By Magaly Munoz

If anyone knows the struggles of breaking into minor league baseball, it’s James Harris.

Harris, an Oakland native, was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011, starting a tumultuous 10-year career of jumping from one team to the next, and he had health problems that would hinder his career progress.

After dedicating almost his entire life to playing baseball, Harris never imagined he would be released and signed to 11 different teams over a decade.

“The experience is humbling,” Harris explained.

“I think that for most people, [the emotions] goes both ways, where you probably start off a little bit of anger because you feel like you’re better than other guys that are staying. But then you have to humbly look in the mirror and say, ‘Well, what do I need to do differently if given the opportunity again?’” Harris said.

Midway through his career, Harris experienced episodes of passing out while on the field, leading to several weeks of testing with multiple cardiologists. This caused him to miss six weeks of the season.

He was diagnosed with a form of heart arrhythmias, which led to his release from the A’s. Unfortunately, other teams could not be convinced to take a chance on him due to heart problems, so he spent no more than a season with any organization over the next five years.

Trending

Gov. Newsom Passes Bill Allowing Legislative Staff to Unionize

In 2021, now heartbroken over what had transpired throughout his career, he decided to retire from playing baseball. Despite being frustrated, he wanted to have fun during his last season.

“As an athlete, you never want to feel like the game is kicking you out. You want to walk away on your own terms,” Harris said. “I wanted to be in a position where I can transition my life from being a player to other opportunities.”

And new opportunities were exactly what he found, and not too far away from the field he knew and loved.

Soon after leaving baseball, Harris began working with kids during his off time, coaching and training players of all ages. This evolved into coaching travel ball teams and eventually partnering with BJ Boyd, his former A’s teammate, to start their own training team called Backyard Boyz.

Boyd knew from the start that the partnership would be able to build something big to give back to the community.

Harris and Boyd understood how expensive and time consuming the sport was, on top of how confusing breaking into the big leagues would be for the young players who had the drive to move to the next level beyond high school. They provide kids with mentorship and opportunities to play in front of college scouts at little to no cost.

This is not about money or building themselves up at others’ expense, they want to see Oakland kids thriving with opportunities that are not easy to come by without families paying exorbitant fees.

The players love Harris, Boyd said, because he’s been in their shoes before, so he understands what it really takes to go to the next level. The kids look up to them because they dream of being where the two have already been.

“The motivation and the goal behind [Backyard Boyz] is to help be a platform and a resource for as many kids as possible. Everyone doesn’t have an advocate speaking on their behalf [like this resource],” Harris said.

Around the time of starting Backyard Boyz, Harris began working with a new pioneer league team, the Ballers, that came to Oakland during peak baseball desperation.

The A’s, Oakland’s major league baseball team since 1968, had just announced their plans to leave the city to find a new home in Las Vegas when the Ballers announced their plans to dig roots in the town. The B’s hoped to take away the doom and gloom that the A’s were leaving with fans and give locals something new to take pride in.

Oakland has gotten a reputation for losing professional sports teams. The longtime NFL team, Oakland Raiders, moved to Las Vegas in 2020, and the Golden State Warriors left their city arena empty to play across the bridge in San Francisco in 2019.

Harris first joined the growing B’s team as marketing and sales guy, promoting the team to locals and building up the hype the new team would bring. Midway through the teams first season, Harris was asked to step up as an assistant coach.

Because of his background in running baseball camps and playing in the minor league, the change of position seemed like a no-brainer to Ballers Manager Aaron Miles.

“[Harris] would hang around the batting cage and talk ball with the players. He was another knowledgeable baseball guy for players to lean on,” Miles said.

The Ballers finished their season by making it to the Pioneer League playoffs, but ultimately lost 6-4 to the Yolo High Wheelers in the first round.

Although the coaching is at different levels, Harris is honored to be a part of maintaining the legacy of Oakland sports at a time when fans are feeling discouraged. The Ballers and Backyard Boyz are allowing him to create impact in the lives of players who are at unique stages of their careers, whether that’s starting out in high school or trying to use the Pioneer League as a stepping stone into something bigger.

“It means a lot to me to be a part of [the Ballers] and to see how it’s directly impacted people. The amount of people I’ve met doing this, and working with the little leagues has been extremely humbling,” Harris said. “I think that this is going to be huge for the community.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

By Post Staff

After 57 years, the Athletics have left Oakland following a home series this week.

Though Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced legislation to keep the team in Oakland, she could not get the backing she needed from other legislators in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Lee tried 15 months ago, the day before Nevada politicians approved $380 million in public funds to build a Las Vegas ballpark.  Lee proposed a bill that would have stopped the A’s move by requiring a hefty exit fee that would have made them reconsider a move.

