In a bold move that blends technology with tradition, the Oakland Ballers, an independent baseball team in the Pioneer League, recently allowed an artificial intelligence system to manage one of their games. This initiative underscores the increasing influence of data analytics in sports and raises questions about the role of AI in decision-making processes traditionally reserved for human managers.
The concept of using data to inform baseball strategies isn’t new. Teams have long employed statisticians and data engineers to analyze player performance, optimize lineups, and make informed in-game decisions. However, the Ballers took this a step further by entrusting an AI with real-time managerial responsibilities during a live game.
Founded by edtech entrepreneur Paul Freedman, the Oakland Ballers emerged as a response to the departure of the Oakland Athletics, a Major League Baseball team that relocated, leaving a void in the local sports community. The Ballers, affectionately known as the Oakland B’s, quickly garnered a dedicated fan base, culminating in a championship win in their second season—the city’s first baseball title since 1989.
Freedman emphasized the team’s unique position, stating, The Oakland Ballers uniquely have the experience of being like a major league team in a minor league market. We can have creative flexibility. We can play with things and experiment with things way before the MLB or NBA or any of those leagues could do something.
Minor league teams often serve as testing grounds for new technologies before they are adopted at higher levels. The Ballers embraced this role by collaborating with AI company Distillery to develop software capable of managing a baseball game in real time.
Distillery’s AI was trained using over a century’s worth of baseball data, including specific information from Ballers games, to emulate the decision-making style of the team’s human manager, Aaron Miles. Freedman explained, What the AI did was figure out what our human coach would have done—the ingenuity on strategy and the concepts came from [Miles], and the ability to use the data and recognize patterns… is what the AI did throughout the course of the game.
During the AI-managed game, the system’s decisions regarding pitching changes, lineup configurations, and pinch hitters mirrored those that Miles would have made. The only deviation occurred when Miles intervened to replace the starting catcher, who was unwell, with a backup—a scenario the AI hadn’t been programmed to handle.
Miles approached the experiment with humor and openness. In a video shared on the Ballers’ Instagram account, he is seen extending the tablet running the AI for a handshake with the opposing team’s manager, highlighting the novelty of the situation.
However, the experiment elicited mixed reactions from the Ballers’ fan base. Some supporters viewed the integration of AI as a departure from the team’s community-focused ethos, reminiscent of the corporate decisions that led to the loss of Oakland’s professional sports franchises. One fan commented, There goes the Ballers trying to appeal to Bay Area techies instead of baseball fans. It’s so over for Oakland.
Freedman acknowledged the backlash and indicated that there are no immediate plans to repeat the AI experiment. He reflected, It never feels good to have your fans be like, ‘We hate this.’ But it’s not a bad thing that there’s more of a conversation about the pluses and minuses of this new technology now, as opposed to like, a decade later when it’s too late.
This initiative by the Oakland Ballers highlights the broader conversation about the integration of artificial intelligence into various sectors, including sports. While AI offers the potential for data-driven optimization, it also challenges traditional roles and raises questions about the balance between technology and human intuition.
As the Ballers continue to innovate both on and off the field, their willingness to experiment serves as a testament to the evolving landscape of baseball and the ongoing dialogue between tradition and technology.
