The Oakland Ballers are an independent professional baseball team that debuted in the Pioneer League, a circuit partnered with MLB but not affiliated with MLB clubs. Founded by Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel, the Ballers play in a renovated Little League park in Oakland. The organization treats community as its product and experiments with fan-facing innovations such as a tie-breaking Home Run Derby and a partnership with Fan Controlled Sports to let fans make real-time decisions. The founders say they approached the team like a startup, using A/B testing and iteration, and built their ballpark after a $2.0 million seed raise. The team also opened partial ownership to fans in an oversubscribed round that raised over $1.235 million from about 2,200 people. The Ballers’ stated aim is to provide community-driven baseball experiences in Oakland despite the departure of the A’s.

Total raised

$1M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Sep 2024