Fish at a Glance
Full Name: Fish
Species: Part catfish, part gar.
Born: 2005 when Trustmark Park opened
Birthplace: The “Gold Coast” of the Pearl River, just beyond Old Fannin Road about a mile north of Trustmark Park.
Hometown: Pearl, MS
Occupation: Official mascot of the Mississippi Mud Monsters (2025-present)
Debut: Officially emerged from the Pearl River in 2025 when the Mud Monsters took over Trustmark Park.
Height: 6’0
Weight: Classified information (and constantly changing after visits to the concession stand)
Throws: T-shirts
Bats: Cleanup at the concession stand
Favorite Food: Country Pleasin’ sausage on Wednesdays
Favorite Promotion: Swamp Ass Saturday (he’s a swamp creature—it’s practically a holiday.)
Favorite Song: “Catfish John” by the Grateful Dead
Favorite Hobby: Dancing with fans, posing for selfies, launching T-shirts and entertaining kids around Trustmark Park
Best Friend: Every kid who walks through the front gates
Claim to Fame: Emerging from the Pearl River just as professional baseball entered a new era in Pearl
Personality: Outgoing, energetic and always looking to make someone smile. Fish rarely stays in one place for long and believes every baseball game should feel like a community celebration.
Fun Fact: Fish proudly claims the Pearl River’s historic “Gold Coast” as his hometown—a stretch of river once known for its lively juke joints, dance halls and blues music. He insists that growing up around the sounds of the Blues Trail explains why he’s always the first one dancing between innings.
When the Mississippi Braves left Pearl for Columbus, Georgia, following the 2024 season, it felt like the end of an era.
The M-Braves had called Trustmark Park home since 2005. For two decades, Central Mississippi baseball fans watched future Atlanta Braves climb through the minor leagues, collected promotional bobbleheads and spent humid summer nights beneath the ballpark lights. The Braves became the Columbus Clingstones, and some fans feared Trustmark Park would go dark.
But somewhere beyond Old Fannin Road, on the other side of Highway 80 something began stirring beneath the mud.
First came a ripple. Then came a splash.
Finally, out of the murky depths of the Pearl River emerged a giant teal creature with the whiskers of a catfish, the fins of a gar and the unmistakable confidence of someone who had never once been asked to leave a buffet.
His name was Fish.
Not Mr. Fish.
Not Captain Fish.
Not Fishy McFishface.
Just Fish.
Fish’s arrival was tied closely to the creation of the Mississippi Mud Monsters.
After the Mississippi Braves announced their move to Columbus, Georgia, the Frontier League awarded Pearl an expansion franchise, keeping professional baseball at Trustmark Park. The new organization then asked fans to choose among three possible names: the Mississippi Mud Monsters, Mississippi Grits and Mississippi Soul Shakers. More than 5,600 votes were cast, and the Mud Monsters won.
With a name like that, the team needed a mascot that felt distinctly Mississippi. Fish became the natural choice: a strange river creature inspired by the catfish, gar and muddy waterways that are part of the state’s identity. The team describes him as part catfish, part gar and part something else entirely. His favorite activities include dancing, causing trouble around the ballpark and launching T-shirts into the stands.
According to the Mud Monsters, Fish’s hometown is “somewhere just beyond Old Fannin Road,” just north of Trustmark Park. Around the clubhouse, however, Fish likes to tell people he’s from the “Gold Coast of the Pearl River.”
That’s a playful nod to one of Central Mississippi’s lesser-known historical landmarks. The “Gold Coast” refers to a stretch of the Pearl River near present-day Flowood and Pearl that was once home to numerous juke joints, dance halls and riverside clubs during the early and mid-20th century. The area became an important stop in Mississippi’s blues culture, earning recognition with a Mississippi Blues Trail marker that commemorates the musicians, venues and vibrant nightlife that once lined the riverbanks.
It makes perfect sense that Fish would claim the Gold Coast as home. After all, a mascot who loves dancing, entertaining crowds and making a little harmless mischief probably would have fit right in with the music, laughter and late-night energy that once echoed along the Pearl River.
Today, Fish carries that same spirit to Trustmark Park. Whether he’s dancing on the dugout, launching T-shirts into the stands or posing for photos with young fans, he’s determined to keep the ballpark as lively as the old Gold Coast once was.
Few mascots feel more at home in Mississippi than Fish.
The Magnolia State has long been associated with farm-raised catfish, particularly in the Delta, where Belzoni proudly calls itself the Catfish Capital of the World. From family-owned fish houses to Friday-night fish fries, catfish have become one of Mississippi’s signature traditions.
That made a river creature the perfect choice to represent the Mud Monsters. Fish embodies the team’s identity; a little mysterious, a little rough around the edges and always ready to entertain. His home along the Pearl River ties him directly to the waterways that helped shape Central Mississippi, while his energetic personality reflects the Mud Monsters’ mission of making every night at Trustmark Park feel like an event rather than just another baseball game.
You’ll rarely find Fish standing still. Whether he’s dancing with fans between innings, leading on-field contests, firing T-shirts into the grandstands or celebrating after a Mud Monsters victory, he’s usually in the middle of the action. If there’s a promotion happening, chances are Fish has already claimed it as his favorite.
For a franchise built around fun, creativity and a little Mississippi mud, there may not be a more fitting ambassador than Fish.
Like any good mascot, Fish doesn’t spend much time standing still.
