That Last Sunday at Raimondi

Your Sunday read on that last Sunday game: a vox pop pregame with the fans and postgame with the players

by Roberto Santiago

WEST OAKLAND—Two Sundays ago, the Ballers’ home slate came to an end. The team and fans already knew there would be no postseason title defense this year. Still, 3,233 fans came out for Fan Appreciation Day and to say farewell to the players, coaches and each other. I walked the packed concourse before the game to ask fans about their experiences this year, why they keep coming to games, and what they’re looking forward to next season.

**Pregame with the Fans**
The first crew I found were Stefan, Lorell, Nick, David and Darlene. They were at the game for their softball team group outing. The B’s were an easy choice for a team get-together because “the Ballers are what it’s about.” Among the group, some were at their first game of the year, and for Darlene, it was her first game ever. (Hopefully she stopped by Guest Services for her pin.)
Mel and Lisa were sitting on the stage in Scrappy Town making it clear they were not there together, though in true Raimondi fashion, they had been chatting when I approached them. It was Mel’s first game out to see the Ballers. However, it was not his first time at Raimondi: “This is where I played my first ever high school baseball game. I started my baseball career at Berkeley High in 1964.”
I asked how he felt being back. He said, “This is nostalgic.”
Mel, who also played at Cal, answered, “I haven’t seen the park yet. We just got here. But they [the Ballers] have done a lot for the area, and that I appreciate.”
Lisa had been to a lot of games this year. “More than 10,” she said, “I bought the 10-pack at Christmas and added more on top of that.” Lisa wouldn’t miss this one, “It’s Fan Appreciation. And is it the last game of the season? I wanted to come out for the last home game.”

I ran into Blake, Holden and Benny grabbing some shade near the Scrappy Town condiment table. Blake and Holden came out to enjoy a beautiful day and use up their Flex Pack, while Benny “wouldn’t miss the last game for the world.”

Cher and Erin, who introduced themselves collectively as “Sharon,” came out to support their dear friend, Ballers VP of Marketing Gervis Cash. I asked Gervis why he brought “Sharon” out to the game today. “Because I know how much they love baseball and community opportunities to bring people together.” Erin grew up attending St. Paul Saints games growing up and was an Oakland baseball fan for a long time. So why hadn’t she, baseball fan and now dear friend of a Ballers VP, not been to a game in three years? “Honestly, kind of, it's the stars had to align,” she explained. “Like, I had to be in town, had to be free, had to, like, know when the actual game was.”

This begged the question: “Do do you find that the team isn't marketed well enough for you to know all of those things?”

Erin replied to the friendly jab Cash like a good sport. “Oh, no, no, no, no. The team is marketed very, very well.  And I would say that the overall brand of the team is fantastic and very on point for Oakland. However, I am very bad at scheduling my life.”

And what about Cher, why was this her first game? Simply: “I live in San Jose.” Fair enough, but what did she think of the vibe? “I will say, amazing fandom here. I've been to some San Jose Giants games. It's not at this level. The fans here are legit.”

Jim and Robin came out to support the team one last time this season. For Robin, it’s a family event. “I'd say my kids love it. It's just a very good community, super fun vibe.” Jim agreed that it’s a family-friendly environment. He hasn’t been to more than three games due to living in Turlock, but he sees Ballers games as a chance to visit with his daughter, son-in-law and grandkids.

Leila despised baseball before coming to Opening Day. Now she and her husband have been to 10 games this year. She came out today because? “We love the Ballers.”

Jackie and Shirley wanted to see a strong finish (and they would get their wish). “Even with all the ups and downs, been a great season,” said Jackie. “Baseball,” offered Shirley, the world in a word.

Even with those ups and downs of a losing season, fans like Lisa kept coming out to see the team. “I love this place,” said Lisa. “It’s such a neighborhood joint. I mean, there's so much to love about this place. The vibe here, like they say, is immaculate.”

Blake and Holden have been buying Flex Packs since the first season. “We just want to support the local team,” said Holden. “It's just really a matter of just loving local sports here in Oakland. Oakland needs its sports teams, and I definitely want to support one that's doing really well.”

