When the Braves Called Pearl Home

The Mississippi Braves are gone. So is “Snit,” but I still have the baseball he tossed me and “Frenchy” is on the broadcast. I’ll explain.

I left work in Jackson one summer day circa 2005, heading east towards Georgia. I had noticed the M-Braves were visiting the bizarrely-named Montgomery Biscuits and decided to take in the game. Jeff “Frenchy” Francoeur, the Mississippi Braves’ sureshot superstar, slammed a massive home run in the first inning. I’m pretty sure it landed in the Alabama River, on whose banks Montgomery’s splendid minor league stadium sits.

I had grabbed a seat right behind our Braves’ dugout and gave a loud whoopee when Francoeur circled the bases in triumph. “Snit”-Mississippi Braves manager Brian Snitker-soon recognized me as the only Braves fan in the stadium and to show me his thanks, tossed me a game ball and a thumbs-up. It was a nice gesture on his part.

Turn the clock some 20 years ahead.

The Mississippi Braves have left the building-stately Trustmark Park with 8,400 seats, built in the Jackson suburb of Pearl for the Atlanta Braves’ Class AA ball team. They landed in Georgia’s second-largest city of Columbus as the “Clingstones” in an old stadium that cost $50 million to renovate.

In the Braves’ place today in Rankin County are the Mississippi “Mud Monsters” of the independent Frontier League. The Monsters, while not affiliated with a specific MLB team, are providing entertainment and action played by still-aspiring major leaguers.

Snitker moved up from Jackson in the Atlanta Braves company, first to their Class AAA team, then to third-base coach for the top club and later as manager of the MLB Braves from 2016-2025. In 2021, he led the big-league Braves to the World Championship over the Houston Astros.

The M-Braves are history now and so is Snitker. The Braves’ skipper was recently kicked upstairs as they continued to slump and their playoff (with apologies to former Saints’ coach Jim Mora: “playoffs?”) hopes viciously faded.

Atlanta has been playing without Franceour-grade star third baseman Austin Riley of Southaven, Mississippi, whose dramatic home run in the first game of the 2021 playoffs against the LA Dodgers tied the contest. He later won it for Atlanta with a hit. The Braves went on to take the World Series over Houston.

Riley, who spurned Mississippi State to go pro out of high school at DeSoto Central in Southaven, joined the Atlanta Braves in 2019, quickly establishing himself as a bonafide star. He became wealthy after that standout performance in the 2021 series, signing a 10-year contract worth $212 million.

A two-time All -Star, Riley has been missing from the lineup since early this season after abdominal surgery.

All this shows how quickly things can change for professional teams and individuals, particularly in minor league settings like Jackson/Pearl whose populations sometimes cannot sustain team popularity and financial viability. (Montgomery just signed a contract with the Biscuits that runs until 2040.)

I submit that the extremely popular Jackson Mets of truly olden day’s best represent my theory. That organization put more future MLB stars on the field than the M-Braves ever did--Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, Billy Beane, Calvin Schiraldi, Hubie Brooks, Mississippian Barry Lyons, Lee Mazilli, and many others--but after 16 years in Smith-Wills Stadium, they bailed for Binghamton.

I must admit to being among the guilty for the lack of all-out support of the Mississippi Braves. We resided a short trip down Flowood Drive to Trustmark Park and took in some games. However, I always considered the season ticket package pricey and never made that plunge.

---Mac Gordon is a native of McComb. He is a retired newspaperman. He can be reached at macmarygordon@gmail.com.