OAKLAND – Three weeks ago, it felt like the sky was falling on the Oakland Ballers.
The newly formed Pioneer League baseball team fired popular manager Micah Franklin midseason. A few days later, player agent Lonnie Murray accused the organization of mistreating her clients, prompting days of social media jabs being thrown by supporters and dissidents of the Ballers.
Murray went as far as to advise pitcher Kelsie Whitmore – the Ballers’ most notable player who had been away playing for the U.S. women’s national baseball team – to leave the franchise.
But since then, the Ballers have played the best baseball they have all season. Under new manager Aaron Miles, who took over from Franklin on July 22, the Ballers have won 13 of 19 games to pull within a half-game of the Pioneer League’s final playoff spot.
“I would say the vibes are immaculate,” pitcher Jake Dahle said. “I think everyone has gotten a little bit closer. When all that stuff was going down, we still got to come out and play in front of the Oakland crowd at the end of the day. From that point, we all just bonded and came together as a team.”
Despite being advised to leave the team, Whitmore is back, too, and scheduled to start today’s game.
The trailblazing woman pitcher told the Bay Area News Group before the Ballers’ home game on Tuesday that she had no plans to depart amid the social media fiasco.
“The only way I’d be gone is if I lost my opportunity by getting cut or released,” Whitmore said. “Things get brought up, people say things. I just don’t pay much attention to it.”
The Ballers were a winning team under Franklin to start the season, which made his firing somewhat of a surprise. The team has cited a philosophical difference as the reason for Franklin’s dismissal.
Franklin has not spoken publicly about his departure from the team.
Days after Franklin’s firing, Murray went public on social media about the way she felt the organization was mistreating the players she represented.
Murray accused the organization of mishandling shortstop Myles Jefferson’s injury and claimed the team did not set up a visit with a doctor. She posted on Twitter/X that players were housed by the team in groups of four to a room when they were told it would only be two per room, and also voiced safety concerns for her clients after she said a Ballers player was robbed at gunpoint at some point this season.
She also called for the release of her three clients – Trevor Halsema, Austin Davis and Jefferson. The Ballers let the players go days after Murray’s request.
“We take player injury and safety on and off the field extremely seriously,” Ballers CEO Paul Freedman told the Bay Area News Group on July 26. “We think we have demonstrated a willingness and a desire, if issues come up, to immediately investigate and rectify solutions and we will continue to do so.”
The Ballers also responded to her claims in a lengthy Twitter/X post, saying they have been addressing the issues throughout the season.
After Murray went public about her grievances with the team, she reached out to Whitmore’s representatives, advising them to leave the team after her time with USA Baseball.
“When I say I was advising Kelsie not to come back to the Ballers after she’s finished with the national team, I absolutely was,” Murray told the Bay Area News Group on July 26.
Whitmore said while she was aware of the comments made by Murray, she stayed away from the conflict.
“I don’t get involved in that,” Whitmore said on Tuesday. “I don’t try to get involved in that kind of stuff. I try to stay away from drama, and I was gone so I didn’t pay much attention to it.”
Despite the off-field distractions, the team has managed to put itself in playoff contention.
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“It was not an easy transition,” Miles said. “I’m understanding fully what this job fully encompasses. As an assistant coach, you’re never really aware of all the ins-and-outs of what’s happening at the higher levels of managing. So it’s been a little bit of a roller coaster, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
Ballers players have said Miles’ best attribute aside from his baseball knowledge has been his ability to manage different personalities.
“I think Aaron does a great job of just letting each player be themselves,” Dahle said. “Everybody’s just kind of fit that little piece of the puzzle, and we’ve kind of just taken off.”
Added outfielder Dondrei Hubbard, “It was some adversity. “I don’t know if we needed it, but it definitely helped us get together as a team.”
