Oakland Ballers

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' 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 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 Oakland Athletics. 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 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.