Dancing, Baseball and Fun Infiltrates Coors Field!
Trevor Phipps
If you have never heard of the Savannah Bananas baseball team, you are missing out on a growing sports sensation and a different form of America’s favorite pastime, which is now invading the Centennial state.
In fact, ever since they invented their own version of baseball, dubbed “Banana Ball,” they have sold out every football or baseball stadium they have visited.
And to make matters more convenient, the team is slated to play in Colorado for the first time ever at 7 p.m. on August 9 and at 3:30 p.m. on August 10 at Coors Field in Denver. The two games in Denver, though, sold out weeks before the games, just like they have sold out every stadium they have visited since they launched. However, those interested still have the opportunity to catch the games live on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+.
In order to best describe the team and the game, many compare the Savannah Bananas and their “Banana Ball” as the baseball version of what the Harlem Globetrotters are for basketball. But the major difference is that the Bananas’ games are not scripted, and the Bananas don’t win every match.
The league started by playing “Banana Ball” exhibitions as early as 2018 at the Historic Grayson Stadium (dubbed “Bananaland”) where they offer all-inclusive experiences and tickets include All-You-Can-Eat hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, water, soda, popcorn and cookies. The Historic Grayson Stadium is the first ever Ad-Free ballpark, and they serve their own Savannah Banana Beer, Banana Split Cream Soda, and specialty alcoholic drink, the Slippery Banana.
Ever since 2023, the team has toured year-round across the world and played matches in professional football and baseball stadiums against their opposing teams: the Party Animals, the Firefighters, the Visitors and the Texas Tailgaters. This weekend the Bananas will challenge the Firefighters in Denver.
“Banana Ball” Becoming the Most Popular New Sport
The team’s “Banana Ball” looks similar to baseball, but the games emphasize showmanship, fan participation, and quick-paced games. The game has different rules including the fact that games are won by points instead of runs. The team that picks up the most runs in an inning earns a point.
Bunting is never allowed and if a batter leaves the batting box, it’s an automatic strike. Other rules state that if a fan catches a foul ball in the stands, the player is out.
During the games, the players engage in dance routines, comedic sketches, and other performances between, and often during, innings. “Our players perform choreographed dances every game – Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Mariah Carey – You name it, they’ve danced to it,” the team’s website states. “Every game we have a 3-2-2, which stands for 3rd inning, second batter, second pitch. These are unique in-game pre-pitch dances that have combined together for over 300 million views on TikTok. We are the only baseball team to play in kilts. That’s right, kilts.”
The team boasts the World’s Tallest Hitter and Pitcher with Dakota “Stilts” Albritton who stands 10 feet tall. The Savannah Bananas has “the World’s only Dancing Umpire in Vincent Chapman who will bust out the floss, robot or twerk it out on strike out calls.” Also, on the team is “the World’s only Breakdancing Coach in Maceo Harrison who may do the moonwalk or the Single Ladies dance before giving a sign to the hitter.”
The team’s owner Jesse Cole can always be seen in the stands sporting a bright yellow tuxedo. Other additions to the team that make it stand out include: the Banana Nanas, a senior citizen dance team; the Man-Nana’s, their Dad Bod Cheerleading Squad; and the Banana Splitz, a youth dance team.
History of the Savannah Bananas
Team owners Jesse and Emily Cole first brought the team to Savannah, Georgia in October 2015 to bring baseball back to the city. “In our first few months, we only sold a handful of tickets,” the team’s website states. “By January of 2016, just months before our first game, the team had over-drafted our account. Owners, Jesse and Emily Cole were forced to sell their home to keep the team going.”
But then things changed for the Coles when they decided to change their name to the Savannah Bananas on February 26, 2016. The announcement received coverage by CBS, NBC, and Sports Illustrated, even was featured as Sports Centers’ Logo of the Year. Since then, the team has sold out for more than 200 games.
For the team’s first seven seasons, the Bananas were part of the Coastal Plain League, a summer collegiate league. “The team won three Petitt Cup Championships while part of the CPL and had over 35 players drafted across the seven years of play,” their website reports. “In 2022, the Bananas announced that they were leaving the Coastal Plain League to play Banana Ball year-round. Banana Ball was born out of the idea of making baseball more fast-paced, entertaining, and FUN.”
The only way to get tickets to a Savannah Bananas game is to get put on the waiting list months ahead of time on the team’s website at thesavannahbananas.com. Tickets for the game start at just $35, but tickets must be purchased through the Savannah Bananas directly or those interested in attending could end up paying inflated “ticket scalper” prices.
At press time, the only match this year that wasn’t sold out was their match in Houston, Texas at Daikin Park on September 26 and 27.
