Port Gibson’s J.T. Hall looking for consistency at Double-A level

Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 6, 2009

PEARL — J.T. Hall’s return to Mississippi was a memorable one.

Playing in front of an estimated 70 friends and family, the Montgomery Biscuits outfielder and Port Gibson native had two multi-hit games and a game-winning hit. Perhaps even more important than that, though, was a sense that he’s finding his groove again.

Hall has endured an up-and-down season in his second year at the Double-A level. Struggling to an average in the .220 range, he was deactivated from the Biscuits’ roster for two weeks in late July. Since being reactivated on Aug. 1 — just in time for a five-game series against the Mississippi Braves in Pearl — Hall is 5-for-11 with a double and two RBIs in three games.

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“It really gave me a wake-up call and let me know I’ve got to compete every day. I’m competing for a job,” Hall said. “What happened is in the past. In baseball, you’re always going to have slumps. You’ve just got to let the highs outweigh the lows.”

Hall knows all about the highs and lows of baseball. His career has been one long rollercoaster ride.

The Tampa Bay Rays selected him in the 41st round of the 2004 Major league draft, and he hit just .193 in his first professional season. He improved in 2005, and had a breakout year in 2006 when he was the team MVP at Class A Southwest Michigan. His play even earned him a four-game stint in Triple-A at the end of the year.

Another solid season followed in 2007 at Advanced Class A Vero Beach, and he was a Florida State League all-star in 2008. Not long after winning the FSL’s all-star home run derby, he was promoted to Montgomery and quickly earned a regular place in the lineup.

This season has been different, though. His average hasn’t climbed above .250 for most of the season and he hit just .203 in June.

“Just my timing at the plate,” Hall offered as an explanation for the slump. “I was rushing myself, not slowing the game down like I should.”

The prolonged slump eventually led to Hall’s demotion — on paper, at least — to Class A on July 15. He remained with Montgomery, although he was inactive and not eligible to play, until another roster move on Aug. 1 put him back on the active roster.

“It was something I had no control over. I didn’t take it as a negative. I wasn’t contributing,” Hall said.

Since his return, he has. In his first game back on Sunday, he went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk in a 5-4 loss to the M-Braves. Two days later, he drove in the go-ahead run in a 3-2 victory with a sixth-inning single. Hall didn’t play in two games of the series, and went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in a 6-3 victory in Wednesday’s series finale.

“He’s always been the same guy, and that’s helped him. He doesn’t change much. He still went about his work the same way,” Biscuits manager Billy Gardner Jr. said. “Obviously being deactivated isn’t something anybody wants to deal with, but I thought he dealt with it well.”

Hall said getting to play in his native Mississippi helped spark his surge. Now the trick is to continue it and finish strong.

“It’s a lot of season left. I can end on a good or bad note,” Hall said. “I’ve just got to try to be more consistent on the offensive and defensive side.”

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com