Why the Oakland Ballers put a longtime A’s fan on its board of directors

It’s been only a few months since the Oakland A’s left town, and Jorge Leon is relieved.

“It’s a bittersweet thing, but I’m excited the A’s are gone,” Leon said.

One of the leading voices of the Oakland A’s fans who were lobbying for the team to build a new stadium during its final years in Oakland, Leon did everything he could to try to convince the A’s to stay.

Ultimately, the fans didn’t have any power.

That changed in December, when 2,000 fan-investors of the independent...