Never heard of the Savannah Bananas? Well, you're in for a treat.
Banana Ball returns to LoanDepot Park March 1-2, bringing two days of booty-shaking choreography, circus-style antics, and, occasionally, a soupçon of baseball. And if you're unfamiliar with all the Bananas' slippery shenanigans, we've got you covered.
WTF Is a Savannah Banana?
The first rule of Banana Ball? Everyone knows about it; they just don't realize it yet.If you've never heard of the Savannah Bananas — yes, you probably have. Anyone remotely interested in sports who has logged onto a computer over the past five years has seen the yellow-clad baseball team from Savannah, Georgia, blending Harlem Globetrotters-style showmanship with Broadway-level theatrics: That's them!
From 2017 through 2022, the team was a regular-old summer collegiate league ballclub. But in 2023 they abandoned the Coastal Plain League to play Banana Ball — complete with banana-hued baseballs — year-round.
Now pause and take a gander at some of the above videos from the last time they were in Miami. We'll wait. Got it? Yup. That's a thing. Not only a thing, but a Vegas-worthy traveling show selling out Major League Baseball stadiums at every turn.
I Can't Believe I'm Asking This, But What is "Banana Ball"?
What is Banana Ball? We thought you would never ask. No seriously — we never thought someone would ask us this.Simply put, it's chaos. But if you ask the Savannah Bananas, they'll describe it as a fast-paced, entertaining exhibition exhibition that involves dancing, costumes, and fan participation. Above is a handy-dandy summary of how Banana Ball works. Some highlights include the game working on a points system wherein if you win an inning, you win a point, and all games are on a two-hour time clock.
There's a ton more going on — for instance, if you bunt you get ejected, batters can steal first base, and if a fan catches a foul ball, it's an out.
But watch the video.
Who Are the Savannah Bananas' Opponents?
Those old enough to remember the Harlem Globetrotters' glory days will also recognize the Washington Generals, the hapless, unsuspecting opponent of the main attraction. The Generals would succeed from time to time, but for the most part they were much more WWE than they were MLB. They were essentially a prop.Well, credit the Bananas for having an archnemesis: the Party Animals, who are a draw in their own right. We're talking sex factor here, folks. Sleeveless Miami Vice pink jerseys and biceps for days. These guys are well aware they aren't the serious actor in the show, but that isn't stopping them from working for their own spinoff.
Men come for the Bananas. Women come for the Party Animals. It's science. And a thing we actually just wrote.
How to Score Banana Ball Tickets
Banana tickets sell out so quickly and are in such high demand that at the end of 2024, the Bananas attempted to shatter their all-time attendance record and succeeded when 65,000 attended a game at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But have no fear. Though this weekend's games sold out long ago, plenty of get-you-in-the-door tickets are available for the Bananas–Party Animals matchups. As of midday Thursday, upper-level tickets are going for as little as $15 a pop on the third-party ticket website StubHub. While you're at it, you can you can also purchase Opening Day Miami Marlins tickets for $18!
If you can't make it to this weekend's games, no worries: Savannah Bananas vs. Party Animals will stream live on YouTube on Saturday, March 1, beginning at 7 p.m. EST and on Sunday, March 2, beginning at 3 p.m. EST.
