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Savannah Bananas

The Savannah Bananas are an exhibition barnstorming baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia, United States. They play a variation of baseball known as Banana Ball, which emphasizes showmanship, fan participation, and quick-paced games. The players engage in dance routines, comedic sketches, and other performances between, and often during, innings. They are often compared to the Harlem Globetrotters, though Savannah Bananas games are unscripted and competitive. There are six teams of players, many of whom are former minor league and college baseball players, with former MLB athletes as occasional special guest players.

History
After the South Atlantic League's Savannah Sand Gnats left for Columbia, South Carolina, on September 22, 2015, the Coastal Plain League (CPL) announced Savannah as its newest team to begin play in 2016. On February 25, after a name-the-team contest, the Bananas name, logo, and colors were officially revealed. In 2016, the Bananas ended their inaugural season as the first seed in the CPL West Division, earning home-field advantage for the first two games of the playoffs. In game one, the Bananas beat the Asheboro Copperheads, 3–2, with the first walk-off in franchise history. The Bananas then defeated the Forest City Owls, 2–0, to win the CPL West Division championship and advance to the Petitt Cup Championship. Game one of the championship was played at Grayson Stadium, and the Bananas defeated the Peninsula Pilots, 8–4. The team traveled to Hampton, Virginia, where the Pilots' 4–3 win in game two forced an all-or-nothing game three. The Bananas took home the Petitt Cup after a 9–7 win in game three. The Bananas were named the league's organization of the year in both 2016 and 2017. In 2018, the team created the alternative "Banana Ball" rule set and played its first intra-squad exhibition game using the format. In 2021, the team signed Dakota Albritton. Nicknamed "Stilts" and dubbed the "World's Tallest Baseball Player" and the "Tallest Pitcher in the World", Albritton stands 10 feet, 9 inches tall on stilts and plays the field, bats, and pitches, all on stilts. He is the team's most recognized player. In 2023, Jocelyn Alo became the first woman to play for the Bananas, getting an at bat in one game. In 2024, the team announced that Alo had become the first female member of the Bananas, and signed a one-month contract. , the team has over six million followers on TikTok, more than any MLB team. == Banana Ball world tours ==
Banana Ball world tours
In 2021, the Bananas announced their first "world" tour called the One City World Tour, where they traveled to Mobile, Alabama, and sold out both nights in Hank Aaron Stadium with a combined crowd of over 7,000 fans. In 2022, the Bananas added six more cities across four different states to the tour, creating a 14-game "world" tour in which all games were sellouts. While most Banana Ball games feature the Bananas versus the Party Animals, the Bananas introduced a "Challenger Series" in which they play against a different opponent. The first such series was played May 5–6 against the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball and saw each team win one game. The 2023 "world" tour was expanded to over 80 games, with the team implementing their new exhibition-only status. The tour started at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida on February 17 and ended seven months later at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York. It included numerous challenger games against teams such as the Charleston Dirty Birds, Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, Florence Y'alls, The MLB Players Alumni Association, and a rematch with the Kansas City Monarchs. Additionally, the Bananas played their first international opponent, the Aussie Drop Bears, a team from Australia featuring professional and collegiate players. The "world" tour kicked off its 2024 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, on February 8 and ended eight months later at LoanDepot Park in Miami, followed by a trip on a cruise ship to The Bahamas called "Bananaland at Sea". The tour also included five other MLB ballparks: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.; Minute Maid Park in Houston; Fenway Park in Boston; Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia; and Progressive Field in Cleveland. The Savannah Bananas announced they would play games in 40 cities in 2025, including three NFL stadiums and 17 MLB stadiums. Their first NFL stadium game was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, where they played in front of a sold-out crowd of 65,000. On April 26, the Bananas and the Party Animals played a game in front of 81,000 people at Clemson University's Memorial Stadium. In August, they signed Kelsie Whitmore, one of the highest-profile professional woman baseball players. As a part of their world tour, the Savannah Bananas played two games of Banana Ball against the Firefighters at Coors Field in Denver on August 9-10, 2025. Tickets were available via a lottery and sold out in less than two hours. The attendance of more than 50,000 fans was the highest of any MLB stadium in the Bananas history. The August 10 game showcased the Firefighters' first win at an MLB stadium in franchise history after almost two years of futility since the team's first game at an MLB stadium at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The August 9 game was televised by ESPN. The Savannah Bananas will play two games against the Indianapolis Clowns at Coors Field in Denver on August 14-15, 2026. Tickets will again be available via a lottery. For 2026, the Bananas announced that the Banana Ball Championship League (BBCL) would play in 75 stadiums in 45 states in front of over 3.2 million fans. == Attendance ==
Attendance
In their inaugural 2016 season, the Savannah Bananas ranked second in average attendance among 160 summer collegiate teams, as reported by Ballpark Digest. The Bananas recorded over 500,000 total fans in attendance on their Banana Ball World Tour in 2023. The team drew their largest attendance on April 26, 2025, with 80,000 spectators at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, a football stadium. Fans First Entertainment, the owners of the Bananas, manage their own ticketing and merchandising, meaning they do not add fees for fans to the price of tickets. ==Current roster==
Television coverage
Banana Ball made its national television debut in 2022 through a six-game agreement with ESPN. One game aired on ESPN2 and the others on ESPN+. The agreement returned in 2023 with one game on ESPN2 and two others on ESPN+. The Bananas significantly expanded their TV coverage in the 2024 season. In April 2024, the Bananas announced that 19 games would air on Stadium and Bally Live. In July, they announced a five-game agreement with ESPN. For the first time, three games aired on ESPN with two others airing on ESPN2 as part of the annual ESPN8 The Ocho event. In August, the Bananas announced an agreement with TNT Sports to exclusively air five games on TruTV. In 2025, the Bananas announced a 10-game agreement with ESPN. For the first time, all 10 will be simulcast on Disney+ and ESPN+ along with airing on ESPN or ESPN2. It was later announced that two additional games will air only on ESPN+ and Disney+. Other games will continue to stream on Stadium and Bally Sports Live. In July, the Bananas announced one-game agreements with The Roku Channel and The CW. The game on The CW was the first time a Bananas game has aired over-the-air. Later in July, the Bananas announced an agreement with TNT Sports to air 19 games on TruTV and HBO Max beginning August 16. For the first time, this agreement includes the Banana Ball Tour Championship. The Savannah Bananas retained the same partners for the 2026 season, while expanding the number of televised Banana ball games not including the Savannah Bananas. Twenty-five games will air on ESPN platforms, including the first ever game on ABC, with all games streaming on Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited. Additionally, TruTV and HBO Max will air 15 games, The CW will air six games, and the Roku Channel will air five games. ==References==
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