M-Braves awarded 2007 All-Star Game

[Drakeshead]

M-Braves awarded 2007 All-Star Game

Southern League's 'best of best' will square off at Pearl's Trustmark Park

Mississippi Braves fans can add one more trip to Trustmark Park for next season.

The 2007 Southern League All-Star game will be played at the Pearl ballpark, league officials announced Monday.

The game, set for July 9, 2007, will be the third Southern League All-Star Game hosted by the Atlanta Braves AA affiliate. The Mississippi Braves, formerly the Greenville Braves, last hosted the event in 2000.

"Our fans have already seen top-tier talent come through our team and on to Atlanta," M-Braves general manager Steve DeSalvo said in a statement released by the club. "This event gives our fans a chance to see the best of the best in the rest of the league and we're proud to bring that to them. The Southern League All-Star Game showcases the best and brightest in the entire league and we can't wait to have them here at Trustmark Park."

It will also mark the first time in 15 years that a professional baseball all-star game has been played in the Jackson metro area.

Smith-Wills Stadium hosted the Texas League All-Star Game in 1984 and 1992, both of which drew big crowds and produced dramatic finishes.

Former Jackson Met Billy Beane won the 1984 game with a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth before a listed crowd of 4,824. In 1992, Greenville native Adell Davenport, then with the Shreveport Captains, also hit a game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth before a near-capacity crowd announced at 5,115.

Mississippi Braves season ticket holder David Blount of Jackson attended the all-star game in 1984 and welcomes the return of all-star baseball to Mississippi.

"This game is just more evidence that the folks with the Braves are doing a great job," said Blount. "It's a tribute to the Braves staff and the excellent facility that we have. I look forward to going."

The Braves will announce ticket information, a full schedule and further details at a later date. This year's game, played Monday night in Montgomery, also included a home run derby.

Blount, who has followed professional baseball in Mississippi since the 70's, says watching all-star games adds an even more interesting twist for fans.

"It's fun to go and see the same players every night and get to know them, but all-star games give you a chance to see all the best players," said Blount. "You pay a lot more attention knowing that the players are a lot more likely to have a future in the Major Leagues."

[FnW man]

Well if this season is any reflection, I know who WON"T be participating....the Braves.

[big gumbo]

Congradumolestions.

Looks like even the Braves player developement program has hit hard times too.