Oakland’s last remaining professional baseball team, the Ballers, won its first Pioneer League championship by defeating the Idaho Falls Chukars 8-1 in Game 5 of the series on Sunday night. They secured the title at their home stadium, Raimondi Park, in Oakland, California.
Oakland dropped the first two games of the series against the Chukars, but outscored Idaho 26-6 over the next three games to capture the franchise’s first championship. The Ballers finished 73-23 during the regular season, a modern-day record for wins in a season in the Pioneer League. At one point, the club won 13 consecutive series.
This year marked the Ballers’ second anniversary. The team is providing entertainment to the Oakland area, something that Major League Baseball’s Athletics can no longer do since their move to Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.
“The Ballers were started by A’s fans, and as such, we are heartbroken. But this team was also started by Oaklanders, and in that respect, we couldn’t be more proud,” Ballers CEO Paul Freedman told World Baseball Network’s Julian Guilarte last April. “Today is a tough day, but you can’t be beaten if you never give up. Let’s build something great together.”
In May, the Ballers secured an extension with the City of Oakland that will keep them at Raimondi Park for the next 10 years.
“It’s a blessing, because there’s that void, that gap, and they filled it beautifully,” Oakland native Danny Gomez said in an interview with Amanda Hari of CBS News. “My son and I, we came to the first game of the first season last year, and we’ve been coming ever since.”
The Ballers are one of 12 teams in the Pioneer League, which became an official partner league of MLB in 2021. The league features players with less than three years of professional baseball experience and “has a rich legacy of developing elite talent and delivering unforgettable fan experiences across the Mountain West,” according to the league’s website.
