The Oakland Ballers (a.k.a. B's) have announced the signing of Brian Williams for the 2024 season. Williams was a five-year player at Birmingham-Southern College where he batted over .300 in four separate seasons including his senior season when he slashed .352/.431/.483. He also stole a total of 83 bases in those five years, topping out at 28 during the 2021 campaign when he hit .352. He also walked (21) more than he struck out (17) that season.
During his time in college, Williams was in the field most at third base, playing in 101 games at the hot corner. The position he saw the second-most playing time at was in centerfield at 47 games. He also saw time at second base (20), left field (22), right field (6) and shortstop (19).
Williams made his professional debut with the Glacier Range Riders in 2022 hitting .292 in a limited 12 games. After being released by Glacier he attended the Pioneer League Mid-Season Tryout Camp where he was drafted by the Billings Mustangs and received an invite to their 2023 Spring Training. He did not attend the Mustangs camp last season due to an injury and will now come to camp with the Ballers in 2024.
The Ballers will be holding open tryouts in Florida, Arizona, and one locally. The tryout in Davenport, Florida will be held from February 9-11, while the one in Scottsdale, Arizona will be from April 16-18. The local tryout will have more details at a later date.
The B's also have gear available at Oaklandish, with t-shirts and hoodies in black and green. Green snapback hats are available for pre-order at this time, but there is a new crop of black snapbacks that are currently in stock. Oaklandish expects to have fitted hats at some point soon, too.
You may have also heard that the Ballers had planned to play a game at the Oakland Coliseum this summer, but had those plans nixed by the A's. By rejecting the Ballers, the A's may have inadvertently admitted that Oakland is a viable market for baseball.
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