On Saturday, July the 10th, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Travis Wood nearly threw a perfect game in only his third Major League start, but just missed out on becoming the first Arkansan to do so.

Wood, a native of Bryant, AR pitched 8 perfect innings, retiring the first 24 Philadelphia Phillies he faced. Unfortunately, he allowed a double in the top of the 9th, and instead finished with a 1-hit, 9 innings performance. He did not even receive a win or complete, due to the Reds’ own lack of runs. In fact, the Reds eventually lost the game in the 11 inning.

For the third time in a year, Cliff Lee has been traded. The Seattle Mariners announced the trade on Friday, July 9th, the same day Lee was supposed to start for Seattle. Instead, he will start on Saturday for the Rangers.

This time last year, Lee, a Benton, AR native, was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Philadelphia Phillies. Then, during the offseason, Philadelphia started him to Seattle, where he pitched 13 game with the Mariners this season. During those games, Lee went 8 -3 with a league-best 2.34 ERA, 5 compelte games, and an incredible 14.83 Walks/Strikeouts ratio.

The trade comes only a few days after Lee was named a 2010 all-star.

The 2010 MLB All-star game rosters were announced on Sunday, the 4th of July. Among those named to the two teams were Arkansas natives Cliff Lee and Torii Hunter.

Hunter, now a 4 -time all-star, hails from Pine Bluff, AR, where he attended high school. Through the 4th, the Los Angeles Angels outfielder is hitting .294 with 14 homeruns and 60 RBIs.

Lee, a native of Benton, AR, is 8-3 with an American League-best 2.38 ERA. He also leads to league in complete games with 5 and Walks/Strikeouts ratio with an incredible 14.83 mark. This will be his second all-star game, following his 2008 appearance where he started for the American League.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Travis Wood made his Major League debut on Tuesday, July 1st. Wood was born in Little Rock, AR, but is a native of the Bryant area, where he attended high school.

Wood threw 7 solid against for the Reds against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. He surrendered but 2 runs on 2 hits, 3 and strikingout 4. However, Wood did not receive a decision because the Redsand Cubs were forced to play extra innings, where Cincinnati eventually won 3-2

So far, Wood is the only Arkansas-born player to make his debut in 2010

The Texas Rangers once again sent Fort Smith, AR native Craig Gentry back down to AAA Oklahoma City on June 22nd. Gentry has now made two stints with the Rangers, one in late April/Early May, and one during most of June. In his time with the team, he hit .212 in 20 games.

On Sunday, June 20th, Pat Burrell hit his 270 career homerun, passing Brooks Robinson for the all-time homerun record by an Arkansas-born player. Burrell, born in Eureka Springs, AR, is currently playing with the San Francisco Giants and has 5 homers on the year, including 2 from his time with the Tampa Bay Ray.

Robinson, a native of Little Rock, AR, held the record with 269 homers for nearly 33 years.

The 2010 MLB draft wrapped up on June 9th when rounds 30 through 50 to place. During those rounds, 65more players with Arkansas connections were selected, and they are as follows:

Anthony Lohden (Southern Arkansas Muleriders, 33rd round, Royals

Andrew Whittington (Southern Arkansas University, 33rd round, Diamondbacks)

Andrew Benes (Arkansas Red Wolves, 35th round, Cardinals)

Sam Bates (Cabot, AR, 39th round, Marlins)

Chad Yinger (Southern Arkansas Muleriders, 48th round, Angels)

Day 2 of the MLB Draft featured 13 more players with connections to Arkansas, most notably Brett Eibner and Drew Smyly, each of who attended the University of Arkansas and were drafted in the second round. Eibner, a pitcher and outfielder, was selected by Kansas City, while Smyly, a pitcher also, was picked by Detroit.

Other early selections include Conway, AR native Zack Cates (3rd round, Padres), Razorback player Andy Wilkins (5th round, White Sox) and Bryant, AR native Ben Wells (7th round, Cubs).

The remaining Arkansas picks are as follows:

Richie Tate (Marked Tree, AR, 14th round, Braves)

Mike Bolsinger (Arkansas Razorbacks, 15th round, Diamondbacks)

Collin Kuhn (Arkansas Razorbacks, 15th round, Tigers)

Jordan Pratt (Arkansas Razorbacks, 16th round, Tigers)

Jeremy Heatley (Arkansas Razorbacks, 22nd round, Marlins)

Adam Champion (Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans, 24th round, Houston Astros)

Jonathan Dooley (Henderson Redies, 26th round, Royals)

Murray Watts (Arkansas Red Wovles, 28th round, Royals)

The first day of the 2010 MLB draft featured two players with Arkansas connections. Magnolia, AR native and Southern Arkansas University player Hayden Simpson was selected by the Chicago Cubs as the 16th overall pick, becoming the highest Arkansas-born player drafted since Pat Burrell was selected 1st overall in 1998 draft.

A few selections later, the St. Louis Cardinals picked Zach Cox at 25th overall, a third baseman from the University of Arkansas. He was previously drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 20th round of the ‘08 draft, but opted not to sign.

Less than a week after signing a minor league contract, Pat Burrell was called up to the San Francisco Giants on June 4th. He signed with the team on May 29th and was sent to AAA Fresno, where he hit .313 with a homerun in 5 games. The Giants will be Burrell’s 3rd major league team to play with during his 11-year career, following the Phillies and Rays.