Big changes are coming for the Braves Double-A affiliate, and it’s all about a fresh start in a familiar place. The Mississippi Braves are no more—enter the Columbus Clingstones, set to make their debut in Columbus, Georgia, in 2024.
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— Columbus Clingstones (@ColaGABaseball) September 7, 2024
Now, you might wonder, why the name “Clingstones”? Well, it’s not just a catchy title. It’s a nod to Georgia’s agricultural heritage. Georgia is known as the Peach State, and a clingstone is a variety of peach where the pit clings to the flesh of the fruit, unlike a freestone peach where the pit falls out easily. It’s a clever play on words, but more importantly, it speaks to Columbus’ own connection to this stubborn yet beloved fruit.
As team general manager Pat Laven puts it, “Not only is the clingstone cute and tasty, but it’s also very stubborn as it clings to the pit of the peach.” Laven is quick to point out the metaphor at work here—the team’s bond with the Columbus community is going to be just as strong. “They’ve had a lot of different iterations of Minor League Baseball here, but it’s never been set up to succeed like this,” Laven added, emphasizing the support from the city, ownership, and the Atlanta Braves.
It’s clear the Braves organization is making a concerted effort to bring its minor league affiliates closer to home. With this move, the Braves now have their Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A teams all based in Georgia. The Single-A Augusta GreenJackets, while in South Carolina, sit just across the Savannah River from Georgia, making them neighbors to the Peach State.
The Clingstones will kick off their inaugural season at Synovus Park on April 15, 2024, against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, and they’re already having fun with their new identity. The name may be a departure from the Braves tradition, but it’s right in line with a trend. The Gwinnett Braves made a similar move in 2018, rebranding as the Stripers, and the Rome Braves are set to become the Rome Emperors in 2024.
For Mississippi Braves fans, there’s still time to say goodbye. The team will play its final home game this Sunday and wrap up its Mississippi tenure on September 15 against the Biloxi Shuckers. It’s the end of an era in Pearl, Mississippi, but the beginning of an exciting new chapter in Columbus.
As the Braves Double-A team transitions to its new home, the Clingstones are ready to dig in. And for the baseball community in Columbus, it looks like this is the partnership they’ve been waiting for all along.
