Bold, brash and dressed in vibrant yellow, the Savannah Bananas are visiting Seattle for the first time Friday and Saturday to play Banana Ball against The Firefighters at T-Mobile Park.
According to the Savannah Bananas website, Banana Ball is “a fast-paced, action-packed style of baseball with rules that include no bunting, a two-hour time limit, fans catching foul balls for outs, batters stealing first base and a one-on-one tiebreaker showdown at the end of the game if the game is tied.” On top of that, players perform choreographed dances, pull off trick plays and other theatrics.
The Savannah Bananas have been based in Savannah, Ga., since 2015. This year’s Banana Ball World Tour brings the team to 24 cities across the U.S., including Seattle, where tickets are sold out both nights for the highly anticipated spectacle.
On Friday, the evening’s entertainment began well before the first pitch. Fans lined up at merch tents outside the stadium to buy yellow jerseys, foam fingers and banana costumes. Inside, players walked up and down the aisles to interact with fans, hosting a banana-catching contest and crowd sing-alongs. There were themed foods all around the stadium too, from banana foster churros to banana split Dippin Dots.
During the game, there were no less than 15 trick plays between the two teams, ranging from behind-the-back catches to throwing the ball between players’ legs. But for all the pomp and circumstance, players showed top-notch athleticism. Bananas catcher Bill Leroy hit a home run in the bottom of the sixth inning (the team rolled out a yellow carpet to home plate), while centerfielder David Ray “DR” Meadows made a flying line drive catch in the top of the seventh.
The Savannah Bananas made sure to include nods to their host city. During a segment where a blindfolded fan searches for a banana thrown onto the field, the evening’s lucky contestant searched instead for a fish to throw to home plate, in tribute to the fishmongers at Pike Place Fish Market. NFL Hall of Famer and former Seahawk Walter Jones participated in a mock boxing match and busted out some dance moves on the field. Former Mariners prospect and bullpen catcher Eric Jones sported a Mariners jersey during his at bat. And, former MLB All Star and Mariners Hall of Famer Jamie Moyer came out to pitch for the Bananas in the seventh inning, earning a standing ovation from the crowd.
From behind home plate to the top of the 300s sections, fans were always included in the action.
Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole, known as the man in the yellow tux, thanked the 47,000 attendees for coming out. “This was the loudest crowd we’ve ever had,” he said on the field after the game.
If you struck out on getting tickets, you can watch the games on the Savanna Bananas’ YouTube channel.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yakimaherald.com ’
