Oakland Ballers honor a baseball legacy with new Raimondi Park facilities
On Tuesday, a new era of baseball begins in Oakland with the inaugural home game for the Oakland Ballers baseball team.
The team's new ball field at Raimondi Park was constructed in record time. While it may feel like something new, it's actually a rebirth of a proud legacy centering on one of the town's most famous baseball families.
When the Oakland Ballers chose Raimondi Park to be their home field, they wanted the team to benefit from the roots of the past.
"I mean, Raimondi Park is one of the most historical municipal parks in the world. It's got a deep history, and the more we've learned about it, the more rich that history is," said Ballers co-founder Paul Freedman.
Created in 1911 as West Oakland Park, it was later renamed as Bayview Park. But in 1947, it got the name it enjoys today: Raimondi Park. It was named after Ernie Raimondi, a local ballplayer who was killed in action in France during World War II.
"This is when they dedicated the park. And this is me, being 2-years old, because they did it in 1947," said Penny Isola, pointing out a yellowed picture from the Oakland Tribune's coverage of the event.
Penny was only nine months old when her father Ernie died. Even now, at age 80, she still doesn't know a whole lot about her dad aside from a scrapbook of old newspaper clippings.
"He was so loved by his family, that whenever I would ask questions, they'd cry. So you tended not to ask, you know what I mean?" she said. "It would have been nice to have a dad, you know? Especially one that was so loved by everybody in the family."
But apparently baseball thought pretty highly of Ernie too. The San Francisco Seals ball club drafted him at the age of 16 while he was still a junior at McClymond's High School. The move was very controversial at the time, with newspapers accusing the team of "cradle snatching."
Ernie played third base for the Seals, alongside Dom DiMaggio, younger brother of Yankee slugger Joe DiMaggio. Back then, the Seals were part of the highly regarded Pacific Coast League, the place where Joltin' Joe made his professional debut.
"The Coast League was really big on the West Coast. At one point, it was considered a third branch of the Major Leagues," said Ernie's nephew, Bill Raimondi, who lives in Alameda. "He [Ernie] played games, actually, while he was still in high school at Seals Stadium. And he got a hit in his first game; a double, or something."
Bill is the son of Ernie's older brother Billy. He played 22 years of pro ball, mostly with the Oakland Oaks, the cross-Bay rivals of the Seals. In fact, of the six boys in the Raimondi family, four ended up playing some form of professional baseball, all of them getting their start on the field at what is now Raimondi Park.
"Yeah, they all went to McClymond's High School," said Bill, "And they were all well known in Oakland."
"All of them used to play there," said Penny. "You know, you'd go and just play baseball there when you were a kid. So they all went there, all of the boys; all of the brothers."
Ernie was a good hitter for the Seals, but injuries forced him to retire in 1941 and he entered the military instead. So after Ernie made the ultimate sacrifice in World War II, the park was renamed for him. But really, it was an honor the entire family got to share.
"It's very meaningful to have a park in Oakland named Raimondi," said Bill. "Any chance I have to brag about Raimondi Field, I do!"
Penny agreed. And though she never really knew her father, she has kept a framed picture of him next to her bed nearly every day of her life, connected for 80 years by the love of a game.
"I don't know, just the history of my family being involved in baseball is so special, you know? It's in our blood," she said. "We love baseball. So I'm hoping that the Ballers remain there and that they get the crowds. We need baseball in Oakland."
Penny wasn't able to attend Tuesday night's opening game because of a family graduation ceremony. But she said she plans to be there on "Ernie Raimondi Day" on June 27th, for a special game honoring the memory of her late father.
