The franchise currently known as the Double-A Mobile BayBears announced earlier this year that it would be moving 325 miles to the north to Madison, Alabama, to become the Rocket City Trash Pandas in 2020. The new nickname and logos, unveiled September 6 and October 27 respectively, garnered a ton of attention both online and in the news media, and sales of the team’s merchandise reached all 50 states in just over a week after it was released.
Lost to many in all of the hype was the fact that the birth of a new minor league identity meant the demise of a team that has been playing since 1997. To that end, the Mobile BayBears, whose nickname is an homage to one of the team’s predecessors, the Mobile Bears, unveiled a commemorative logo that they will wear during their farewell season.
“The great people of Mobile deserve an opportunity to experience a final season worth remembering,” said team owner Ralph Nelson, quoted on AL.com. “The game itself is never the main reason people attend Minor League Baseball. It is the affordable family fun, the memories that are made across generations; it is the crazy fun and fireworks. We are making a promise to the community and fans of Mobile that when you attend a game in the coming season you will have more fun at our ballpark than ever before.”
The BayBears’ final season will begin April 4 with a game against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
