The Mississippi Mud Monsters’ front office is starting to shape up with the announcement of Andrew Seymour as the team’s general manager.
Club officials made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday at Trustmark Park. Seymour comes to Pearl with vast knowledge of independent baseball and an impressive résumé in leadership. The Canada native spent the past six seasons as the general manager of the Palm Beach Cardinals, which won the Florida State League championship this past season.
Seymour has also served in various capacities across both minor and major partner league baseball — including stops in Vancouver, B.C., Grand Prairie, Texas, and Fort Myers, Florida over a 20-year baseball career.
“It is my pleasure to have Andrew join the Mud Monsters as our first general manager,” Club Owner and CEO Joe Eng stated. “He brings a wealth of minor league baseball experience – his work ethic and enthusiasm for creating exceptional fan experiences will permeate throughout Trustmark Park!”
A three-time winner of minor-league baseball executive of the year awards and a number of promotional honors with different organizations, Seymour vows to operate in line with the Mud Monsters’ promise of making baseball games fun, family-friendly, and affordable.
“The Mississippi Mud Monsters will bring unmatched excitement and entertainment to Trustmark Park,” Seymour said. “We are building a world-class team with a singular goal – to provide top-notch family fun that creates lifelong memories for fans.”
Following the conclusion of the Mississippi Braves’ 20th and final season, a new chapter of professional baseball in the Magnolia State began with the Frontier League, an MLB-partner league, announcing that it would be setting up shop at Trustmark Park.
Fans were given three options and a little over a week to vote on a team name. Around 5,600 votes later, the Mud Monsters emerged as the clear favorite to define the new club. A team logo was unveiled shortly after the program’s name was announced.
One of the club’s goals is to attract attendees by fielding a team with players with local ties, whether the athlete is from Mississippi or suited up to play for one of the state’s multitude of universities and junior colleges. Seymour and company plan to make Trustmark Park a venue that entices folks from all over to visit, not solely for baseball.
“We’re very much civic-oriented. We want to give back. And before we give back, we want to be engaged. We want to be involved, and then we want to give back,” Seymour said. “We want to be that year-round place where if you’re looking for something to do on your entertainment calendar, you look to Trustmark Park.”
Mud Monsters management has already addressed one complaint that was reverberated by the public in the final Mississippi Braves campaigns — parking prices. Seymour assured on Wednesday that parking will be free of charge.
As for the makeup of the team, club officials tell SuperTalk Mississippi News that a field manager will be hired sometime in the near future. An announcement is expected to be made soon after the new year begins. The field manager will then be able to assemble a roster to compete on the diamond in the spring.
The Frontier League club will make its Trustmark Park debut on May 8. The team’s full schedule can be found here. And those looking to don Mud Monsters merchandise ahead of the team’s inaugural campaign can click here.