Rocket City Trash Pandas: Baseball America’s 2025 Double-A Freitas Award Winner

After several years of work, the Rocket City Trash Pandas got ready to open a brand-new ballpark, bringing baseball back to the Huntsville, Ala., area for the first time in years.

And then they learned that Opening Day would not happen. The coronavirus pandemic meant that there was no 2020 season.

So the Trash Pandas had to wait a full extra year to open Toyota Field. It wasn’t ideal, but the staff turned disappointment into an opportunity.

By the time Rocket City played its first game in the Double-A Southern League, thousands from all over the region had already been to the ballpark. During the pandemic, the team held movie nights on the field, did drive-through light shows around the Christmas holidays and a variety of other community events.

“It was a 52-day homestand,” Rocket City GM Garrett Fahrmann said.

So when Opening Day finally arrived, many people who may have never noticed that a new team was coming to town were excited to check out the new baseball park.

“We got a lot of people into the ballpark from all over the region. That expanded our market,” Fahrmann said.

Of course, many had already heard of the new team because of the nickname and logo. In the modern era of the minor leagues, it’s helpful to find a name and logo that is unique and inspires reactions.

The Trash Pandas—a nickname for raccoons—nailed that balance nearly perfectly. Sure, the team heard from some potential fans unhappy with the name. They also saw many more who bought hats, shirts and everything else that had the logo.

“You have to make yourself known,” Fahrmann said. “Sometimes you’re known for not good things, sometimes you are known for great things. But you have to make yourself known.”

There has been some recalibration along the way. The club’s main hat when the logo was unveiled focused more on the raccoon. But the caps that featured the mascot Sprocket riding a trash-can rocket ship were the ones everyone wanted to buy.

“Everyone loves that raccoon and trash-can rocket ship,” Fahrmann said. “We’ve made adjustments. We’ve listened to the public.”

It was that hat that John Oliver donned in a “Last Week Tonight” segment this year highlighting minor league brands and logos.

“When that John Oliver thing hit, I think we sold to all 50 states within that week of that happening,” Fahrmann said. “We’re very blessed that it’s still very popular.”

But it’s not just a logo. The Angels-affiliated Trash Pandas have been one of the Southern League’s top draws year after year by focusing on keeping the gameday presentations fresh. Not all of the new ideas work.

“But when they don’t work, often they are just as funny as when they do work,” Fahrmann said. “Our ownership lets us try things. We say, ‘We can’t control wins and losses, but we can control the time fans are having here.’ ”

There will be changes in 2026 as well. A new visitor’s clubhouse is being built beyond the left field fence, bringing the team into compliance with the new Professional Development License facility standards.

But the general approach will be the same. Rocket City has scheduled 27 post-game fireworks shows. They will have one of the most popular mascots and logos in the minors. And they’ll keep trying new things.