In November 2017, BallCorps LLC purchased the Southern League's Mobile BayBears from owners Michael Savit and HWS Group for the purpose of relocating the team to Madison, Alabama, in 2020.[4][5] Upon relocation, the team was renamed the Rocket City Trash Pandas.[6] The name is a reference to both the area's association with the space industry, namely from Huntsville, and the determination and ingenuity of raccoons (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).[6] 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.[7]
The Trash Pandas were to begin their inaugural season on the road playing against the Birmingham Barons on April 9, 2020, and play their first home game on April 15;[3] however, the start of the 2020 season was postponed before getting canceled on June 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[8] pushing back their inaugural season by a year.
In conjunction with Major League Baseball'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.[9] Their scheduled May 4, 2021, road opener was postponed due to inclement weather,[10] so they played their first game the next night against the Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field in Chattanooga, Tennessee, losing 6–1.[11]
