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The Great Ballpark Chase Postscript: It’s Bananas!

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Comerica Park during Banana Ball
The Party Animals’ colors encircle the Comerica Park stadium. (Photo by Tim Russell)

(Contributing writer Tim Russell, whose prior work has focused on his quest to see all 30 MLB ballparks, shares what his first Banana Ball experience was like.)

Tom Hanks’ character, Jimmy Dugan, was right in A League of Their Own when he said, “There’s no crying in baseball.”

But when the Banana Ball comes to town, there’s definitely no crying, but there is a lot of laughter and dancing.

A Banana Ball experience is way more than just baseball.

I had no idea what to expect when I won the lottery and was able to buy five tickets. But I went anyway and had a great time.

Our game featured the Party Animals and Firefighters, two of six teams competing in the Banana Ball Championship League. The others include the Savannah Bananas, the Indianapolis Clowns, the Loco Beach Coconuts, and the Texas Tailgaters.

The first thing you have to realize is that it is not true baseball. They play baseball, with balls, bats, on a diamond, even with an umpire, but there are several differences, which are made known before the game.

“We are not your typical baseball team,” the main page of the Bananas (the originators of Banana Ball) states. “We take chances, we bend the rules, we challenge the way things are supposed to be, ‘We are Fans First,’ and we entertain always.”

There are choreographed dance routines, between-inning skits, music playing all the time, a dancing umpire, and a little bit of baseball.

Another fun component is the use of trick plays. Players may catch a ball behind their back or between their legs or bat the ball into the air once or twice with their glove before catching it in their shirt.

The game isn’t for baseball purists, but it is quite a good time. It’s baseball, but entertainment as well.

And what’s wrong with entertainment?

For example, the Bananas have the world’s tallest pitcher, throwing while he’s on stilts. There is also the Dancing Umpire, Vincent Chapman, who calls balls and strikes with a flair.

There are also the Banana Nanas (a senior citizen dance team), the Man-Nanas (a dad-bod cheerleading squad), and the Banana Splitz (a youth dance team).

Clockwise from upper left, yes, there was a real fire truck in Comerica Park for the Firefighters; the stage outside the stadium; fans had a chance to walk under the Party Animals archway out front; yes, there were kilts involved as well. (Photos by Tim Russell)

The teams compete in games that count, like in standard baseball.

They are even staging a championship. This year, the Banana Bowl will be at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, October 10th, at 7 p.m. The matchup features the Bananas and the Tailgaters.

Jesse Cole is the founder and president of Fans First Inc., which is the parent company of the Savannah Bananas. He always wears a yellow tuxedo.

The Bananas were founded in 2016 and played in Grayson Stadium in Savannah, GA, following the South Atlantic League’s Savannah Sand Gnats departure for Columbia, SC, in 2015.

Immediately afterward, the team competed in a collegiate summer league and played exhibition games under the Banana Ball format. In 2023, the Bananas went entirely to the Banana Ball format, playing at Grayson Stadium and touring to major and minor league fields against the Party Animals.

The organization always tries to tie the game toward a local team. Frequently, former major league players will make appearances. In Detroit, fan favorite infielder Brandon Inge pinch hit in a clutch situation and former Tiger closer Shane Greene also threw an inning.

Tickets are at a premium to obtain. When the team announces a stadium date, fans enter a lottery. If your number is drawn, you get the opportunity to buy tickets. While I didn’t win the lottery, I did win a standby slot, which I was able to use since Comerica Park did not sell out in the main lottery.

The rules, all attendees discover, are slightly different than standard baseball:

Should the game be tied after two hours, there are no extra innings. Instead, it goes to “The Showdown.” Ties are settled by one-on-one duels.

Other scoring differences include the Equalizer point. Whichever team has more trick plays can earn one point going into the ninth inning. Also, each team can use the Golden Batter once per game, allowing them to send their best hitter to the plate, regardless of the current order.

Previous Contributions from Tim

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