Matt Tolbert takes the field with the Minnesota Twins against the New York Yankees.
Tolbert, who takes the field at 2:30 this afternoon, hit .232 for the Twins this season with two home runs, six steals and 28 runs scored. The versatile athlete played every defensive position for Minnesota in the infield this season with a .989 fielding percentage.
The sure-handed fielder helped the Twins claim their fifth American League Central title in eight years on Tuesday by defeating Detroit 6-5 in a tie-breaker. Tolbert was 2-for-5 in the game with a run scored - the first for the Twins - and an RBI. Tolbert's RBI came in the 10th inning to even the score at five and keep the Twins alive before the game-winning hit came in the 12th.
When Smith and the Rockies take the field at 1:37 p.m. today, it will be against the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies who hold the top-ranked offense in the National League. It should be an exciting contest as the Rockies have the second-best offense in the National League.
It's a familiar scenario as Colorado and Philadelphia faced off in 2007 in the National League Divisional Series with the Rockies as the wild card team who swept the Phillies to start a run to the World Series.
Smith helped Colorado to a wild card berth by hitting .293 in the lead-off spot for the Rockies with 15 home runs, 55 RBI and 61 runs scored.
Should both teams advance through the divisional playoffs, the two Rebels would face off against each other in the World Series. That happened last in 2007 when Smith and the Rockies took on the Boston Red Sox with former Rebel Bobby Kielty on the field for the eventual World Champions from Boston.
