# Rooting for the Home Team with Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2026-05-27
- Length: 1h 02m
- Episode: 12
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-05-27-rooting-for-the-home-team-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/6098caad

## Summary

Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel, founders of the Oakland Ballers, discuss the startup's rapid growth from building a ballpark in a month to winning a historic championship season. They detail the operational challenges of launching two teams simultaneously, the strategic pivot to focus on the Oakland franchise, and the creation of 'BallerMetrics' to quantify fan impact. The episode also highlights a new collaboration with Oxide Computer Company to host a hackathon aimed at democratizing baseball technology.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-05-27-rooting-for-the-home-team-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel#t=0) Introduction and Sponsorship Announcement
- [4:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-05-27-rooting-for-the-home-team-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel#t=254) Building the Ballpark and Opening Day Stress
- [14:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-05-27-rooting-for-the-home-team-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel#t=899) The Championship Run and Firefighter Celebration
- [24:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-05-27-rooting-for-the-home-team-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel#t=1484) Launching Two Teams and the Yolo High Wheelers Rivalry
- [31:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-05-27-rooting-for-the-home-team-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel#t=1866) Innovating the Game: Rule Changes and AI
- [34:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-05-27-rooting-for-the-home-team-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel#t=2074) BallerMetrics: Fan Sentiment and Wins Above Replacement
- [47:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-05-27-rooting-for-the-home-team-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel#t=2852) Community Partnerships and the Oakland Hackathon
- [55:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-05-27-rooting-for-the-home-team-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel#t=3322) League Expansion and Future Outlook

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Oakland Ballers (company)
- Oxide Computer Company (company)
- Pioneer League (company)
- Yolo High Wheelers (company)
- Yuba Sutter Freebirds (company)
- Long Beach Coast (company)
- Modesto Roadsters (company)
- Remonte Park (other)
- Prescott Market (company)
- Scrappy (product)
- Trackman (tool)
- Raspberry Pi (chip)
- Arduino (chip)
- Hack Attack Junior (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Strava: Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-05-02-strava-mark-gainey-and-michael-horvath) (How I Built This)
- [Live Episode! Clubhouse: Paul Davison and Rohan Seth](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-06-live-episode-clubhouse-paul-davison-and-rohan-seth) (How I Built This)
- [Slack & Flickr: Stewart Butterfield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-07-30-slack-flickr-stewart-butterfield) (How I Built This)
- [Instagram: Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-09-19-instagram-kevin-systrom-mike-krieger) (How I Built This)
- [Advice Line with Chris Ruder of Spikeball](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-11-21-advice-line-with-chris-ruder-of-spikeball) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-05-27-rooting-for-the-home-team-with-paul-freedman-and-bryan-carmel. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.