The Oakland Ballers: Oakland’s Newest Attempt to Save East Bay Baseball
With the Athletics giving the middle finger to the city of Oakland, East Bay fans have come up with a solution: Dozens of Oakland residents have banded together to create the Oakland Ballers, also known as the B’s.
Jeff Passan of ESPN was one of many that broke the news Tuesday. The Ballers will be part of the Pioneer League, an independent baseball league that is considered an MLB Partner League.
Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel, two Bay Area residents and Oakland fans, are the co-founders of the team. Former MLB manager and player Don Wakamatsu will be the executive vice president of baseball operations and former outfielder Micah Franklin will be the team’s manager.
Wakamatsu went to high school in Hayward, Calif. Franklin was born and raised in San Francisco, making them both the best choice without a doubt.
With the A’s moving to Las Vegas, both Freedman and Carmel know that Oakland is a sports city.
“We just felt like our hearts had been ripped from our chests, like all East Bay sports fans,” Carmel said to ESPN. “Oakland is a city that has seen the Raiders leave town, the Warriors move across town. There was a lot of chatter that maybe Oakland isn’t a pro sports town. We reject that completely.”
Via Jeff Passan from ESPN
A’s fans and Oakland residents have done well at making their voices heard. Earlier this year, fans held the first-ever “reverse boycott” by selling out the Oakland Coliseum for one night. Chants of “Sell The Team,” filled several MLB stadiums, including T-Mobile Park during this year’s All-Star game.
The ownership group of the Ballers has raised over $2 million and plans to start playing in 2024 and the team will be playing at Laney College, with funding expected to help expand the seating and operations.
The Ballers will be the 11th team to join the Pioneer League. Despite the rest of the league playing in the Rocky Mountain region, the Ballers will be the league’s first “West Coast” team.
The B’s won’t replace the A’s, but it continues to show the voice Oakland has. Besides some saying that Oakland is the reason the A’s are leaving, those with a brain know it’s Rob Manfred and John Fisher.
Eventually, the goal is for MLB expansion in Oakland. For now, the Ballers will give Oakland fans a new team to root for.
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