This time last year, the B’s announced their first signing for the 2026 campaign—Grant Manning, who was expected to be the number 2 starter behind Tanner in the rotation (but who as we know, would be shortly thereafter signed to the Nationals org).
So, we might be a few days / a week away from Oakland’s first singing of 2027. I cannot wait to start the cycle again!
I miss baseball!
PBL announced its end of the season awards and all star roster. In the PBL, all stars are named after the season end.
Ybarra took home the league spot for 1B. Justin Trimble, who was traded by Oakland to the Chukars, took home the 3B slot, the HR crown for the season, and Rookie of the Year.
Last season, the B’s took home 3 post season awards: Miles as Coach of the Year, Millikan as an all-star starter, and Sullivan as the PBL saves leader.
According to Corner Stripe, Thomas led the league in “creating ground balls, controlling contact, and limiting damage.”
If DT returns next season, he will absolutely be a candidate for ace after he was so impressive in his shortened stint with Oakland this season.
I loved this article. The ending was so wholesome.
“Taking part in such a personal way will be beyond meaningful for Rosensweig, who holds fond memories of going to the Coliseum with her father to see their beloved Tigers play the A’s beginning when she was a young girl.
[…]
“I love the Ballers. The Ballers have healed my heart from all the awfulness of the A’s leaving,” she said.
[…]
And Rosensweig’s presence is paramount.
‘She’s lucky,’ Freedman said, ‘we need her in the stands.’”
“The A’s leaving Oakland broke Host Jeneé Darden's heart, but she may have found a new love—the Oakland Ballers. Jeneé went to an Oakland Ballers game in West Oakland over the summer and she had so much fun. It was good, old-school, community-feel baseball wrapped in the spirit of Oakland.
Jeneé went to the game because one of the Oakland Baller’s announcers, is her KALW colleague Tarik Ansari. You’ve heard her mention his name in the show credits because he is one of our board operators. She wanted to see him in action. Tarik is only 26 and living a baseball fan’s dream. In this interview, we go back to that hot Sunday afternoon when the Oakland Ballers played the RedPocket Mobiles, and hear Tarik’s story.”
Thank you to everyone who voted. I want to say that the whole purpose is to recognize top tier performance and leadership, and to try to amplify these talent players and human beings as much as possible. There are so many deserving of recognition and this is just one way I hope we can help do that in a small way. And have a little fun along the way.
Drum roll please:
The playoffs start this Thursday!
The Smoke (MVP pitcher): https://www.reddit.com/r/oaklandballers/comments/1w5yczw/ballers_2026_regular_season_pitcher_mvp_voting/
The Rickey (MVP position player): https://www.reddit.com/r/oaklandballers/comments/1w5xdqo/ballers_2026_regular_season_position_player_mvp/
The Curt Flood (Leadership award): https://www.reddit.com/r/oaklandballers/comments/1w5yozn/ballers_2026_regular_season_voting_fan_favorite/
The Murphy (MVP defensive player): https://www.reddit.com/r/oaklandballers/comments/1w7je7d/a_new_award_this_year_dwayne_murphy_defender_of/
Made these just for fun as my baby naps on my chest… another timeline where there are retro PBL baseball games…
Today, the Mobiles lost their 39th game in a row, breaking the record for most consecutive losses ever in professional baseball.
Feelings about corporate baseball aside, I am grateful for the Mobiles and have been rooting for them all season. The Mobiles provided critical financial support to our beloved PBL, helping keep opportunities for prospects open and having fun along the way, despite the record (I really enjoyed their mini series on YouTube, too!).
When I see this team, I see a business that supports independent baseball, taking on the daunting task of building and leading a road-only baseball team. I see managers and players grinding because of their love for the game.
I think that takes a giant pair of brass %#$&@. That’s putting money and sweat and blood into something you believe in.
Thank you, Red Pocket Mobiles.
Sincerely,
An Oakland B’s fan
Baller Nation,
Last but not least, we vote on the “Heart and Soul Award,” introduced by Dan Silvert last season.
Baller Nation,
In addition to The Rickey, it’s time to award “The Smoke” to the season’s MVP amongst B’s pitchers. The Smoke is named after one of the fiercest Oaklanders to grace the mound.
The pitchers that are on the ballot all scored highest based on totals in the following categories: ERA, W, APP, CG, SV, IP, K, B/AVG, and WHIP. Players in 1st received 7 points, 2nd rec’d 4 pts, 3rd 3 pts, 4th 2 pts, and 5th 1 pt. I am presenting only 3 candidates because of how much lower and close the scoring is after Hurley in total points–please, however, write in the comments if you think someone else is deserving!
And it should be noted–this season was tough on the B’s pitching staff. In addition to losing our ace Gabe Tanner and rotation anchor CJ Blowers to trades as well as Burkett and Hurley to injury, the rotation and bullpen seemed to be in flux for a large part of the season. With all the new faces, I made the cut off at pitchers who had ⅓ total innings pitched or less as compared to the rest (otherwise, amazingly, Ren Abe-Arias and David Thomas would crack the top 5).
Please vote how you want and share why below, or feel free to write in your candidate below! Upvotes also function as votes for anyone not in the poll.
Last year, Noah Millikan took home The Smoke with a final line of 2.28 ERA, 6 W, 13 APP, 79 IP, 90 K, 0.210 B/AVG, 0.94 WHIP.
CANDIDATES:
- RP Langston Burkett (32 points) - 34 IP, 7.15 ERA, 3 W, 32 APP, 2 SV, 50 K, 0.211 B/AVG, 1.74 WHIP. After getting his command and control in order after the start of the season, Burkett slowly became one of the most dependable arms in the bullpen. Before he went down with a season-ending injury, Burkett had earned the closer role with his electric movement.
