The Oakland Ballers, nicknamed the Oakland B's, are an independent baseball team that started play in the Pioneer League in 2024.

History

The team was created following the approval of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

' relocation to Las Vegas by MLB team owners. The non-profit Oakland 68s raised more than $2 million to establish the team and was inspired by the success of Oakland Roots SC soccer team. The press release for the team's announcement included a pledge for fan ownership based around a 2024 crowdfunding campaign.

Don Wakamatsu Wilbur Donald Wakamatsu (born February 22, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player, scout, coach, and manager. Wakamatsu was drafted in the 11th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He played as ...

was appointed as the team's first-ever executive vice president of baseball operations. The first player signed to the team was Dondrei Hubbard, announced on December 10, 2023. They are located in Oakland, California, and initially planned to play their home games at Laney College, with an expansion of the park's facilities to hold upwards of 2,500 fans. A proposed game at the Oakland Coliseum was blocked by the

. In February 2024 it was announced that they would instead play their home games at Raimondi Field in West Oakland, with a capacity of 4,000 fans. On April 10, 2024,

Kelsie Whitmore Kelsie Whitmore (born July 5, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher and outfielder for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. She was the first woman to appear in the starting lineup in an Atla ...

signed with the Oakland Ballers. She became the first woman to play for the Pioneer League when playing for the Ballers later that year. On June 6, 2024, playing for the Ballers, she became the first female player to start a Pioneer League game. In that game she struck out one batter. On July 21, 2024, the Ballers fired manager Micah Franklin and named Aaron Miles interim manager.

Roster

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2023 establishments in California Baseball teams established in 2023 Baseball teams in the San Francisco Bay Area Pioneer League (baseball) teams Professional baseball teams in California

History

Roster

References

Further reading

External links