Oakland Ballers Sign Payton Harden

The Oakland Ballers have brought in another outfielder

The Oakland Ballers (a.k.a B's) announced that they have signed outfielder Payton Harden, 23, to play for them during the 2024 campaign. This will be his first season in professional baseball.

In college at McNeese State in Louisiana, Harden primarily played centerfield, and the same was true when he played in the MLB Draft League last summer. In 245 games in college, he hit a cumulative .321 with a .399 on-base percentage (OBP), racking up six home runs and 87 stolen bases. He hit .308 with a .420 OBP in the Draft League. 

When the Ballers' co-founders were talking about building up this roster, they mentioned numerous times that they wanted guys that could steal bases, and Harden fits that bill. 

With the addition of Harden, the B's outfield now has plenty of options to consider. A little over a week ago they traded for Austin Davis, but they have also signed Dondrei Hubbard as their "franchise player" after he was crowned last season's Pioneer League batting champion. 

Colin Matthews is another solid bat that was named to the All-Defense team while at Kent State, and Travis Halsema hit .310 with a .400 OBP in the PL last season. 

This outfield looks stacked. 

In addition to making another addition to the roster, the Ballers have added a new rival in the Yolo High Wheelers. The team was announced last week to even out the number of clubs in the Pioneer League, and was founded by Bryan Carmel and Paul Freedman, the same two that founded the Oakland Ballers. 

The reason both franchises have the same co-founders is because Bryan and Paul wanted to keep the baseball history in Oakland alive, and felt it necessary to debut the Ballers in 2024. The only problem with adding the team in Oakland was that the league's numbers would be uneven, so instead of waiting around, they just added two teams instead of one. 

The Ballers' first home game is on June 4 at Laney College against the High Wheelers. Tickets are not yet available for purchase, but we'll keep you updated for when they plan to be released. The team will be at Fan's Fest on February 24, providing an opportunity for people to get to know the members of the organization a little better. 

The B's also have gear available at Oaklandish, with t-shirts and hoodies in black and green. Green snapback hats are back in stock, and there is a new crop of black snapbacks currently available as well. Oaklandish expects to have fitted hats at some point soon.