BATTER UP FOR BANANA BALL
SAVANNAH, GA — SPRING 2023 — “Play Ball!” the umpire shouts. Then he turns to the crowd and breaks into a disco dance.
Okay, batter up. Dressed in a hot pink uniform, the Party Animals first baseman hits a high pop into the stands. A fan catches it. One out.
The next Party Animal grounds to short. Grabbing the ball, the shortstop passes it between his legs, kisses it, then throws to first to nip the runner. Two out. Then, without warning, the whole team forms a chorus line near the mound and. . . (CLICK ON ARROW)
Baseball, once our national pastime, has become dull, predictable. Sure, the Dodgers are exciting this year, and how about those Tigers! But do major leaguers wield flaming bats? Do backflips before catching a ball? Pitch while standing on stilts?
Welcome to Banana Ball. What began as a Harlem Globetrotters type show has become a nationwide joy that, according to Baseball Life, “is redefining the game and leaving fans ripe with excitement.” Banana Ball is also filling major league stadiums from coast to coast. Seems there’s life in the ol’ game yet.
Banana Ball grew out of the mad genius of Jesse Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas. In 2018, the fledgling team was playing ordinary collegiate summer ball when Cole had “a vision of a faster game, where all the boring parts of baseball were eliminated.”
Cole started re-writing baseball’s ancient and sacred rulebook. Rule 1. Instead of total runs, teams would earn one point for winning an inning. Score four runs to your opponent’s three in the second inning, say, and you get one point. That gives the home team a chance for a “walk-off” every single inning. Oh, except for the last inning. Then it’s runs as usual.
Rules 2 and 3. A two-hour time limit, and no delays. No mound visits and if a batter steps out of the batter’s box, a strike is called. And while we’re at it, how about a Golden Batter? Once each game, teams can send up their best hitter anytime they want.
Cole soon hired a second team, the Party Animals, as opponents. But Banana Ball stayed in Savannah, alternating with traditional baseball, leaving fans confused. Which game were they about to see? So in 2021, Cole decided “the most ‘fans first’ thing we could do was to play Banana Ball every single game.”
That season, the Bananas and the Party Animals took their first “World Tour” — to Mobile, Alabama. The following year’s World Tour visited six Southern cities. But the zany game only went viral when players began breaking into choreographed dances. Watch.
The Bananas were soon seen on ESPN and in viral videos on Youtube and Tik-Tok. In 2023, the “world tour” jumped to 80 games, with four teams, including the Firefighters, playing in firemen’s uniforms, and the Texas Tailgaters. Then last year, Banana Ball reached “the show.”
Jesse Cole was “blown away” when the Boston Red Sox front office called and invited the Bananas to play at Fenway Park. The game sold out, something the Red Sox haven’t done much lately. So did games at MLB stadiums in Houston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, St. Louis. . .
Despite Banana Ball’s motto — “fans first, entertainment always” — these guys (and one woman so far) can “bring it.” Pitches top 90 mph and homeruns are common. Still, there are those rules. . .
Rule 6. No walks. At ball four, a hitter takes off running. The catcher whips the ball to first and it goes on around the infield and outfield, the runner getting as far as possible before all defensive players have touched it.
As in MLB, a team can challenge an umpire’s call. But only Banana Ball has a “fan challenge.” Before the game, fans select one among them who will be allowed one challenge per game. And the fun, the dancing, the antics continue. . .
Fans love Banana Ball. So do players, including former college and minor leaguers. What major league team would allow a player to call time out and ask a fan out on a date? “Joining the Bananas was a no-brainer,” said pitcher Connor Higgins. “For the first time ever, I saw no fans on their phones during the game.” Former NFL players and major leaguers, from Johnny Damon to Bill “Spaceman” Lee, have also made cameo appearances.
No one, not even creator Jesse Cole, knows how big Banana Ball can get. This year’s World Tour, including Yankee Stadium and sixteen other MLB parks, is mostly sold out. Two more teams will be added next year. Annual attendance now tops a half million.
The new game, which England’s Manchester Guardian called “unarguably infectious,” keeps devising new twists. You can almost hear the little kids at play on diamonds of old.
Hey, we set bats on fire. Why not a ball?
Wait wait, I know! Let’s see if we can play a whole inning in less than a minute!
Dude, I got me a motorcycle helmet. I could pitch with it on. . .
Gentleman (and Jocelyn). Play ball.
