Yolo High Wheelers vs. Oakland Ballers
Raimondi Park
1800 Wood Street
Oakland
July 28, 2024
We all like hanging out with one another at sporting events. When the sport is the exquisitely beautiful game of baseball, our camaraderie is infused with a particularly amiable kind of togetherness. Strangers high-five, hot dog mustard stains T shirts and jerseys, popcorn gets stuck in teeth, and foul balls are scrambled for. We root for what’s shared, all of us one family in baseball’s graceful, welcoming embrace. When the team we’re rooting for is homegrown, it’s even better.
I love baseball; there are multitudes more to the game than the game itself. And so it was with a good deal of anticipation that my partner and I attended our first Oakland Ballers game.
While waiting to enter 20th and Willow Streets, my partner and I saw not only Ballers fans arriving for the game, but Ballers players, too. Among them was left Fielder Dondrei Hubbard, ready to take on the Yolo High Wheelers for the final installment of a three-game home-stand at the Ballers’ recently renovated Raimondi Park.
The Ballers had won their first two matches, beating the Davis-based Wheelers, by a whopping 17 runs to 3 the night before, the Ballers’ largest victory of this, their inaugural season as the newest club in the 12-team Pioneer League.
The day’s theme was “Pixies and Fairies”, so the folks from Children’s Fairyland were there. Some of the Ballers staff wore fairy wings, and Quercus, Fairyland’s little green puppet mascot, was in attendance. And, of course, the Ballers mascot, Scrappy the Possum.
We’d come prepared with layers, ready for the never-predictable Bay Area weather, but it turned out to be sunny and warm, warming further as the afternoon went on. We roasted. But there’s nothing like Sunday daytime baseball, so the sunshine was still welcome.
Before the National Anthem even began, my partner’s seat collapsed underneath her, sending her tumbling. She’s petite, but the seat was broken and hadn’t been very well repaired (duct tape!). She wasn’t hurt except for bruising her hand a bit. An usher who came over to remove the seat entirely was kind and apologetic. And so my partner brushed herself off and we scooted over a couple seats, readying ourselves for the first pitch.
With a man on first in the top of the first inning, Wheelers Left Fielder Jose Gonzalez homered to right field, earning the Davis club two runs.
Then, the inning was segmented by Fairyland’s “Cinderella Slipper Race.” Two kids, each wearing just one high-heel shoe on one foot, ran — or rather hobbled — down the right field warning track. (There were other “Pixies and Fairies” events for kids, including the “Magic Carpet Race” — basically a potato sack race with fancy sacks — and a ribbon dance performance by the smallest tots.)
Next, the bottom of the first and the Ballers were up. Center Fielder Peyton Harding fouled to left field on a 2 – 2 count, then popped out to Wheelers shortstop Braylin Marine. Second Baseman Jaylen Smith reached on a 1 – 1 count. But the Ballers didn’t score until Dondrei Hubbard hit a solo home run in the third to narrow the Wheelers lead to 2 – 1. Game on!
Time for a hot dog!
The concession stand at Raimondi Park offered a wide variety of goodies: dogs, burgers, popcorn, peanuts, Crackerjack, ice cream, candy, soda, beer, wine, and even cocktails. We got a Baller Dog with mustard and relish, and fries to share. The huge portion of fries were delicious, but I wanted another dog. We hailed Mike Davie, “Mike the Hot Dog Mayor,” to our seats. He set us up, this time with the sliced jalapeños I like so well. The peppers were a sad grey color and possessed no flavor (I guess not many people ask for them), but the hotdog itself was tasty.
The Wheelers scored again in the top of the third. And in the top of the fourth Tanner Smith smacked a homer to left field, followed by a laserbeam RBI double by Brayland Skinner. “That was a screamer!” my partner said. Skinner’s hard hit double came scarily close to hitting Ballers starting pitcher Carson Lambert. Now the Wheelers led 4 runs to 1.
On a bathroom break (we’d been gulping tons of water), I spotted one of the security guards at the Willow Street gate strumming a ukulele. I asked him if it was a soprano uke (my Niece plays). He told me it was and played me a little tune, shortly accompanied by his colleague, Sakaleti Netane, who used his metal detector wand as a faux mic to freestyle some vocals. I laughed hard enough to snort! An excellent bonus performance.
I was back in my seat in time to witness a Wheelers comebacker that struck Ballers relief pitcher Reed Butz in the leg. Ow! He would come out in the seventh. By that point the Wheelers had extended their lead: 7 runs to 1. Not to worry: the middle of the seventh means it’s time to sing!
In the bottom of the seventh Ballers first baseman Tripp Clark scored on a wild pitch to make it 7 – 2. ¡Vamos Ballers!
We struck up a conversation with the dude in the seat in front of us, a friendly guy named Stephen Murikami. He’s not only a huge Ballers fan, but a fan of the Oakland Roots (Division II soccer) and the Oakland community generally. Murikami runs a supporters group for the Roots, the “Homegrown Hooligans.” He was decked-out in Ballers gear and Roots stuff, too (he’d brought layers like we had), plus he showed us his Oakland Roots tattoos.
We talked about Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher’s diabolical decision to move the A’s out of Oakland after 56 years. About how Fisher is utterly unconcerned with the community and the tragically negative impact the move will have and already has had on Oakland.
“The Ballers give us hope,” Murikami said. “Another chance at being a team after what happened with the A’s.” He went on to say that “the Oakland fan base is unlike anything else. Oakland fandom really ties-in to the heart and soul of this city. Oakland is the number one home for artists and creatives; the creativity here is beautiful. It’s a melting pot, a mosaic of folks. That’s why we’re different than other fans.”
With the Wheelers leading 9 – 2 in the top of the ninth, Ballers Pitcher John Pyle tossed a clean three-up, three-down inning. Dondrei Hubbard came to the plate in the bottom of this final inning to hit a double, delivering once again and keeping hope alive. Then there was a long fly to left field for the second out. Shortstop Josh Leslie hit a grounder to reach first on an error by Wheelers Shortstop Braylin Marine, bringing home Ballers pinch-hitter Nick Adgar for an unearned run. Catcher Tyler Lozano then hit a squibber to the same spot. Ballers on the corners! But that was it. A fast grounder down the first base line had Wheelers First Baseman Braedon Blackford dive dramatically for the wayward ball to tag first base for the final out. Game over: 9 – 3 Wheelers. Congrats, Yolo. Nice win.
Nobody really loses at a baseball game. There’s no clock to determine when the game ends. It’s a slow, deliberate, and sublimely unpredictable thing. And so it parallels life in its gradual unfolding. Friendships, however brief, are formed in its nine innings. Being in the stands at the ballpark is one of life’s greatest pleasures. The sense of community and goodwill there is unlike anything else.
I’ve always been a baseball fan. I’ve attended countless Major League Baseball games and a handful of Minor League Single‑A and AAA games. But this game will go down as one of my favorite non-big league experiences. I’m a genuine Oakland Ballers fan now. Let’s go Ballers!
The Oakland Ballers play home games at Raimondi Park in West Oakland. Schedule and tickets can be found here.
