The BayBears franchise originated in 1976 in
Charlotte, North Carolina, first as the
Charlotte Orioles and then as the first incarnation of the
Charlotte Knights. When Charlotte moved up to become a
Triple-A franchise in 1993, the team found a temporary home in
Nashville, Tennessee, as the
Nashville Xpress from 1993 to 1994. It existed as the
Port City Roosters in
Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1995 to 1996. The franchise landed in Mobile in 1997. The team's name was announced in July 1996, having been selected in a name-the-team contest. Mobile mayor Mike Dow announced the name at that year's Mobile Fourth of July fireworks display. In September 1996, the BayBears signed an affiliation agreement with the
San Diego Padres. In November 2017, BayBears owners Michael Savit and HWS Group, closed on the sale of the team to BallCorps LLC. The team continued to play in Mobile through the 2019 season, but relocated to
Madison, Alabama, in 2020, where they were planned to play in a
newly-built ballpark. Upon relocation, the team was renamed the
Rocket City Trash Pandas. They were defeated by the
Tennessee Smokies, 5–4, before a crowd of 1,554 people. ==BayBears Hall of Fame==