Rocket City Trash Pandas

History

In November 2017, BallCorps LLC bought the Mobile BayBears from Michael Savit and HWS Group, intending to move the Southern League team to Madison, Alabama, by 2020. After the relocation, the club was renamed the Rocket City Trash Pandas. The name honors Huntsville’s space industry connections and the resourcefulness of local raccoons, which are often called “trash pandas” for their panda-like faces and habit of scavenging through garbage. By December 2019, Rocket City had reported over $2 million in merchandise sales within just over 13 months of unveiling the brand.

The Trash Pandas originally planned to open their first season on the road against the Birmingham Barons on April 9, 2020, with their home debut set for April 15. However, the 2020 season was postponed and later canceled on June 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, delaying their inaugural campaign by a year.

As part of Major League Baseball’s 2021 restructuring of the minors, the Southern League dissolved and the Trash Pandas joined the new eight-team Double-A South. Their scheduled road opener on May 4, 2021, was postponed because of bad weather, so they played their first game the following night against the Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field in Tennessee, losing 6–1.

In 2022, the Double-A South reverted to its former name, the Southern League. That June, the Trash Pandas secured the first-half North Division title, earning a playoff spot. In their first postseason appearance, they lost 2–1 to the Tennessee Smokies in the opening round of the 2022 Southern League playoffs. Manager Andy Schatzley received the Southern League Manager of the Year Award, and pitcher Chase Silseth was named the Southern League Pitcher of the Year.