The Oakland Ballers Just Proved John Fisher Didn’t Do Enough

It’s ludicrous that an MLB owner is worrying about the activities of a Pioneer League team. This is generally true unless you’re much-maligned Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher. Recently, Fisher rejected a deal that would allow the newly formed Oakland Ballers to play one game at the Oakland Coliseum. By preventing this deal from happening, another one of Fisher’s many lies has been exposed even more. I believe Fisher admitted without saying it that Oakland is a viable market and that he didn’t do everything possible to stay.

Pioneer League Teams Can’t Be Compared to MLB Organizations

Pioneer League teams don’t even come close to being able to compete with an MLB team in anything. The average number of fans at a Pioneer League game last season was just over 2,000 fans per game. The average professional baseball team generally sells more than 30,000 tickets per game. However, the Oakland Athletics aren’t like most baseball teams.

Last year, Oakland closed out the 2023 season drawing an average attendance of just over 10,000 fans per game. That number includes Opening Day, which drew well over 26,000 people. It also factors in the two “reverse boycott” games in which they had attendances of 27,759 and 37,553 respectively. If you take out those three games, their attendance dips below 10,000 per game. Given the Athletics potential relocation, odds are that number will drop even further.

The New Oakland Ballers Are Doing Things Fisher Failed to Do

Today, we were suppose to announce our @PBL1939 game at the Coliseum on June 29th.

Our lease was signed, deposit paid & the below promo video ready to go.

Unfortunately we've been informed that the A’s won’t let us play.

We won't give up & are working to find an alternative. pic.twitter.com/BETaJnLDxl

— Oakland Ballers (@OaklandBallers) January 4, 2024

Following the approval of the A’s to move to Las Vegas, a group of baseball fans founded the Oakland Ballers (a.k.a. the B’s). The B’s are set to begin playing next season in the independent Pioneer League. Their home games will take place at Laney College. Unlike the Athletics, the Ballers had been promoting themselves as a part of the Oakland community. The team recently proposed playing one game at the Coliseum on June 29^th while the Athletics were on the road. They even put down a deposit to make the game happen. The team was also planning on giving away tickets to various community organizations. However, John Fisher and the Oakland Athletics nixed the deal.

A Packed Oakland Coliseum Gave John Fisher Nightmares

Fisher would’ve been able to have a filled-up ballpark every year had he simply cared about the team, fans, and community. It seems like Johnny never thought to do some community outreach and give people a reason to attend a game. Every sports team in America does community outreach and it has never failed to bring some people to a game. Heck, if Fisher would’ve spoken to the media occasionally, aside from announcing the move, it would’ve gone a long way. Fisher knew how to get more people to come out to his team’s games; he instead chose to play stupid and not do it. I guess the optics of a packed Oakland Coliseum gave little Johnny and his cronies nightmares.

The Ballers Proved Oakland Is a Viable Market Without Playing a Game

If the Ballers were allowed to play at the Oakland Coliseum, I am very confident they would have drawn a big crowd. Fisher feared that happening knowing a well-attended game at the Coliseum would be a bad look. It would also shatter the “done everything they can” narrative. By preventing the June 29^th game from happening, John Fisher essentially admitted that he didn’t do everything he could to stay. Oakland is a viable market for both the Athletics and MLB. Fisher was afraid that the Ballers, a non-MLB team, would prove that point.

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