For Benny, it’s more than the games. “Just love for the Ballers, love for the community as well. It's not just the baseball players and the organization, it's the people, the fans, and the whole community that's met behind it.  So win or lose, you know? That's what gets me coming.”

Robin came for the fun themes. “I came to Halloween Day, and Christmas Day, and I'm a teacher. I came to Teacher Appreciation, Fan Appreciation. All those things were a big draw.”

Leila kept coming back for the community…and the opportunity to razz the opposing team. “The fans are so friendly. It's like a family. You're intimately…you're close down with the players.  If you want to chirp at the people, they can hear you. And it feels inclusive and fun.” Ah yes, the inclusive fun of trying to goad JT Snow into blowing his top.

Jackie and Shirley lived nearby and found that coming to games was a great way to interact with their community, meet up with ballgame friends and shake off their cares. “These guys, it makes it fun,” said Shirley. “You know, come to hang out, and you see people, and you say hello, and you watch a game, and I can not worry about, oh, work.”

In such a festive atmosphere, it was easy to feel optimism for 2027. What are fans looking forward to next season, other than more wins?

Jackie and Shirley want to see the team go big. Bigger crowds, bigger, more permanent seats and, looking at the number of home runs the team gave up this year, “a bigger field.”

Blake and Holden are moving up to full season tickets, “So we’re looking forward to a lot more baseball.”

“I want a championship!” chimed Benny. “Just kidding,” he continued, “I just want to see some good old fashioned baseball. That's what I'm here for, and just the community.”

Ditto Lisa on the community. “The games are great. There's so much fun cheering them on, listening to the drummers, hanging with the kids. The kids have questions, and I do my best to answer them, and we watch the game. It’s great.” Not only that, coming to see the Ballers helps her get a little cardio in. “I also play Pokemon Go out here too.” (This reporter is on Team Valor and will be seeking to hold all the Raimondi gyms next year.)

For the softball crew, next season will be about getting out to see more games, and for David, “Watching the kids play and seeing how this thing evolves.”

Nick summed things up nicely: “The possibilities are endless.”

Jim and Robin want more of the same family-friendly entertainment and community. “I was thinking today,” said Robin, “I was like, wow, there's people here who are gonna say when they grow up, ‘oh, I grew up as a Baller fan,’ or ‘I grew up in Raimondi Park.’ And I think that's super cool. So I want my kids to have that feeling too.”

Postgame with the Players

During Sunday’s postgame autograph session, I realized I had a captive group of players and some non-baseball questions. After a season of hard hitting journalism, I decided to see if we could have a little fun. All player names are withheld to protect everyone except Jaden Collura. (Who, by the way, got plenty of votes and praise in the year-end Reddit/Ballers awards for leadership on the team.)

Question 1: Best moment in the clubhouse you’re able to share?

“I'd have to think about this. Hold on. Yeah, you're putting me on the spot here.”

“I might need a second for that one. There's been a lot. It's been a lot.”

“Oh, oh, man, it's gotta be something JC's done, Jaden Collura, from him being on the aux [plugging a personal device into a sound system to play music], playing the most random songs at the most random times…”

“Just the silly or the ridiculous banter that we have. Honestly, anything involving JC, he's our team clown. He always got something to say.”

“Publicly? Oh, man. I don't know if I can narrow it down to one, but I will say anytime you're around JC, Jaden Collura, it's never a dull moment. Anywhere on the field, anywhere, dugout, bullpen, no matter where we're at, he always has something to say and make it a fun time.”

“I'd probably say just like hanging out with the guys off the field.  Like, we golf a lot on Mondays, off days. We were all hanging out together, so experiences like that, for sure.”

“I would say we had a game in Modesto, and we had to walk back.  We walked from the baseball field back to the hotel and it was every single guy on the team because the game was so crowded and we just walked back. I say that was a cool off-field experience with everybody together walking back. That I could talk about publicly.”

“Probably the recent union that we formed. The Magic Players Union. That was fascinating. I mean, it's kind of classified, but we did form a union. And we're proud of it.  We're excited. It's just for Oakland [not the whole league]. We just decided it would be fun.” (Ah yes, the noted ease and fun of labor organizing. Who doesn’t have fond memories of that?)

