Jeff Ferrell is first Wilmington player to reach big leagues since Trot Nixon

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — 2009 Laney grad Jeff Ferrell made his Major League Baseball debut on July 4th for the Detroit Tigers. After two relief appearances Ferrell was released from Detroit’s 25-man roster on Saturday. He’s now back on the Triple-A level, but Ferrell is spending time in Wilmington this week before returning to the minor leagues for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.  “I think I did all right, I did not do great by any means,” Ferrell told WWAY’s John Rendleman. “I could be back up there in a week(Detroit) or I could be called back up in September. I really don’t know, hopefully I can go back to the minor leagues and kinda get my feet back under me and see what happens from there. If I do get the call back up I hope to be more comfortable and be myself out there and do what I did in the minor leagues and hopefully have some success.”

On Sunday Jeff Ferrell threw a bullpen session at his old stomping grounds at Wilmington’s Buck Hardee Field. “It is awesome. It’s great coming home. I love coming out here and talking to the guys. I feel like I can talk to them a little bit and kinda give them some motivation to get where I am one day.”

Note: Ferrell played at Laney for three varsity seasons. He also pitched three seasons for Wilmington Post 10. Click the video above in order to see Ferrell throwing a bullpen session with Post 10 over the weekend.

Jeff Ferrell is first player to reach the big leagues from a Wilmington high school since Trot Nixon. Note: Trot Nixon is WWAY’s analyst for the the 5th Quarter. Nixon played in Major League Baseball from 1996 to 2008. Most of Nixon’s years were with the Boston Red Sox.