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The Rocket City Trash Pandas, Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, play at Toyota Field. On April 1, two days prior to the start of the Southern League season, they will play against Toyota at Toyota Field.
They'll take on the Toyota Red Cruisers, specifically, marking the first time a Japanese Industrial League team has played an exhibition game in America.
This unprecedented occasion highlights the Trash Pandas' inaugural Global Baseball Series, described as an "international community-driven cultural exchange event." Participating teams include the Trash Pandas, Alabama A&M University and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, with the Toyota Red Cruisers providing the international component.
The Red Cruisers represent the Toyota Motor Corporation in the Japan Industrial League system. These leagues play an important developmental role in the country's baseball ecosystem, with premier players honing their skills enroute to a professional career. The Toyota Red Cruisers' appearance at Toyota Field is a synergistic endeavor, of course. The automobile company operates a large manufacturing plant in Huntsville, which led to a ballpark naming rights deal with the Trash Pandas (who play in nearby Madison).
The Global Baseball Series is the brainchild of Trash Pandas senior manager of promotions and entertainment Hiroshi "Morris" Morioka, a native of Japan entering his second season with the team. Morioka's sports career began with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 2009, and he has also worked for professional basketball teams in both the U.S. and Japan. Putting something like this together was, he said, a matter of "connecting the dots."
"In the 2010s I was in Japan working with Toyota's basketball team, Toyota Alvark Tokyo, so I had a good relationship with Toyota Motor Manufacturing," he said. "I came [to the Trash Pandas] thinking I can do something here, because our baseball field is Toyota Field."
Further brainstorming with Trash Pandas staff resulted in the addition of Alabama A&M and University of Alabama in Huntsville to the lineup, which Morioka said "does a lot to promote the series" while providing "a great opportunity for college athletes" to compete against high-level competition.
"There are 90 industrial teams in Japan and [the Toyota Red Cruisers] are one of the best. I've never seen that they've done, or that any industrial team has done, this type of event," he said. "The Red Cruisers, it's a totally different style of baseball. … And hopefully we can share entertainment that is more like the Japanese style."
As Morioka and the Trash Pandas finalize the details, he's keeping in mind the ultimate goal of bridging the worlds of Minor League, collegiate and Japanese baseball.
"I'll definitely put everything I can into making an unforgettable experience here," he said. "It’s kind of my baby. Japanese pride, I would say."
The Global Baseball Series runs March 30-April 1, with the Trash Pandas opening their 2026 campaign at Toyota Field on April 3 against the Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A MIL).
The above was adapted from an interview with Hiroshi "Morris" Morioka for MiLB.com's The Show Before the Show podcast. The episode drops on Friday, Jan. 30. Find every episode *HERE**.*