Question 2: What is the best moment off the field or on the road?

“Off the field, probably bus rides, just in general. I mean, I would say, getting on the announcement system, in the bus, and cracking jokes with the boys. That's the best one.”

“There was a funny moment in Modesto when we were pregame taking ground balls and James had a pop-up to Jake and he ran into one of the screens that was next to the field. So that was a funny moment for sure.”

“I would probably say Long Beach, going down to Long Beach, knowing the first half of the season that they had and just giving it to them. Taking that series was huge and kind of turned things around for us, like, got us on our feet again.”

“I would say sometime in Montana, just because I felt like it was early on in the season, everybody was still getting to know each other. Getting to meet to everybody, and [JC] was one of the first guys that always wanted to be on the aux, and him just blasting music on the bus after our wins and just playing, honestly, the most random songs at the most random times was awesome.”

“We went so—okay—we went to Hooters down in Long Beach and JC was with me. It was me, Matt, JC, and... no, I think it was just us.  And some other guys were there, too. But JC got some really hot wings and it kind of tore him up. That was pretty funny.” (We need a Jaden Collura episode of Hot Ones.)

“I'd probably say when we went to Montana, it was early on in the season, but everyone kind of got to know each other. Also play some golf out there, which is real fun.”

Question 3: Who was your weirdest, in a good way, teammate this season?

“JC. JC's hilarious.”

“We're gonna go Conner Smith. Yeah, kid's a weirdo, but I love him.”

“JC. You know, he he gets on aux, and he plays just the most interesting music. The greatest music, at times, gets me locked in for the game, that's for sure.”

“I think I'm gonna have to go with Noah Blythe. Very interesting guy.  Always pausing stuff, always thinking about the words you say, and he's just a funny guy. He stands out for sure.”

“By far, Jaden Collura. Always got something funny to say when you need it and he’s always there for you.”

“I love JC. Been on the road or been roommates with him on the road all year. So being able to, you know, grow that relationship with him on the field as well as off the field has been awesome.  I love him. And just to be a part of a team with him and the character that he brings and the energy he brings, each and every day is awesome. Clearly, like nobody else I’ve ever played with.”

“Probably JC or Darden. I don't know what you would call it, but [Darden’ll] go, ‘hee! hee!’ It's his celebration. Yeah, it's a celebration, but anytime you're around him, he'll just randomly throw it out there. It could be the quietest, most serious moment and he'll just, ‘hee!’”

“JC's definitely up there.  We can stick with the trend. He's a good dude, but yeah, he's got his moments for sharing weird stuff, but weird funny. A good weird.

A special word with JC and Nick Leehey:

Dispatches: Jaden, what do you have to say that with almost every player I've asked so far, they've said that you are their most weird—in a good way—teammate?

JC: Oh wow. Okay, I will actually take pride in that because I am a really good teammate.  

Dispatches: Tell us about your musical taste.

JC: I like country music. I'm big country music guy, but also like, I'm from Louisiana, so I like a little upbeat music on the rap side, hip hop.  But most of the time it's country.

Dispatches: Is it mostly unknown, actually? Because it seems like most of the team is not familiar with the music that you put on the aux.

JC: Oh, yeah, it's a little bit of everything, but I try to keep…like early Sunday morning today, I had some rap playing just to try to get the blood flowing, but yeah, that's it. Just keep it a wide variety of music.

Dispatches: Who’s your weirdest—in a good way—teammate?

JC: I'm probably gonna go to Nick Leehey because he's very bold with what he says most of the time and he's wrong most of the time, but he continues to act like he's right, which is kind of funny. So, yeah, he's the most weird teammate that we have.”

Dispatches: Nick, what do you have to say about JC choosing you?

NL: See, I don't know where that came from. That came out of left field for sure.  But I'll take it. I take it.

Dispatches: What do you think is your offbeat trait?

NL: I guess just not really getting embarrassed. Just doing things, make people laugh. I guess, kind of be the dork in the groove sometimes.

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