History
On September 9, 2024, the Frontier League announced that it had awarded an expansion franchise to Pearl, Mississippi after the Atlanta Braves’ Double-A affiliate, the Mississippi Braves, announced their intent to relocate to Columbus, Georgia. [1] With the addition of the new franchise, there will be professional baseball in Pearl for the 21st straight year, following 20 years of the Mississippi Braves. [2]
The team is owned by Joseph Eng. [3] Andrew Seymour was named general manager in December 2024. [3]
On January 13, 2025, the Mud Monsters announced Jay Pecci as their inaugural field manager for the 2025 season. [4]
On January 20, 2025, the Mud Monsters announced their first three player signings for the inaugural 2025 season. [5]
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The club was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings. The Braves are one of two remaining National League charter franchises that debuted in 1876 and are the oldest continuously operating professional sports franchise in North America. The franchise was known by various names until it adopted the Boston Braves name in 1912.
The Frontier League is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the four independent baseball leagues that is considered to be an MLB Partner League, and the level of play is comparable to the High-A level. The league is headquartered in Sauget, Illinois.
Pearl is a city located in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States, on the east side of the Pearl River across from the state capital Jackson. The population was 27,115 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in the Southern League. The M-Braves played their home games at Trustmark Park. After the 2024 season, the team relocated to Columbus, Georgia, to become the Columbus Clingstones.
Larry Alton Parrish is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball and the Nippon Professional Baseball league as a third baseman from 1974 to 1990, most prominently as a member of the Montreal Expos and the Texas Rangers.
Trustmark Park is a baseball stadium in Pearl, Mississippi. It is the home of the Mississippi Mud Monsters, an expansion team in the independent Frontier League, and the Belhaven Blazers, a college baseball team in the NCAA Division III Collegiate Conference of the South. It was the home of the Mississippi Braves, the Southern League Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, from 2005 to 2024.
Synovus Park is a baseball stadium currently undergoing a major renovation in Columbus, Georgia, United States, that opened in 1926 and has undergone many rebuilds and repairs. Baseball has been played near Synovus Park since 1909, but in 1926, the current location has been used. In 1951, the park was significantly rebuilt, then in 1995 for the 1996 Summer Olympics. The park was damaged in 2006 causing part of the outfield wall to collapse and then strong winds hit the stadium in 2012 and knocked the light stands off the roof, causing more damage. Located on the Chattahoochee River in Downtown Columbus. The exterior of the Synovus Park is a red brick façade and has many well-landscaped sidewalks that connect to the Chattahoochee RiverWalk.
Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the central region of the U.S. state of Mississippi that covers seven counties: Copiah, Hinds, Holmes, Madison, Rankin, Simpson, and Yazoo. As of the 2010 census, the Jackson MSA had a population of 586,320. According to 2019 estimates, the population has slightly increased to 594,806. Jackson is the principal city of the MSA.
The 1957 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1957. The regular season ended on September 29, with the Milwaukee Braves and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 54th World Series on October 2 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. The Braves defeated the Yankees, four games to three, capturing the second championship in franchise history and first in Milwaukee.
The 1962 major league baseball season began on April 9, 1962. The regular season ended on October 3, with the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a regular season best-of-three tiebreaker, for the National League title in three games, after both teams finished their 162-game schedules with identical 101–61 records. This was the fifth regular season tie-breaker. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 59th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 7 on October 16. The Yankees defeated the Giants, capturing their 20th championship in franchise history.
The 1958 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1958. The regular season ended on September 28, with the Milwaukee Braves and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In a rematch of the previous season, the postseason began with Game 1 of the 55th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 7 on October 9. The Yankees defeated the Braves, four games to three, capturing the 18th championship in franchise history.
The 1961 major league baseball season began on April 10, 1961. The regular season ended on October 1, with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 58th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 5 on October 9. The Yankees defeated the Reds, capturing their 19th championship in franchise history. The season is best known for Yankee teammates Roger Maris' and Mickey Mantle's pursuit of Babe Ruth's prestigious 34-year-old single-season home run record of 60. Maris ultimately broke the record when he hit his 61st home run on the final day of the regular season, while Mantle was forced out of the lineup in late September due to a hip infection and finished with 54 home runs.
The 2013 Conference USA baseball tournament was held from May 22 through 26 at Reckling Park in Houston, Texas. The annual tournament determines the conference champion of the Division I Conference USA for college baseball. Rice won their fifth tournament championship and claimed the league's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. This is the last of 19 athletic championship events held by the conference in the 2012–13 academic year.
The Sussex County Miners are a professional baseball team based in Augusta, New Jersey. They compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division in the Atlantic Conference, and have played their home games at Skylands Stadium, originally known as Skylands Park, since 2015. The Miners are not currently affiliated to any Major League Baseball teams, but are official MLB Partners since 2020. They were originally members of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball until 2020. They joined the Frontier League for the 2020 season when it absorbed the Can-Am League.
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championship and other leagues. As of 2024, the league has 14 teams who play 30 regular season games, followed by playoffs. All teams also participate in the USL Cup, adding an additional four games, followed by knockout rounds.
The Mississippi State–Ole Miss baseball rivalry is a college baseball rivalry between the Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team of Mississippi State University, in Starkville, Mississippi and the Ole Miss Rebels baseball team of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The rivalry series has included a single neutral-site game since 1980, known first as the Mayor's Trophy and later as the Governor's Cup. This game is in addition to the games played as part of the Southeastern Conference schedule, but does not count towards the conference record.
The Ottawa Titans, officially the Ottawa Titans Baseball Club are a professional baseball team based in Ottawa. They compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the North Division in the Atlantic Conference. Since 2022, the Titans have played their home games at Ottawa Stadium, originally known as RCGT Park. The Titans have made it to the playoffs two times in franchise history.
The USL W League (USLW) is a women's soccer league in the United States. It began play in May 2022 and follows the USL W-League, a similar league that existed from 1995 to 2015. It is currently not sanctioned by the US Soccer Federation, meaning it doesn't have a position in the US soccer pyramid.
The Columbus Clingstones are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Columbus, Georgia. The team, which will play in the Southern League, will be the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves major-league club.
The Down East Bird Dawgs are a professional baseball team based in Kinston, North Carolina. The Bird Dawgs compete in the Frontier League (FL) as part of the East Division in the Atlantic Conference, and play their home games at Grainger Stadium.
