A little more than five months after unveiling themselves as an expansion team in the independent Pioneer Baseball League, the Oakland Ballers prepared for their home opener Tuesday night on the renovated Raimondi Park field.
The B’s were created in November 2023the same month Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved the relocation of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas. At a press conference Tuesday ahead of the home opener, Ballers co-founder Bryan Carmel said he and co-founder Paul Freedman came up with the idea for the B’s after the heartbreak of the A’s leaving town.
“We’re just baseball fans,” Carmel said. “Last June, so it was about a year ago, when the news hit that the other team that had called Oakland home was most likely leaving, we just felt heartbroken. And that’s what this was about. We just felt like this couldn’t be done. If this were the end of baseball, it cannot be the end of baseball’s legacy in Oakland. And we started scratching our heads and thinking, what can we do about it? And then, you know, Paul sent me one a few days after this conversation and he said, ‘Well, what if we started a new baseball team?'”
Watch: Tuesday press conference at Raimondi Park
The home opener at the 4,000-seat Raimondi Park facility is completely sold outthe team said, and will come next a $1.6 million renovation to a park that was an unplayable eyesore a few months ago. The all-hands-on-deck effort to add bleachers, bathrooms and other facilities to the ballpark has coincided with a renaissance in the West Oakland neighborhood where the park is located, and the effort reflects what Freedman says the B’s now stand for. a city on the verge of losing its third professional sports team.
“Right now we want to make the biggest comeback in sports history,” said an emotional Freedman. “Sports used to be about community. Sports used to be about bringing people together. Sports built these types of ballparks from the ground up in partnership with the community. But at some point they lost their way, and we’re going to be a movement lead to bring it back, and you can join us or get out of our way.”
After originally planning to play Laney College, the team pulled the trigger a complete revitalization of Raimondi Park with a nod to the history of professional baseball in Oakland. Raimondi Park originally opened in 1910 as Bayview Park and was renamed in 1947 in honor of Ernie Raimondi, a graduate of McClymonds High School who played for the minor league Oakland Oaks baseball club before being killed in World War II.
Located in West Oakland’s Prescott neighborhood, the park was the training ground for baseball legends Curt Flood, Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson, each of them McClymonds High grads. The facility will be available for youth leagues when the B’s are not playing.
What you need to know about the B’s home opener
The Ballers’ first game at Raimondi Park is against the Yolo High Wheelers. The match is scheduled for Tuesday, June 4 at 6:35 PM. The home opener is the first game of a six-game series against the High Wheelers. Thursday and Friday’s games will also start at 6:35 PM, while Saturday and Sunday’s games will start at 1:05 PM
What league do the B’s play in?
The Oakland Ballers play in the independent Pioneer Baseball League, a league in the western US that operates as one of four Major League Baseball partner leagues in the independent baseball league system of teams without MLB team affiliations. For the 2024 season, the Pioneer League will have two teams from California, two from Idaho, three from Colorado, four from Montana and one from Utah.
What is the Ballers record?
As of Tuesday, the Ballers have a 7-5 record. They started the season 2-4 in a 6-game series with the Glacier Range Riders before turning their fortunes around against the Rocky Mountain Vibes, winning 5 of 6 games in Colorado.
How can I get tickets to see the Ballers?
The team says tickets are still available at www.oaklandballers.com for the other games in the team’s opening series against the High Wheelers, as well as other home games.
Will the Ballers appear on local TV or stream?
The Oakland Ballers are working with KPIX/CBS Bay Area for this the live broadcast of all nine Ballers home games on Friday nights on KPIX + 44 Cable 12, KPIX’s sister station in San Francisco.
CBS News Bay Area is also giving away 4-packs of family tickets to select games at Raimondi Park. Visit the link to enter the competition.
