Fans Cheer on Oakland Ballers After Championship Victory

Oaklanders took to the streets on Sunday to celebrate the Oakland Ballers after their victory in the Pioneer League Championships.

The Ballers secured the city’s first baseball title since 1989 when they triumphed against the Idaho Falls Chukars in the independent Pioneer League’s final game last month, 8–1.

Celebrations kicked off with a rally at Oakland City Hall, bringing out elected officials like Mayor Barbara Lee, who presented the team with a key to the city, commemorating October 5 as Oakland Ballers Championship Day.

“To every single player who put on that Ballers uniform, you played hard,” Lee said. “You played for a city that needed this. You played for every single child here who deserves to see champions that look like them and who come from communities like ours and theirs.”

Hundreds of fans lined the parade route around the team’s home stadium, Raimondi Park, holding “Built By Oakland” signs with music by E-40 and Too Short blaring from speakers.

“We’re riding the high out as long as we can, and we’re all going to be a little indulgent today,” Oakland Ballers player Luke Short said. “We win a championship for stuff like this. It’s a good time for the community.”

The parade featured the team’s mascot, Scrappy the Rally Possum, lowriders, and Ballers players like Connor Sullivan and Malik Binns.

The excitement surrounding the team, which has vowed to never leave Oakland, helps fill a void left by the departure of the A’s last year.

“I’ve had fans say to me the first time they went to a Ballers game was like going out on a first date after a divorce…” team representative Casey Pratt said. “An independent Pioneer League is never gonna replace Major League Baseball. But what it does do is it replaces the ability of fans to get together, and root for a common cause, and create new memories and spend quality time with their family members.”

Many of the fans who came out on Sunday used to cheer for the A’s in Oakland, some of whom are still grieving.

“This means a lot to baseball fans in Oakland and the East Bay,” said Jorge Leon, who came out with a group of friends to celebrate the team’s win. “I didn’t think it was going to happen this soon with the Oakland Ballers coming out like this. But it just goes to show you how resilient the city is and how amazing these fans are.”

Leon is the founder and president of the Oakland 68’s fan group as well as the elected fan representative on the Oakland Ballers’ board of directors.

During their opening season last year, the Ballers began selling fan shares, giving their fanbase a voice when it comes to the team’s major decisions.

The move came after years of frustration at Oakland A’s team management, culminating in the heartbreak felt by fans after the team left the city.

The Ballers also made history when manager Aaron Miles experimented with letting AI drive gametime decisions for one game in early September.

“Anybody who came to a Ballers game this year or last year, what you experienced in West Oakland was magic,” Oakland Ballers co-founder Bryan Carmel said. “So this championship and all of the future championships that we intend to win right here in Oakland, this is for the future [generations]…and let’s just keep bringing magic to Oakland.”