{"id":656,"date":"2026-06-14T14:04:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T14:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=656"},"modified":"2026-06-14T14:04:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T14:04:02","slug":"oakland-ballers-home-runs-keep-destroying-a-neighbors-property-lawsuit-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=656","title":{"rendered":"Oakland Ballers home runs keep destroying a neighbor’s property, lawsuit says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The\u00a0Oakland Ballers are facing perhaps the most ironic lawsuit in recent memory.<\/p><\/div>

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Just before the season began, the defending Pioneer League champions were sued by the former owner of a glass company over damage \u2014 including broken windows \u2014 allegedly caused by balls flying over the left-field fence of Raimondi Park.<\/p>

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Last month,\u00a0Ajor Property Group, which owns a building directly across the street from Raimondi Park, filed a lawsuit in Alameda County against the Ballers and the city of Oakland. The plaintiff alleges the city and team failed to act quickly enough to prevent baseballs from breaking windows, denting the roof and causing other damage at the building at 1661 20th St., leading it to ask for at least $350,000 in damages.<\/p><\/div>

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The city of Oakland declined SFGATE\u2019s request for an interview, citing the pending litigation. But Ballers co-owner Paul Freedman did speak to SFGATE last week \u2014 which he said he was doing against the advice of his legal counsel \u2014 not just because he wants the Ballers to be transparent about all things with their organization but also because he sees this as indicative of a larger issue in his hometown.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to get people to viscerally understand that Oakland has its challenges,\u201d Freedman told SFGATE. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people in the Bay Area, like, why is it so hard to get some things done in Oakland? I think this story, you know, tells a lot about that.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

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He later added: \u201cMy perspective is that, as soon as there\u2019s any semblance of success in Oakland, knives tend to come out, and not always from people in Oakland.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

Raimondi Park has been a baseball field for more than a century. It is named after Ernie Raimondi, a homegrown star for the Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League who was killed in action during World War II. The park has gone through cycles of disrepair over the decades but finally had a $5 million renovation completed in 2008. The baseball field had been primarily used by little leagues, recreational teams and local high schools since then, while the area around Raimondi was one of Oakland\u2019s largest and last major homeless encampments until it was cleared in 2023.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

Ajor Property Group, which is owned by Hassan Najafi, has owned the building at 1661 20th St. since 2001. Supreme Glass Company, the tenant in the building, was also owned by Najafi when the Ballers arrived at Raimondi Park in 2024, although state records indicate Najafi sold the company to Gregory Scharlemann and Roderick Heisler last year. Ajor Property Group continues to own the building, though, and alleges in the lawsuit that it didn\u2019t suffer any baseball-related damage when the field was used for recreational and youth sports.<\/p><\/div>

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Things changed when the pros came to town, the plaintiff alleges. The A\u2019s announced they would leave Oakland for Las Vegas and play their final MLB season in The Town in 2024. Freedman and his co-owner, Bryan Carmel, founded the Ballers as an independent team, set to compete in the Pioneer League. They settled on Raimondi Park, investing $1.6 million to upgrade the space. The new and improved\u00a0Raimondi opened to a sold-out crowd in May 2024 and saw the Ballers win the league championship on its field in 2025.<\/p><\/div>

But Raimondi\u2019s left-field fence sits at 312 feet from home plate \u2014 a short distance for professional hitters. Just behind the fence is a 30-foot-high net intended to catch any dingers before they hit something else. Ajor\u2019s lawsuit alleges that for the past two years, the team and the city of Oakland have known about the damages but have failed to act to prevent them.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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SFGATE went to the building last week and noticed several broken or damaged windows, including a few that appeared to have a baseball-sized hole. SFGATE also reached out to Najafi last week by phone, requesting an interview about the lawsuit. Najafi replied by asking rhetorically if he was suing this reporter, who answered, \u201cNo.\u201d Then Najafi told SFGATE to \u201cmind your own business\u201d multiple times. When SFGATE reiterated that the outlet was pursuing a story on the lawsuit, Najafi said, \u201cI don\u2019t give a f\u2014k what you want to tell me,\u201d and told this reporter to \u201cf\u2014k off.\u201d\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

Najafi\u2019s lawyer, Robert Jweinat, did speak to SFGATE last week, though he declined to answer specific questions about the lawsuit. Jweinat, who serves as\u00a0a city councilmember in San Ramon, told SFGATE that his experience in municipal government has informed his handling of this case, including the need to file a claim against a city ahead of any lawsuit.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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The lawsuit, which includes two years of email correspondence between Najafi and Freedman, alleges the team did not raise the netting in left field up to the maximum 50-foot height allowed in the field use agreement between the city and team. It also alleges the Ballers took responsibility to pay for the broken windows, as well as damage to the aluminum siding and roofing, and have failed to do so.<\/p><\/div>

Freedman and the Ballers don\u2019t dispute that the damage is occurring to the building across the street and repeatedly offered to pay for the damage at cost, if Ajor could prove the damage had clearly resulted from a\u00a0Ballers game or practice. According to Freedman, the Ballers paid $1,500 to repair a window in their first year at Raimondi after Najafi showed the team a video of a baseball breaking it. But when asking for proof of a later incident, Freedman alleges Najafi asked for $500 to show the team the video. Freedman also told SFGATE (and Najafi in emails) that raising the netting height to 50 feet would require the city to change height ordinances for the property and potentially set a precedent that could be used by other buildings.<\/p>

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Ajor\u00a0also cites \u201clost solar energy generation and installation delay\u201d due to what it says is an inability to install solar panels on the building due to the potential risk from flying baseballs, something Freedman is skeptical about. In a multi-email exchange on June 9, 2025, the Ballers owner offered the types of solar panels Najafi should consider purchasing but also suggested Najafi \u201cget in touch with\u201d PG&E, citing grid challenges in their neighborhood and the western-facing positioning of the building\u2019s roof. (Freedman told SFGATE the Ballers have had difficulty with their power usage and said he\u2019s been told the neighborhood is \u201ca tough grid\u201d for PG&E.) The suggestion prompted a fiery response from Najafi.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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\u201cApparently you have lied to us 10 months ago and now you are advising us what to do about what is not your decision at all,\u201d Najafi wrote back less than an hour later. \u201cHowever, our position is firm, you are warned and you know what you are responsible for including all legal cost.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

Freedman told SFGATE he even made an offer to buy the building from Najafi, a proposal that is acknowledged by both parties in the emails attached in the lawsuit. But Freedman told SFGATE that Najafi\u2019s initial asking price was $10 million, and then the price went up when the team checked in months later.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

\u201cWe have done a lot, and I think our track record is really strong, to engage the neighbors and engage the neighborhood,\u201d Freedman said. \u201cWe literally knocked door to door, asking whether people wanted a baseball field here. It’s hard to get things done in Oakland, it\u2019s hard to get things done in the Bay Area if the neighbors are against it. So having the neighborhood support has been critical for the success the whole time.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

And while things haven\u2019t\u00a0always been great in West Oakland, the community is on the upswing. The Prescott Market food hall opened last year right next door to the Ajor property and has partnered with the team. So did a six-story affordable housing complex, located on the other side of Raimondi Park.<\/p><\/div>

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