From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_City_Trash_Pandas

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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. They are located in Madison, Alabama, and play their home games at Toyota Field.[3]

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]

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.[12] In June, the Trash Pandas won the first half North Division title to clinch a postseason playoff berth.[13] Their first postseason appearance, the Trash Pandas fell to the Tennessee Smokies, 2–1, in the first round of the 2022 Southern League playoffs.[14] Manager Andy Schatzley was chosen for the Southern League Manager of the Year Award,[15] and Chase Silseth won the Southern League Pitcher of the Year Award.[16]