From the moment the gates open until the final out, he’s roaming the concourse, greeting fans, posing for photos, dancing between innings and making appearances during many of the Mud Monsters’ on-field promotions. If there’s a crowd gathered somewhere inside Trustmark Park, chances are Fish isn’t far away.
One of his busiest nights is Bingo Madness Tuesday, when fans can play bingo throughout the game for prizes. Fish usually makes the rounds checking on bingo cards, celebrating winners and keeping the energy high around the ballpark.
On What’s on a Stick Wednesday, the spotlight shifts to one of the Mud Monsters’ most unique promotions. Fans can sample mystery Country Pleasin’ sausage flavors paired with a mystery beer, while those brave enough to try all seven sausage varieties earn a “Meat the Challenge” T-shirt. It’s one of the team’s signature promotions and one Fish is always happy to promote.
Thirsty Thursday combines discounted draft beer with one of baseball’s favorite traditions—fans getting the opportunity to run the bases after the game. Fish is usually front and center, encouraging runners of all ages as they make their way around the diamond.
Every Friday concludes with a fireworks show lighting up the Central Mississippi sky. Before the fireworks begin, Fish keeps the crowd entertained with his between-inning antics and has become one of the most recognizable faces around the ballpark.
Marquee Saturdays feature many of the organization’s biggest giveaways and specialty theme nights, along with Kids Run the Bases after the game. Whether it’s a jersey giveaway, themed celebration or one of the club’s creative promotional nights, Fish is often at the center of the action.
The weekend wraps up with 601 Sundays, a celebration of Central Mississippi and the communities that support the Mud Monsters. The afternoon features family-friendly activities, postgame Kids Run the Bases and plenty of opportunities for young fans to meet Fish before heading home.
No matter the promotion, Fish has quickly become one of the faces of baseball’s return to Pearl. He’s more than just a mascot—he’s the constant presence connecting every theme night, giveaway and family tradition that makes a night at Trustmark Park memorable.
Few promotions capture a Mississippi summer quite like Swamp Ass Saturday.
Anyone who has attended a baseball game in Central Mississippi during July knows exactly what the name means. The combination of heat, humidity and afternoon sunshine has become as much a part of the experience as hot dogs and seventh-inning stretches. Rather than shy away from it, the Mud Monsters embraced it with one of the most talked-about promotions on their schedule.
The highlight of the evening came when the Mud Monsters took the field wearing special Swamp Ass shorts, becoming one of the first professional baseball teams in decades to wear shorts during a game. The promotion paid tribute to one of baseball’s most memorable fashion experiments, the Chicago White Sox teams of the mid-1970s, which briefly wore shorts as part of owner Bill Veeck’s push to make the game more entertaining. While the White Sox abandoned the look after a handful of games, the Mud Monsters brought it back for one unforgettable night in Pearl.
The game-worn shorts were later auctioned off, while the first 1,000 fans received a commemorative Swamp Ass seat cushion. The evening also concluded with Kids Run the Bases, capping off one of the franchise’s most unique theme nights.
It also happens to be one of Fish’s favorite nights of the season.
As the team’s swamp-dwelling mascot, Fish is right at home in Mississippi’s hot, humid summer weather. While fans search for shade or the nearest cold drink, Fish is working the concourse, posing for photos, entertaining children and helping turn a steamy July night into one of the most memorable promotions of the season. It’s a promotion that perfectly captures the Mud Monsters’ identity; creative, self-aware and willing to have fun with the realities of a Mississippi summer while giving fans a baseball experience unlike any other.
When the Mississippi Braves departed after the 2024 season, many wondered what the future held for Trustmark Park. For the first time in two decades, the stadium faced an uncertain future, and some questioned whether professional baseball would ever return to Pearl.
Those concerns didn’t last long.
The arrival of the Mississippi Mud Monsters ensured the ballpark would remain a destination for summer baseball. While the Frontier League offers a different style of professional baseball than affiliated Minor League Baseball, the organization’s emphasis on entertainment, community involvement and creative promotions has given Trustmark Park a new identity.
Fish has become a big part of that transition.
Whether he’s greeting fans at the front gate, dancing between innings, leading on-field contests or posing for photos with young baseball fans, Fish has quickly become one of the most recognizable faces of the franchise. He represents the fun, family-friendly atmosphere the Mud Monsters have worked to create while embracing the culture and character of Central Mississippi.
The Mississippi Braves may have moved on, but baseball never left Pearl.
It simply entered a new chapter—one led by the Mud Monsters, a loyal fan base and one unforgettable mascot who proudly calls the Pearl River home.
When the Mississippi Braves departed after the 2024 season, many wondered what the future held for Trustmark Park. For the first time in two decades, the stadium faced an uncertain future, and some questioned whether professional baseball would ever return to Pearl.
Those concerns didn’t last long. The arrival of the Mississippi Mud Monsters ensured the ballpark would remain a destination for summer baseball. While the Frontier League offers a different style of professional baseball than affiliated Minor League Baseball, the organization’s emphasis on entertainment, community involvement and creative promotions has given Trustmark Park a new identity.
Fish has become a big part of that transition. Whether he’s greeting fans at the front gate, dancing between innings, leading on-field contests or posing for photos with young baseball fans, Fish has quickly become one of the most recognizable faces of the franchise. He represents the fun, family-friendly atmosphere the Mud Monsters have worked to create while embracing the culture and character of Central Mississippi.
The Mississippi Braves may have moved on, but baseball never left Pearl.
It simply entered a new chapter, one led by the Mud Monsters, a loyal fan base and one unforgettable mascot who proudly calls the Pearl River home.
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