- RP Valek Cisneros (31 points) - 43.2 IP, 5.15 ERA, 5 W, 33 AP, 56 K, 0.241 B/AVG. Simply put: Cisneros was the most dependable and consistent arms out of the bullpen all season.
- SP Charlie Hurley (18 points) - 53 IP, 7.98 ERA, 2 W, 11 APP, 42 K, 0.252 B/AVG. After losing Tanner and Blowers, Hurley became the next in line for the team’s ace position in the rotation. Getting noticeably stronger after the first month of the season, Hurley settled in and earned that title before going down with a season-ending injury.
The poll will be open 7 days (longest allowed by Reddit)! At the end of the poll, we’ll award the title to the player with the most points. I wish we could do something more, but at the very least we can help recognize a few of our players on an amazing season.
Baller Nation,
With the last week of the season upon us, it’s that time of year again to vote on which position player should win “The Rickey,” after one of the greatest Oaklanders to ever grace the diamond.
Winners of The Rickey are deemed the MVP for the regular season as voted by the fans!
The players that are on the ballot all scored highest based on totals in the following categories: AB, AVG, OBP, SLG, HR, RBI, R, SB, A, FLD%. Players in 1st received 7 points, 2nd rec’d 4 pts, 3rd 3 pts, 4th 2 pts, and 5th 1 pt. Mitchell Sanford actually placed in the top 5, but as he’ll end the season with just over 100 ABs, I’ve excluded him.
Of course, there are certainly intangibles to weigh for every player. The stats alone don’t tell the whole story, please vote how you want and share below why, or feel free to write in your candidate below! Upvotes also function as votes for anyone not in the poll.
Last year, 1B Christian Almanza took the award home with a .321 AVG, 333 AB, 87 R, 29 HR, 101 RBI, 0.661 SLG, 0.403 OBP, 28 A, 0.985 FLD line. Almanza ended the 2025 campaign holding the team’s single season home run and RBI records.
CANDIDATES:
- 1B Jeter Ybarra (48 points): 0.359 AVG, 382 AB, 88 R, 33 HR, 102 RBI, 0.699 SLG, 0.423 OBP, 0 SB, 58 A, 0.99 FLD%. The B's star 1st baseman has been a big time power threat all season, breaking Christian Almanza's franchise single season home run record (and imminently Almanza's RBI record).
- OF Noah Blythe (28 points): 0.332 AVG, 310 AB, 73 R, 16 HR, 65 RBI, 0.558 SLG, 0.393 OBP, 2 SB, 4 A, 0.992 FLD%. The only player in the poll who was not on the opening day roster, Noah made an immediate impact after being signed out of the University of Nevada, Reno this Summer, quickly earning a starting spot with his consistent bat and reliable glove and arm.
- 3B Jake Allgeyer (27 points): 0.333 AVG, 288 AB, 70 R, 15 HR, 63 RBI, 0.563 SLG, 0.436 OBP, 4 SB, 115 A, 0.911 FLD%. Although Jake is now in the American Association with the Lake Country Dockhounds, he put up a stellar season and was a cornerstone of the lineup with the B's before moving on.
- UTL Esai Santos (25 points): 0.286 AVG, 318 AB, 87 R, 16 HR, 58 RBI, 0.541 SLG, 0.404 OBP, 15 SB, 72 A, 0.972 FLD%. The versatile Esai Santos has been a constant and steady presence in the lineup, appearing often in both the outfield and second base. His offense numbers are nearly identical from his 2025 production except for his power production (HR, SLG), which have eclipsed his previous bests.
- SS Tremayne Cobb Jr. (22 points): 0.342 AVG, 219 AB, 58 R, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 0.562 SLG, 0.425 OBP, 27 SB, 128 A, 0.986 FLD%. Before going down for the season due to injury, the B's captain was considered to be one of the best players in the PBL. Cobb was on track so surpass every offensive number, with an eye popping .562 SLG.
The poll will be open 7 days (longest allowed by Reddit). At the end of the poll, we’ll award the title to the player with the most points. I wish we could do something more, but at the very least we can help recognize a few of our players on an amazing season.
4-for-5, 5 RBI, 3 R, 2 HR HAVE A GAME
Great to see B’s pitchers breaking into this list. It’s really reflective of how our pitching staff has turned things around over the past month.
These pictures were among my grandpa’s belongings. He worked on the construction of the coliseum in the ‘60’s. I wonder what he’d think about the fate of it today.
One out away from the complete game win. His breaking balls were keeping LBC off balance all game.
That’s twice (one against us and one with us) we’ve seen him go the distance in a month.
I hope we can see this guy another season with the club before he gets called up. What a gamer!
“Oakland snapped a 19-inning scoreless drought in the 7th on a two-run single by Logan Johnstone. While the club has to feel frustrated over its offensive production over the Modesto series and leading into the road trip in Long Beach, they shouldn’t be too discouraged–according to Corner Stripe, Long Beach and Modesto boast the second and third-best pitching staffs across the Atlantic League, American Association, and Pioneer League, trailing only the Long Island Ducks. The Coast have also defended their home turf fiercely, dropping just six games at Blair Field all season.”
Plus injury and transaction news on Hurley, Harajli, and Bufford.
As announced on their social media, starting now until game time tomorrow, the B’s are having a flash sale on all tickets. Grab your preferred seats now—follow the link in this post. Enjoy!