MADISON, Ala.- The Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, the Rocket City Trash Pandas, held a press conference earlier this week to announce a one-of-a-kind international baseball series this spring. Through their partnership with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, the Toyota Red Cruisers, an amateur Japanese baseball team that participates in the Japanese industrial league, will come to Huntsville this spring to take part in the series that will also involve UAH and Alabama A&M.
The series will comprise of three games, all to be played from March 30 to April 1 at Toyota Field. The first game will see the Red Cruisers face off against Alabama A&M on Monday, March 30. A&M is coming off a season that saw them go 10-40 overall, and will enter 2026 with newly promoted head coach Louis Whitlow.
“Thinking of the opportunities that we always expose our student-athletes to is the ultimate goal, and there is no greater goal than this one, to provide an international opportunity for our student-athletes. So, to be in front of you all to say that is an honor and a pleasure, no other words that can describe what we’re doing for our student-athletes,” Whitlow said.
The second game, on March 31, will feature the Rocket City Trash Pandas facing off against the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The Chargers are looking to improve upon a 20-28 campaign in 2025. The Trash Pandas will be hitting the field under new leadership, with Joe Kruzel recently being announced as the team’s manager.
“First of all, I want to thank Garrett and everybody involved with the Trash Pandas. This is a very big deal for our players. They’re going to be very excited, to say the least, to have the opportunity to come here and play, to play against possibly future big leaguers. I know they’re going to be in awe a little bit, as well as I will, and our staff. But it’s good for the community, and we’re hoping to get a good turnout, and hoping to put on a good show for everybody,” UAH head coach Hunter Royer said.
Finally, on April 1, the Trash Pandas will face off against the Red Cruisers. The game will feature future Major League Baseball players facing off against future professional players from Japan to finish off an event that won’t only be a competition, but an exchange of culture between players.
“Before coming to Alabama, our players heard we would be playing the trash pandas, and they asked me, ‘Hey, Kotoshi, are we really playing against pandas?’ Yes, and they are very fast, smart, and very good at baseball,” Red Cruisers Vice GM Kotoshi Satake said. He added, “At Toyota Red Cruisers, we have always valued connecting people, communities, and sports. We hope that this game in Alabama will not only promote the exchange of the baseball culture between Japan and the United States, but also serve as an opportunity to share the power of sports once again Although our stay is going to be short, we will do our best to deliver a memorable game for the fans here in Alabama. Thank you very much.”
Tickets for the series are available through the Trash Pandas website, giving sports fans and residents of northern Alabama the chance to attend the unique international series.
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