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Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
To Play For Savannah Bananas Takes All Sorts Of Special Skills
*This is the second in a multi-part series on the Savannah Bananas. The Savannah Bananas are a lot of things: a traveling circus; a close-knit group of players, performers, team members (not 'employees'); a family affair; and the best night you will have at the ballpark all year (non-October division). What they are most decidedly not: a way-station for ballplayers trying to find their way back to organized baseball. The Bananas are a social media phenomenon. There is a multi-part documentary on ESPN; reports on 60 Minutes; and a YouTube series, 'Bananaland: The Road To Cooperstown.' Not to mention that they maintain an active presence on TikTok. But while watching at home is interesting, the Savannah Bananas need to be seen in person to be truly experienced. If you are unfamiliar with the team and their story, my colleague here at Candace Oehler wrote a great piece about the team and their owners, Jesse and Emily Cole. But when this writer visited the team in Arizona, I wanted to learn a little bit about the stars of the show: the players. Research showed that a great many hail from the minors or independent baseball. The team actually started in 2016 in the Coastal Plains League, which is a summer collegiate league, so the first batch of players came from that cohort. But what about today? As a quick review, the Bananas are made up of roughly 25 players. And they play against the Party Animals, the Firefighters, the Visitors, and the Texas Tailgaters. While at first blush it would seem that each opponent is the baseball equivalent of the Washington Generals (with the Bananas serving as the Harlem Globetrotters), that could not be further from the truth. As Jesse Cole told me, there are two ways in which Banana Ball is different than the nearly 100-year old basketball traveling roadshow: (1) The Bananas put on a different show every night (at least 15 different routines each game); and (2) There is real competition on the field. The outcome of each Bananas game is not pre-ordained; the players on both sides are out there to perform, and to win. Because of that, I wondered if the players were putting their best foot forward every time with the hope of catching (back) on with a team in organized baseball. But in interviews with more than a dozen players across multiple teams, only one even considered the possibility. One pitcher (who shall remain nameless to protect his anonymity), cut by two different professional organizations, said he would at least answer the phone if a professional club were to call; but he doubted he would take the offer if one came. He was having too much with this group. Jesse, and his wife, Emily, run the Bananas as a team, as a business, and as a family. And, to that end, they work overtime to make sure everyone is taken care – financially as well as emotionally. Unlike professional baseball (including the major leagues), the Bananas work on year-round contracts. That means everyone in the organization – most specifically, the players – are guaranteed income for twelve months, not just six or seven as is the case in other professional ranks. The players are well-renumerated. While no one – not the players nor the owners – would divulge what each gets paid, it was intimated that the players make considerably more than typical minor league salaries (even taking into consideration the new minor league collective bargaining agreement that was introduced in 2023), but well below big league money. It is, without question, a living wage. Further, each player has full health benefits. As in organized baseball, all contracts are individualized based on what the player brings to the table. Baseball skills, fans-first focus, ability to create unforgettable moments, level of fan engagement – both on and off the field, including on social media – are all components of what a player may get paid. Social media, in fact, is a massive part of the equation. The Bananas have more than 10 million followers on TikTok (up from 8.4 million this time last year), nearly three million on Instagram (up more than 10% since last year), but a mere 216,000 on X, formerly Twitter (which may say something about the age of their followers). With so much of their fan engagement done via the socials, the club is always looking for players who have – or can create – a huge following. Currently, infielder Jackson Olson is the leader by a mile, with 1.9 million followers on TikTok. But many of his teammates clock in with hundreds of thousands of followers, including Alex Ziegler, who has about 630,000, and was discovered by the club doing his bat tricks on social media. The Bananas want their players 'out there' hyping the game, the team, and the whole Banana ethos. Jesse and Emily operate with the mantra: 'Fans First. Entertain Always.' So, when the Bananas first formed to be the team(s) they would become, the vetting process for players was thorough, but tricky. Would a collegiate or former professional baseball player be willing to rip off his shirt and stand topless in the batter's box? How would he feel about twerking his way from the on-deck circle to the plate? Could he break out into