HiJacker Mike: On Board 110%

“We need this, Oakland needs this”

by Joe Horton

Mike is as loyal and engaged a Ballers fan as they come. He’s at almost every game; he travels to see them on the road. He drags the diamond between innings with the grounds crew. He provided the championship cigars for Oakland’s most joyous championship celebration. Plus: he rocks the best fits and swag in the Town. I caught up with him in Modesto as we watched our B’s lose a not-close one in the heat. As he so perfectly said, we still had a great time and don’t regret an out or an inning.

Mike, you're a big Ballers fan. What made you a B’s fan?

Die hard Ballers fan, man. John Fisher decided to pull my beloved—since 1982—A's out of Oakland for greener pastures, per se. When I saw the press conference with Paul and Bryan bringing in the Ballers, it intrigued my interest.

This is Oakland's response to losing the A’s. And I was all aboard. They adapted the colors, they adapted my city. I was born and raised in Oakland, spent most of my life in Oakland. 
I couldn't afford not to get behind this team. And ever since then, I've been on board 110%.

Obviously, we’re here talking at a game. What keeps you coming back day after day?

It's multiple things. The team: you get to talk to these guys, shake their hands, see how they're doing. You get to come meet great fans out at the field, and you're out there with an environment that was built from the Athletics, and it's continuing here for the diehards that need this. We need this, Oakland needs this. We need to support it, be behind it. It's still the same high-quality baseball just in a different part of the city. And it's amazing to come out here and see people I grew up with at the Coliseum and continue on with a new adventure we have in Oakland.

What would you say to a new fan who might be thinking about visiting Raimondi Park for the first time?

Come out. Give it a shot. All it takes is one game and you can be hooked. Whatever you're looking for—being with friends out there and family, people you may have seen at the Coliseum, if you were a diehard fan, and even if you're not a fan of an Oakland team, come out and visit another team. We welcome everybody to come out. This is the place to be. Yeah, you may have action across the bridge you may want to go see, but come watch the young guys here. They’re hungry. They want to get out there. They want to make it, they want to further their careers.

Talk to us about your business, your life outside of baseball.

Life outside of baseball, I work for the county of Santa Clara. I'm in the registrar of voters, and I'm a technician, and I make sure the election goes well. 
On the side of that, I'm in the cigar industry. I've been a cigar lover since 1998, and I work for two cigar lounges, from Fremont, Ohlone Cigar Lounge, and in Morgan Hill, the Morgan Hill Wine Shop and Cigar Company. I help people find what they need, and I also supply for the Ballers. When they celebrated the championship last year, they were smoking the cigars I provided them. 
Tyler Lozano, he came down to the lounge a couple times over the first two seasons and sat with me. I enjoy it, and I want them to enjoy it. If this is a passion they have, come hang out and let's go to the lounge and have a cigar. 
I'll take care of you. But that's my passion on the side: cigars, baseball, taking care of the family, enjoying life.

Do you have some highlight moments for us in Ballers’ baseball, since you’ve seen so many?

Watching the joy on the kids' faces. Because when the A's were here, kids would line up on the dugout to get pictures and autographs. And if you were lucky, a player would come over. But here, every single player stops by and signs an autograph for the kids, and it's a joy to see that, because it reminds me—it's 40-plus years ago—when I was a kid, wanting to get an autograph, and how hard I had to work for it at the Coliseum, if the player even had time to come over. It warms my heart to see the kids so happy to get their baseball, their hat, their shirt, their jersey signed by these guys walking in and out of the field. 
So it's a beautiful thing, and it helps bring fans together.

And also to watch family stand there with their son that's on the field and just enjoy and embrace them as they're continuing on in their career.

I think one thing that's on my mind now that the team has achieved a lot of success is sustainability. Can the Ballers be here in five years, ten years, 20 years, 50 years? What's your thought on that? You know this team as well as anybody. Do you feel like they're built for the long term of being here in Oakland?

Yes. 
I feel they are. We do have to win to keep fans coming, because as we look at the A's, when a certain owner put a bad team out there, and the fans depleted, they turn their backs. We don't want that here. 
We want things to go well. I understand: we're not gonna have championships every season. 
We're not gonna make the playoffs every season. But if you're a fan of baseball, you should be able to come out and enjoy. I understand money's an issue, but, what do we have? 
$2 Tuesdays? You know, there's a lot of options for fans to come out. 
If you have the time, you have the funds, please do. Man, I'm willing to give tickets I can't always use myself to people. I'd rather give them to someone that can make it if they don't have the money to come out. Please let me know. It's about supporting and staying interested, and I just don't want the fans to lose interest. That's all. And I believe we can have a long sustainable run here in Oakland.

Joe Horton is the editor of Dispatches from Raimondi.