“That’s only fair,” Lee said in an interview in the Los Times by sportswriter Bill Shaikin. “That’s the only fair way to do it,” she said. “You’ve got to compensate the community, because the community has invested a heck of a lot.”

However, Lee’s bill could not go forward without the backing it needed.  First, it went to the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican.  Jordan did not co-sponsor Lee’s bill or permit the committee hearing required for the bill to move forward.

“We put up a good fight. The city put up a good fight, the county, everyone,” said Lee.

“Unfortunately, we are losing a team that really, in the day, exemplified Black excellence in Oakland. It’s more than just the team leaving. It’s a part of Oakland’s history, and our culture,” she said.

Trending

‘International Chess Day’ Makes Its Move at Richmond Public Library

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

By Ken Epstein

The City of Oakland this week finalized the $105 million sale of the city’s 50% share of the Oakland Coliseum to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), based on a long-term plan and vision for social and economic revitalization of East Oakland that will include jobs, new businesses, and affordable housing.

Last Thursday, AASEG also finalized the deal to purchase the other 50% of the Coliseum owned by the Oakland A’s for $125 million, meaning that the entire 155-acre property is now owned by the African American business group, likely the largest transfer of property to African Americans in Oakland history.

According to a terms sheet, AASEG is paying the city $15 million in September, $15 million in November, $33 million in January 2025, and $42 million by June 20, 2026. The development is financed by Loop Capital, a Chicago-based investment firm.

Hosting the press conference at the Coliseum on Tuesday, co-founder of the AASEG team, Ray Bobbitt, a longtime Oakland businessman, introduced Mayor Sheng Thao, who he said “drove” this project for the city, along with Councilmember-at-large Rebecca Kaplan.

“This is history in the making,” said Mayor Thao, emphasizing the team effort between private investors, city officials, staff, and community that is moving the city forward.

This project is not a short-term financial fix for Oakland but a long-term strategic development that will pay off for the city and its residents for decades, she said.

“This will be a $105 million sale that will lead to a multi-billion-dollar investment in Oakland, specifically deep East Oakland,” Thao said.

“This isn’t a temporary band-aid for the budget as some naysayers may say,” she continued. “Yes, it helps keep fire stations open, it helps keep our (police) officers, and the (police) academies going. But (more fundamentally), this is a work in process for Oakland’s future.”

The mayor said she was honored to work with the African American business leaders in AASEG and with the African American entrepreneurs in Loop Capital.

“Many thought institutional capital was fleeing Oakland, but that is not the case.,” she said. “We were able to be innovative and think outside the box. (We) know what the Coliseum is; this is the place to be in the Bay Area.”

A number of observers say political opponents of the mayor and much of city’s leadership are “doom seekers,” continually emphasizing that Oakland is a terrible place to live where nothing good happens, as they seek to justify their attempt to restore power to representativesof  the city’s traditional elite.

In her remarks, Kaplan outlined a vision of the redeveloped Coliseum site as a major economic hub for not just East Oakland but the Bay Area, noting that it sits near a BART station, freeway, rail line, and airport.

Ultimately, the AASEG project will be a $5 billion construction venture with housing, entertainment, live sports, hotels, and businesses.

“There is no site better prepared for development than this,” Kaplan said.

AASEG has agreed to create a community benefits plan before the end of the decade with labor agreements, workforce training, and pledges to residents around the Coliseum  that they will not be displaced by development.

AASEG has also agreed to ensure 25% of any housing developed at the site is affordable.

Bobbitt, who, as a child watched games at the Coliseum from his grandmother’s roof, said the project will serve the entire population of Oakland and the region and especially communities in East Oakland, where African Americans face the highest rates of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness, and as victims of crime, he said.

He said he especially wanted to recognize Paul and Gay Cobb, owners of the Oakland Post newspaper and elders in the community, who inspired him to have a large vision for the Coliseum that would lead to the development of East Oakland, the entire city, and the region.

“We want to acknowledge them and thank them for everything they do for our community. They safeguard us, they protect us, they push us, they urge us, I want you to understand what this newspaper means for our community,” Bobbitt said.

In a statement, Bobbitt said, “The AASEG sees this new stewardship (of the Coliseum) as a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the revitalization of Oakland and a profound responsibility to improve the lives of the community members of East Oakland.”

“Thank you to the city, our partners, Mayor Sheng Thao, Rebecca Kaplan, Nikki Bas, and everyone else who contributed to this,” he said.

Council President Bas said, “There are so many positive things to love about our town, and this is an opportunity, to set aside any differences we have and to work together and make this city as great as it can be.”

Entrepreneur Alan Dones, who is part of AASEG, said, “Our team agrees that our main objective here is to serve our community, to make sure this project stands out as a beacon for what can be done when you prioritize community, good jobs, and business opportunities.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post