Oakland Ballers Rally City for Championship Parade – A New Era in Oakland Baseball

OAKLAND, Calif. (PBL) — On Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, the city of Oakland celebrated the Oakland Ballers franchise and their first PBL Championship. The parade and rally brought together the community, leaders, players and longtime baseball fans to mark Oakland's first baseball title since the Athletics won the World Series in 1989.

Sunday's festivities began with an outdoor rally at Oakland City Hall, where Mayor Barbara Lee presented the team with the key to the city and officially declared Oct. 5 as Oakland Ballers Championship Day.

 From City Hall, the celebration route made its way to Raimondi Park, the team's home stadium, where fans lined the streets. At the ensuing rally, team owners, coaches and players addressed the crowd, offering gratitude and reflecting on the journey.

"Oakland is a city of champions, but it had been a long time, and the town needed a win," said co-founder of the Ballers, Paul Freedman. "The Ballers organization is proud to have brought that victory to the city we love."

In just the team's second season, the Ballers overcame steep odds — surging back from a 0-2 deficit in the best-of-five PBL Championship Series to defeat the Idaho Falls Chukars and secure the titles.

"Oakland's been counted out since before the beginning. We're resilient," Freedman said during the celebrations. "We delivered a championship."