The Ballers’ second season set records in the Pioneer League — an independent professional league without MLB affiliations —with 73 wins, but the playoffs proved more difficult. The Ogden Raptors pushed the Ballers to three games before Oakland moved on and then found itself on the brink of elimination against the Chukars. Still, the Ballers silenced the naysayers and took home the title, outscoring the Chukars 26–6 in the series. When we started a team, it wasn’t just good enough to build a team with the community. With the mission of keeping baseball in Oakland, East Bay-born Freedman and Bryan Carmel founded the Ballers with $2 million in seed funding secured from more than 50 investors.