BANANA BALL: Savannah Bananas bring 'circus baseball' to Riverwalk
The Savannah Bananas baseball team comes to Montgomery this weekend for a night of dancing, parades and a salute to banana babies everywhere. (Photo courtesy Savannah Bananas)
By GRAHAM DUNN
Jesse Cole is a believer in minor league baseball.
It might not be the normal kind or what we see when the Montgomery Biscuits take the field.
No, his brand of the grand ole game has a tilt to it.
“It’s not anything you will see anywhere,” stated Biscuits general manager Mike Murphy. “They take baseball to a different level.”
This weekend that new concept arrives at Riverwalk Stadium in the form of the Savannah Bananas or, as Cole, the team’s owner, calls it, the “Banana Ball Tour.” The “cast” features a summer league team composed of college players who one day might make the professional ranks…. that is if they want to.
The proclaimed “Greatest Show in Sports,” will be here Friday followed by an encore on Saturday. Both events are sold out.
In Cole’s mind, the normal game of baseball is too slow. Action is needed from the moment you get to the turnstiles to the time you leave the stadium.
It’s why he tells patrons to get there early and don’t let the long lines at the entrance scare you.
The fun begins long before the first pitch. Fans will be greeted by the team as it parades into the stadium with a band leading the way. It’s why Cole encourages everyone to get to Riverwalk early.
“If there is a moment of dead air, we are doing something wrong,” Cole explained. “A lot of people think of baseball as long or slow. We don’t want people to blink because they might miss something.”
Cole doesn’t hide his colors when asked to explain his version of the American pastime. In his mind, it’s more Barnum and Bailey than Abner Doubleday.
“It’s a circus and a baseball game will break out,” he said. “We are bringing over 110 people to town including two teams. We have a break-dancing first-base coach… A pep band, male cheerleading team. Players on stilts, jugglers. Princess Potasia… it’s an entire production. Some call it ‘Broadway meets Baseball.’ The rules are crazy but it’s a lot of fun.”
The game itself has stipulations built in to keep the action moving and within the two-hour limit. Batters can’t step out of the box. There are no walks, no bunts and a batter can attempt to steal first base on a dropped pitch by the catcher at any point of the at-bat.
There is plenty of fan interaction but the best comes when a foul ball goes into the stands. If it’s caught, the batter is out.
While the concept is certainly different, some of the rules have actually been attempted in professional baseball at different levels… but not with a guy on stilts.
Their motto is ‘Fan First Entertainment.’ Everyone who comes to the games gets a “door prize.” Every person who purchases a ticket gets a personal phone call of thanks, Cole said.
And forget the first pitch. Traditionally, the contest begins with a baby, dressed in yellow, raised to the sky in “Lion King” fashion.
“More than 2,500 were in line in Daytona Beach prior to the gates opening,” Cole said. “(There are) more than 50 promotions prior to the start of the game. The teams march into the stadium and some (players) are weighed prior to the first pitch.
“And yes, we take requests. You name it, we do it. We don’t want to become irrelevant. We have to come up with different ideas. That is a big part of what we do. We ask our fans. We have 1.3 million followers (on social media) and we ask them what we should do next on the baseball field. We will try anything at least once.”
If this looks like a baseball version of the Harlem Globetrotters, Cole is OK with the comparison. He invites it. The difference? The Globetrotters win every time against the Washington Generals.
The Bananas are playing a true 9-inning contest every time they take the field. These are true players, some that, in the past, have been drafted into the pro ranks.
Cole came full circle with minor league baseball when he was a general manager in Gastonia, N.C., failing to attract fans. That led to specialty nights such as “Grandma Beauty Pageants” and “Salute to Underwear” night and it worked to a point.
“We had 200 people coming to games when I got there and $268 in the bank account,” Cole said. “So I read every book I could find on P.T. Barnum, Walt Disney and (former MLB owner) Bill Veeck and learned about how to create an experience that people wanted.”
He took his act to Savannah, Ga. and quickly found out what failure truly felt like, selling all of two tickets in the first two months. He and his wife were forced to sell their house, empty the bank savings to keep the dream alive.
Sleeping on an air mattress got very old and called for drastic measures.
At that point, the Coles knew they had to “go big.” First, they came up with a new act - the senior citizen dance team - the Banana Nannas - followed by the Man-annas then the Banana Baby and Banana Band. A yellow monster was born.
Word on social media got out and the mayhem began. It was almost a cult following as fans started ordering tickets and old Grayson Stadium became a destination.
Since that season in 2016, the team has enjoyed sellouts in every contest, 150 straight.
The new show hit the road for the first team last year - a one-city world tour in Mobile that sold out 7,000 tickets in 24 hours.
The team will make at least nine road trips this season, including the visit to Montgomery this weekend. Nearly every date on the tour has already sold out.
Murphy and the Biscuits consider this a great warm up for the Biscuits, which opens April 12 at home.
“They have done a tremendous job of promoting baseball, even if it's different,” Murphy said. “We are excited to have them coming and I am looking forward to watching this brand of crazy baseball.”
Cole encourages fans to wear their favorite shade of yellow, even if it means painting their beard or putting on a banana costume.
“We love to see fans get into it,” stated Cole, who will be easy to find in his yellow tuxedo. “(Almost) anything goes once we get to the stadium.”