hooked on a feeling

Tried-and-true fans who’ve spent their summer nights at Trustmark Park feel something special today. Young players they watched hone their skills with the Double-A Mississippi Braves have grown into world champions with the Atlanta Braves. That’s a special connection. Longtime Smith-Wills Stadium cranks felt it in 1986 when the New York Mets, with a roster filled with Jackson Mets alumni, won the World Series. Davey Johnson, the Mets’ manager in ’86, won a Texas League title with the JaxMets five years earlier. Braves manager Brian Snitker, a great guy and a most deserving champion, was the first manager of the M-Braves in 2005, when the pipeline from Pearl to Atlanta began to flow. For all the talk about the July trades that boosted the Braves’ season, it is a largely homegrown team. No fewer than 21 M-Braves products played for Atlanta this season — and many played major roles. Watching Max Fried’s brilliant effort — six shutout innings vs. Houston, the best hitting team in the game — in Game 6 on Tuesday night, one is reminded of the first time watching the skinny left-hander snap off a curveball in Pearl in 2017. (He was a work-in-progress with a 2-11 record and 5.92 ERA that season, but he quickly figured things out, actually making his big league debut that August.) M-Braves fans may also recall the first time they saw Freddie Freeman take a swing, the first time they saw Ozzie Albies run the bases, Dansby Swanson field a ground ball or Austin Riley hit one out. There’s a special connection there. It was a shame that Ronald Acuna, injured in July, missed the Series. Who could forget that he hit a home run on the first pitch he saw as an M-Brave? He hasn’t stopped raking since. Acuna can take heart: This Atlanta team stands a good chance of returning to the big stage. The core of the 2021 Braves is young, and there is more talent on the way. The 2021 M-Braves won the Double-A South pennant with a prospect-filled club. When do pitchers and catchers report?