According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, a group of Oakland area supporters got in tandem to form the Oakland Ballers. The team will play in the Independent Pioneer League, which will commence in the summer. The Ballers will have the same jersey as the Oakland Athletics.
A new baseball team is being unveiled in Oakland after MLB approved the Athletics' move to Las Vegas:
The Oakland Ballers, aka the Oakland B's.
The team will begin play in the independent Pioneer League in 2024 — backed by fans and community leaders. pic.twitter.com/MWGKbpXym2
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) November 28, 2023
According to Front Office Sports, “A new baseball team is being unveiled in Oakland after MLB approved the Athletics’ move to Las Vegas: The Oakland Ballers, aka the Oakland B’s. The team will begin play in the independent Pioneer League in 2024 — backed by fans and community leaders.”
The Major League Baseball earlier approved the Oakland Athletics shifting to Las Vegas. The stadium, however, will take some time to complete and the given date for its completion is 2028. This leaves the big league club without a place after 2024.
The Oakland Ballers co-founders Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel, shared with ESPN and stated, “We just felt like our hearts had been ripped from our chests, like all East Bay sports fans,”
“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.”
The Oakland Athletics have been playing since 1968 and for the time being, will play in the Oakland Coliseum, their temporary home. The co-founders also shared that they have hired former Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu as the executive vice president of baseball operations.
The novel squad of Oakland Ballers will be managed by Micah Franklin, who is the former St. Louis outfielder and a native of San Francisco. He has minor league coaching experience.
The Oakland Ballers will play at Laney College which is an Oakland-based junior college. The college will also undergo upgrades so that Freedman and Carmel can establish their operations.
As per ESPN, Freedman further said, “We’re not here to replace what we lost,”
“We mourn what was lost. What we’re here to do is say there’s a tradition in Oakland. We get to continue that. We believe when Oaklanders come together, nothing can stop us.”
As per Carmel, he expressed, “We’re by Oakland. We’re for Oakland,”
“We’re not going to leave Oakland.”
