The Oakland Ballers (B's for short), a new minor league baseball team intended to keep the sports culture alive in Oakland.
Oakland may be losing the A’s, but soon, they’ll be getting the B’s.
The Oakland Ballers will be a new minor league baseball team rooted in Oakland. And unlike the Athletics, who are officially moving to Las Vegas, the Ballers plan to stay in Oakland permanently.
From A’s to B’s
The Ballers, or B’s for short, will play in the independent Pioneer League beginning in May 2024. They will don the same green-and-gold colors as the Oakland A’s, and even sport a similar logo. They will play their home games at Laney College, a university in Oakland, beginning in the summer. While it’s no replacement for the Major League club, it’ll have to do.
They will immediately establish some credibility as the founders, Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel, have already announced that they’ve hired Don Wakamatsu as executive vice president of baseball operations. Wakamatsu formerly managed the Seattle Mariners and attended high school nearby in Heyward, California. Former Cardinals outfielder and minor league manager Micah Franklin will manage the team.
“We just felt like our hearts had been ripped from our chests, like all East Bay sports fans,” Carmel said. “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 idea of actually starting an independent franchise in Oakland really intrigued me,” Wakamatsu said. “It gives me an opportunity to kind of build something from the ground up. I have a real strong history in the Bay Area with players.”
Sentimental Value
The team name actually has some meaning behind it. While B’s is an obvious play on the A’s, Carmel said he was always on the “B team” in high school sports. Additionally, “Ballers” is an honor to the owners’ late friend Bobby Winslow, who often was referred to as a baller.
A few weeks ago, Major League Baseball owners unanimously voted to move the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas. When that move inevitably comes, Oakland will have lost all of its professional sports teams. The B’s intend to fill that void and keep sports alive in Oakland, albeit minor league. The A’s and MLB were unable to be reached for comment on the matter.