dance on the mound, and then make a competitive pitch? What would these players do to give the fans the time of their life? At first, Jesse and Emily and their staff had to work extremely hard, looking all over the world to find the right balance of players who had the skills – both baseball and entertainment – to be part of this group. Now, with the organization's global success, they receive 'thousands' of submissions each day that they have to cull to see who will make a good member of any of their teams. While the pool of potential players has gotten larger, choosing the right players has not gotten easier. At the end of the day, the Coles want to make sure they have a competitive game and an unparalleled show. The competitive aspect is what I was dubious about. How could a guy who does a backflip while catching a flyball really care about winning? How does a team truly set up to play defense behind a pitcher standing nearly 11-feet tall wearing stilts? Would a player who could steal first base on a wild pitch really take the game seriously? Would players really chase a ball from the pitcher's mound to the warning track to keep a runner from scoring in what we would call 'extra innings' but they call a 'showdown?' The answer to each question is: MOST CERTAINLY! The competition is very much real. Pitchers are trying to strike out batters; batters are swinging for the fences; runners are trying to take the extra base; and fielders are trying to get outs – even if they add a whole lot of flair to the process. In the concourse after a game in Mesa, Arizona, one Banana player told me that he was happy they had won that night, as they had now won the series, which took a little pressure off of the next day's game. Another remarked that last season's seven-game losing streak to the Firefighters still stuck in his craw. When a Banana hit a hard shot into hole at short, he busted down the line, and was none-too-pleased when the throw beat him by half a step. You could see the player's frustration from the press box. Just because he was wearing a bright yellow uniform and the game had a clock and the first base coach was breakdancing, doesn't mean that the competitive zeal with which he has played the game his entire life went away. But, within seconds of heading back to the dugout, the frown was gone, and his smile was back. There was no thrown helmet or pouting on the bench. In fact, by the time he was back among his teammates, he was once again part of the party. But while in the batter's box and while running down that line, his fire burned just as hot as if there were twenty scouts in the stands judging his every movement. [It should be noted that no one actually sits in the dugout. Every coach and player is in front of the dugout enjoying the party as much as the fans in the stands.] Jesse and Emily have grand plans to grow their game. This summer they will be in 40 cities covering 28 states plus Washington, D.C. They currently have five teams, and are looking to add a sixth. The resumes and videos keep pouring in. There is no longer a dearth of players to choose from. But, as they have from day one, they will be persnickety and exacting, discovering players that are 'genuinely positive, happy, and outgoing…who understand that you know our job is to bring joy.' Never resting on their laurels, they continue to be on the hunt for the perfect bunch of Bananas.
CBS News
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
How the Savannah Bananas celebrate foster families
The Savannah Bananas are all about family. Sure, this exhibition baseball team is also about the game. Its players demonstrate incredible athletic ability — tossing their gloves aside and catching pop-ups with their bare hands while performing a backflip, connecting with a pitch and running to first base on stilts, catching balls in the infield and bouncing it between their legs before throwing it to first. But for the Savannah Bananas, the game is about more than the final scoreboard. For them — and the other teams who play the derivation of the game they have branded "Banana Ball" — baseball is about bringing together people of all ages and entertaining them. "There are so few things in life that you can bring multiple generations to and they can connect over," said Emily Cole, wife, business partner, and co-owner of the Savannah Bananas with Jesse Cole. "One of the most fulfilling things for us is hearing from a family that the toddlers came, mom and dad came, and they brought their parents or they brought their in-laws. And they all sat down for a few hours together and connected." Banana Ball certainly has found an audience: the games have sold out Major League Baseball stadiums, including Fenway Park in Boston and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where they played to a completely sold-out, standing-room-only crowd of 45,000 last fall. In between the action of trick plays on the field, Banana Ball has programming for everyone. Before a pitch is even thrown, the players honor the Banana Baby, a local infant dressed in a banana costume who's lifted aloft while players kneel around and "The Circle of Life" plays. During the game, the Banana Nanas showcase grandmas on the field doing choreographed dance routines. As players step up to the plate to bat, their walk-up