MADISON — Found in a dictionary: “Lunáticos – Masculine plural of lunatico (noun); Spanish for lunatics. The root of this word is luna, which means moon in Latin. It is derived from lunaticus meaning “of the moon” or “moonstruck”. That’s because lunatic originally meant someone who went crazy with every phase of the moon.”
Not found in any dictionary: “Lunaticos – of or related to a Minor League Baseball team in Madison, Ala., i.e., Lunaticos de Rocket City.”
The Lunaticos de Rocket City will be the Trash Pandas’ alternate identity in the 2023 Minor League Baseball “Copa de la Diversión” or “Fun Cup.” Copa de la Diversión is an initiative by Minor League Baseball to promote the sport and connect its teams to their Hispanic/Latino communities. Teams adopt a culturally-relevant on-field persona for certain games each season.
The “Lunaticos” persona was a year in the making for the Trash Pandas organization, according Executive Vice President Lindsey Knupp.
“We worked directly with a local artist from Bolivia and Venezuela to create the logos and identity,” she said. “His name is Manuel Sarmiento and he is a designer, artist and animator who has done numerous projects internationally.
“We started this design process in February 2022 and Finalized the logos and submitted to MiLB about a year ago today … that’s how long the process of a new identity takes!”
The nickname pays tribute to the Hispanic community, according to MiLB, and it salutes the Rocket City’s lunar heritage.
Lunatic is derived from the Latin word luna meaning moon. People believed that moods were affected by the moon. And, in Spanish, lunaticos can mean moonstricken. Knupp said the group “began experimenting with the word luna,” for that reason.
Rocket City will wear the Lunaticos uniforms, complete with jerseys and caps, for three Sunday home games this season:
- May 7 at 2:35 p.m. vs. Tennessee
- June 25 at 4:05 p.m. vs. Montgomery
- Aug. 27 at 4:05 p.m. vs. Birmingham
New Lunaticos merchandise including caps, jerseys, and t-shirts is also available online HERE.
The team hosted a Fiesta at the Field last weekend which helped ignite the interest in the Copa de la Diversión, Knupp said.
“The event on Sunday was a HUGE success and we had a great turnout,” she said. “I think most people are excited about the logo and the overall concept and identity.
“(The logo is not) any animal specifically, but just being crazy about baseball and letting your fun and wild side out when here experiencing a Trash Panda game.”
With the unveiling of the new Lunaticos identity, the Trash Pandas are now the only professional sports team in the state of Alabama with an alternate identity playing homage to its local Hispanic community. The Trash Pandas have hosted Hispanic Heritage night at Toyota Field in each of the first two seasons in team history.
Over the Trash Pandas’ first two seasons, nearly a quarter of the players are of Latin descent hailing from Colombia, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.
Three former Trash Pandas represented Latin countries at the recent World Baseball Classic, with Gustavo Campero and Adrian Almeida taking the field for Colombia and Jhonathan Diaz representing Venezuela. Five former Trash Pandas with Latin heritage reached the Major Leagues in the past two seasons, all making their MLB debut with the Los Angeles Angels.
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