The Rocket City Trash Pandas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. They are located in

Madison, Alabama Madison is a city located primarily in Madison County, near the northern border of the U.S. state of Alabama. Madison extends west into neighboring Limestone County. The city is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the second-largest ...

, and play their home games at

Toyota Field Toyota Field is a soccer-specific stadium in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Located next to Heroes Stadium, and adjacent to the STAR Soccer Complex and Morgan's Wonderland, the facility opened on April 13, 2013. The stadium is the home ...

History

In November 2017, BallCorps LLC purchased the Southern League's

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

from owners Michael Savit and HWS Group for the purpose of relocating the team to

, in 2020. Upon relocation, the team was renamed the Rocket City Trash Pandas. The name is a reference to both the area's association with the

space industry Space industry refers to economic activities related to manufacturing components that go into Earth's orbit or beyond, delivering them to those regions, and related services. Owing to the prominence of the satellite-related activities, some sour ...

, namely from Huntsville, and the determination and ingenuity of

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

s (which are native to the Huntsville area; "trash panda" is a slang nickname for the animal due to their facial resemblance to the panda and their tendency to dig through trash). In December 2019, Rocket City announced that it had sold more than $2 million in merchandise in just over 13 months since announcing its branding. The Trash Pandas were to begin their inaugural season on the road playing against the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

on April 9, 2020, and play their first home game on April 15; however, the start of the 2020 season was postponed before getting canceled on June 30 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, pushing back their inaugural season by a year. In conjunction with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Southern League disbanded and the Trash Pandas were organized into the eight-team

Double-A South AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army * '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992 * Aa!, a J-Pop musical group * Do ...

. Their scheduled May 4, 2021, road opener was postponed due to inclement weather, so they played their first game the next night against the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

at AT&T Field in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, losing 6–1. In 2022, the Double-A South became known as the Southern League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. In June, the Trash Pandas won the first half North Division title to clinch a postseason playoff berth. Their first postseason appearance, the Trash Pandas fell to the

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off Int ...

, 2–1, in the first round of the 2022 Southern League playoffs.

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Andy Schatzley was chosen for the

Southern League Manager of the Year Award The Southern League Manager of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best manager in Minor League Baseball's Southern League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor League Baseball ...

, and Chase Silseth won the

Southern League Pitcher of the Year Award The Southern League Pitcher of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best pitcher in Minor League Baseball's Southern League (1964–present), Southern League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league manager (baseba ...

Season-by-season results

Roster

References

External links

* {{Alabama Sports Southern League (1964–present) teams Professional baseball teams in Alabama Baseball teams established in 2020 2020 establishments in Alabama Los Angeles Angels minor league affiliates Raccoons in popular culture Double-A South teams Madison County, Alabama