On Saturday, the Savannah Bananas won a thriller at Nationals Park, 4-3, against the Firefighters of the Banana Ball league in a specialty game that garnered terrific attraction.
The Bananas are known for their unique style of baseball, which has wacky rules and is fan-focused entertainment baseball. For example, one of the 11 unique rules is that if a fan catches a foul ball, it counts as an out for the defense. Tonight, July 13, 2024, marks another big step for the independent ball club. Currently, the Bananas are on their 2024 “Banana World Tour,” with this game in Washington, D.C., being one of the tour’s crown jewels.
The Bananas left the Coastal Plain League in 2022 to play Banana Ball year-round against a rotating cast of similarly traveling teams such as the Party Animals and Firefighters. They play music during play, have a wild presence on social media, sometimes even making content during the games, and always try to draw laughs from the fans in their actions and clothing.
Now, they are selling out MLB ballparks to the tune of 42,000 tickets sold to excited fans looking to see a fan-first brand of baseball.
The Bananas won 4-3 tonight against the firefighters in a game that went down to the wire. The crowd was heavily involved throughout the course of the night, and that got started by the “First Helicopter Squadron,” which partnered with the Bananas to do a flyover.
Highlights from the game include two fan foul ball outs in the first three innings, the Banana’s own Robert Anthony Cruz, or @CoachRAC getting to compete in the stadium of the organization he was a minor leaguer for, and 2x former All-Star Gio Gonzalez showing he’s still got it on the mound, pitching in an inning for the Bananas.
The night seems to have been an absolute success and a groundbreaking step for the Savannah Bananas, who are continuing to take the United States by storm.
11 Unique Rules of “Banana Ball”
These are the eleven Rules of Banana Ball. Which is your favorite????? pic.twitter.com/iSxBrzxKgQ
— Savannah Bananas (@TheSavBananas) February 22, 2024
Photo Credit: Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole, in yellow suit, leads a choreographed dance on the steps of Brockton’s Campanelli Stadium during their first ever visit to Massachusetts. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
