Last weekend, the Savannah Bananas hit Great American Ball Park with a peel—a spectacle of baseball that Cincinnatians won't soon forget. The Bananas, known for their eyebrow-raising stunts and fan-engaging antics, showcased their 'Banana Ball' game in front of a sold-out Cincinnati crowd, according to LOCAL12. With dancing umpires and princess serenades, it was a departure from anything resembling a traditional Major League game.
Amid the fanfare, baseball was indeed played. Facing off against the Texas Tailgaters, the Bananas utilized both strong pitching and bold, yet strategic hitting to claim their first game victory 5-2. "Banana Ball" rules played a pivotal role, with points allocated per inning won and a heftier stake laid on the last inning, as reported by WLWT. Signing up for the bananas fun, former Cincinnati Reds players like Todd Frazier and Sean Casey dusted off their cleats and dove into the Banana bunch.
But it's not just on-the-field antics grabbing attention. The Bananas have a knack for going viral thanks to their social media savviness, with one Canadian fan, Jaclynn Bishop, driven by their online allure all the way from Canada for a nine-hour trek, as she relayed her excitement to LOCAL12, "I saw them on TikTok or Instagram, and just that level of fun, and they all seem like really good guys, and put that together with their fans-first attitude, it really just brought out that fun part of baseball that I feel like baseball is missing."
The spectacle was not just limited to the pitch. A parade featuring the Bananas Band wound its way to the field, injecting a festive air into the stadium. The athletes played trick plays nine times over that stunned the fans, matched to the Tailgaters' five, per an interview with WLWT. And if you wondered whether it was all a hit, just ask an attendee of Friday's game, who realized, after engaging with the Bananas on TikTok, they had become a fan of the team's antics. They told The Enquirer, "Their videos are fun to watch, and I found myself singing along to them. They often include players walking up to the plate while dancing to hit songs from over the decades."
