What to know ahead of first game in Oakland Ballers’ franchise history

Less than 200 days after announcing their presence, the Oakland Ballers will take the field today to begin their inaugural season, temporarily sharing the East Bay with the Sacramento-bound A’s before becoming The Town’s lone professional baseball team.

The Ballers, or the B’s for short, begin their 96-game season in Kalispell, Montana, against the Glacier Range Riders. Right-hander Abraham De Leon, who set the Texas Southern University single-season school record for strikeouts (114), will throw the first pitch in Ballers history. Following a 12-game trip, they’ll make their home debut on June 4 against the Davis-based Yolo High Wheelers.

“Oakland has put out a heck of a starting lineup if you look at all the players who have come out of (the city),” Ballers manager Micah Franklin said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. Our number one thing is to put on a show and win. I gotta believe fans are going to really, really enjoy watching us.”

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the Ballers’ first season:

Where will they play?

The Ballers will play at Raimondi Park in West Oakland. The B’s have invested in a $1.6 million upgrade to the 113-year-old park, which includes a new video scoreboard and repaired playground.

“Before they started on that development, I was like, ‘This is going to be a heck of a project,’” Franklin said. “Within the last couple weeks, it’s been amazing how much has been done.”

The renovation will also expand Raimondi Park from about 200 seats to 4,000, not including the grass area beyond the outfield fences. Ticket prices, including fees, go from $15-30 in advance and $18-33 on game day.

Where can I watch their games?

The Ballers partnered with KPIX/CBS Bay Area to televise the team’s nine Friday night home games on KPIX+ 44 Cable 12. Games also will be available on FloSports, a streaming service partnering with the Pioneer League.

KTRB 860 AM The Answer will broadcast every game on the radio, as well as the half-hour “Coaches Show,” every Monday at 7 p.m.

Who is managing the team?Franklin, who was born in San Francisco and attended Lincoln High School, is the Ballers’ manager. He played in one major-league season, playing in 17 games with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1997. Franklin, 52, also spent time with the Nippon Ham Fighters and Hanshin Tigers of the NPB, as well as the Hyundai Unicorns of the KBO.

Who are notable members of the team?The Ballers’ first-ever signing was Dondrei Hubbard, the Pioneer League’s reigning batting champion. Last season with the Missoula Paddleheads, Hubbard, who played in the Padres and Nationals systems, had a .395/.456/.623 slash line with 11 home runs last season. Hubbard will also serve as the team’s assistant hitting coach.

Kelsie Whitmore became the first woman to sign with a Pioneer League team after inking a deal with the Ballers in April. Whitmore attended Cal State Fullerton and played five seasons with the softball program, winning 2021 Big West Player of the Year. The pitcher/outfielder has spent parts of four seasons in Indy Ball, playing with the Sonoma Stompers and Staten Island FerryHawks.

J.T. Snow, the longtime Giants’ first baseman, will be the Ballers’ bench coach and first base coach. Aaron Miles, who attended Antioch High School and spent nine years in the majors, will be the team’s third base coach.

What’s there to know about the Pioneer League?

The Pioneer League is an independent league –  the talent level being akin to the lower levels of the minors — but also serves as a “Partner League” of Major League Baseball. The 12-team league, composed mostly of players with less than three years of professional experience, serves as a testing ground for MLB and features several different rules.

This season, the Pioneer League will introduce the “Strike Zone Challenge.” With the help of an automated ball-strike system that uses TrackMan data, batters, pitchers and catchers can challenge calls in real time. Each team is six per game at the most, but lose their challenge after three unsuccessful attempts.

“You have to look at it like a basketball game or a football game,” Franklin said. “You can use those (first) two challenges, but when it gets to the last one, you really want to make it count. … I think the fans are going to love that.”

Additionally, the Pioneer League uses the “Knockout Round” instead of extra innings, the baseball version of a shootout in hockey. If the score is tied after nine innings, both teams select a hitter who gets two minutes to hit as many homers as possible. If both hitters end with the same number of homers, both teams select a different hitter until a winner is declared.