Mississippi Braves

Mississippi Braves Founded in 2005 Pearl, Mississippi
Team logo Cap insignia
Class-level
Current	Double-A (2005–present)
Minor league affiliations
League	Southern League (2005–present)
Division	South Division
Major league affiliations
Current	Atlanta Braves (2005–present)
Minor league titles
League titles (1)	2008
Division titles (1)	2008
Team data
Nickname	Mississippi Braves (2005–present)
Previous names	Greenville Braves (1984–2004) Savannah Braves (1971–1983) Shreveport Braves (1968–1970) Austin Braves (1966–1967)
Ballpark	Trustmark Park
Previous parks	Greenville Municipal Stadium Grayson Stadium Braves Field Disch Field
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Liberty Media
Manager	Luis Salazar
General Manager	Steve DeSalvo

The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a minor league baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Class AA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, and plays in the Southern League. The team is owned and operated by Liberty Media, which also owns the Atlanta Braves. Liberty purchased the Braves from Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting unit in 2007.^[1]

Team history

For 20 years, from 1984 to 2004, the Mississippi Braves were based in Greenville, South Carolina, and known as the Greenville Braves. Due to the condition of Greenville Municipal Stadium, and the failure to reach an agreement with the Greenville County council for a new ballpark, the team pursued relocation. Before the 2004 season, the Braves announced their intentions to relocate to Pearl, Mississippi, after the season's conclusion.

The Mississippi Braves first season began on April 18, 2005. The Braves opened their inaugural season in Trustmark Park with a loss against the Montgomery Biscuits.

Championships

On September 13, 2008, the Mississippi Braves beat the Carolina Mudcats, 3–2, in the 10th inning of the decisive Game 5 of the Southern League Championship Series. This was the M-Braves first championship since relocating to Mississippi and was the first Southern League title for Atlanta's Double-A franchise since 1997.^[2]

• 
  M-Braves current home, Trustmark Park
• 
  Greenville Braves logo. The franchise moved from Greenville to Pearl at the end of the 2004 season.

Roster

Mississippi Braves roster
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 48 Caleb Dirks 23 Steve Kent 49 Kyle Kinman 38 Taylor Lewis 30 Michael Mader 45 Victor Mateo 34 A. J. Minter 43 Akeel Morris * 15 Sean Newcomb 39 David Peterson 25 Phillip Pfeifer 37 Evan Phillips 11 Max Povse 14 Lucas Sims 18 Patrick Weigel		Catchers 12 Willians Astudillo 27 Joseph Odom Infielders 20 Ozzie Albies  1 Johan Camargo 13 Carlos Franco  9 Levi Hyams 32 Joey Meneses 24 Jacob Schrader  2 Reed Harper Outfielders  5 Connor Lien 16 Stephen Gaylor 28 Dustin Peterson		Manager  4 Luis Salazar Coaches 17 Bárbaro Garbey (coach) 50 Dennis Lewallyn (pitching) 7-day disabled list * On Atlanta Braves 40-man roster # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporary inactive list Roster updated December 2, 2016 Transactions → More MiLB rosters → Atlanta Braves minor league players

Notable players

Alex Wood pitching for the Mississippi Braves

• Blaine Boyer* (2005)
• Román Colón (2005)
• Chuck James (2005)
• Brian McCann* (2005)
• Jay Powell* (2005)
• Martín Prado* (2005–2006)
• Gregor Blanco (2005-2006)
• Joey Devine* (2005–2007)
• Jeff Francoeur* (2005, 2008)
• Chipper Jones* (2006)
• Yunel Escobar (2006)
• Manny Acosta (2006)
• Matt Harrison (2006)
• José Ascanio* (2006–2007)
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia* (2006–2007)
• Kris Medlen (2007-2008)
• Tommy Hanson (2008)
• Matt Diaz (2008)
• Jordan Schafer (2008, 2010)
• Jason Heyward (2009)
• Freddie Freeman (2009)
• Craig Kimbrel (2009)
• Nate McLouth* (2009)
• Julio Teheran (2010)
• Mike Minor (2010, 2014)
• Arodys Vizcaíno (2011, 2015)
• Andrelton Simmons* (2012)
• Evan Gattis (2012)
• Christian Bethancourt (2012-2013)
• Philip Gosselin (2012-2013)
• Tommy La Stella (2013)
• Alex Wood (2013)
• Mallex Smith (2015)

* Promoted directly to Atlanta.

References

1. Joe Bramhall. tHoover's "Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc." Check |url= value (help). Hoover's. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
2. http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080914/SPORTS09/809140389 The Clarion-Ledger: M-Braves complete mission

External links

• Official site
• Manager Phillip Wellman's tirade
• "Mississippi Braves Media Guide" (PDF). 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
• Mississippi Braves photos