routines include elaborate lip-synching to artists like Kendrick Lamar, the Village People, and Taylor Swift. Owner Jesse Cole says it is all in service of bringing generations together. In an interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, Cole recounted a man who approached him at a recent game. "He goes, 'You gave me something that my daughter and I can bond over together. you have no idea how much this means to me,'" Cole recalled the man saying. "And for me and, you know, with two daughters, you're always trying to find those things you can connect with your daughter." The Coles' own family has influenced what they use Banana Ball to put a spotlight on — including foster children. Licensed foster parents themselves, the couple had one biological son when they were called to take in a two-year-old girl. A year later, another call and another placement — this time, a newborn baby girl who had tested positive for illegal substances in her system. "The goal of foster care is to just walk alongside these kids and these families until they can reunify safely with biological family," Emily Cole said. "So that was always our goal, was to just help these kiddos and welcome them into our family, but then, you know, send them home when time was ready." In the Coles' case, the time to reunite the foster children in their care with their biological families never arrived. Jesse and Emily have since permanently adopted both girls. Now, to honor other families who foster kids in need, the Coles have created "Bananas Foster," a nonprofit that celebrates and educates about foster families. At each Banana Ball game, a foster family is called to the field to be recognized. Often, the crowd gives them a standing ovation, recognizing foster parents that are otherwise likely seldom thanked for their work. "We believe we have a responsibility to just do good things in the world," Emily Cole said. "And of course we're creating joy every night for people, but we know about this need in foster care, and fortunately we have this platform now, that we saw an opportunity to be able to use our platform to talk about something that is a topic in society that's not touched on a lot." The video above was produced by Brit McCandless Farmer and edited by Scott Rosann.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Savannah Bananas in Nashville: How do you get tickets? It's complicated
The Savannah's Bananas are coming to Nashville, but are you still able to get tickets? Georgia's premier banana ball team, which started in 2015 wondering how they were going to pay the bills, has become a hit in the baseball circuit after upping their game to include viral dances, a twerking umpire and a player who plays on stilts. Nashville is part of a circuit of away games around the United States each year displaying these trick shots, funny stunts and some crazy dance moves on and off the field during a game. This year the Bananas are going up against the Party Animals in May. But don't get your hopes up about seeing them. The widely appealing team draws crowds at every game, so much so that to just have a chance of purchasing a ticket you have to enter a lottery months before the season starts. All you can do now is hope to try and score some next hope you have someone in your life who will surprise you with tickets. Tickets for the ball team's game in Nashville on May 10, at Nissan Stadium, were selected via a lottery system that closed on Nov. 21, 2024, but there might be a chance to score tickets to future games next season. Each year, the team has the Banana Ball World Tour Ticket Lottery List, which people can enter for a chance to purchase tickets to different games. The club warns that any tickets sold outside of their are likely to be fraudulent. You can find out more at The Savannah Bananas were once just a collegiate team, but have grown to start a whole new league. Before the team's first game in 2016, the team had an overdraft account and the owners Jesse and Emily Cole had sold their home. The game changer? The team's name. The name Savannah Bananas was met with national interest, and local ire, according to the team's history. But the name stuck and helped launch the team to national recognition, along with their antics on the field during play. Since the first season, the Savannah Bananas have sold out every single game – over 200 and counting. Banana ball is a bit different than your typical baseball game. It's played at a much faster pace and usually has a flair for silly dramatics, but dramatics nonetheless. It also has an emphasis of continuous play, and not the traditional lengthy innings and downtime, and has 11 specific rules that differ from traditional ball. Here's a couple: Instead of the typical run score, the games are scored by points. The team that scores the most runs during an inning earns a point until the final inning where each run counts as a point. If a fan catches a foul ball, it counts as an out. Batters can not bunt. If they do, it is an automatic ejection. Expect the unconventional. Those are just a few, but if you do head to a game expect gameplay very reminiscent of what the Harlem Globetrotters started decades ago. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Savannah Bananas in Nashville: How to get tickets? It's complicated
