Baseball has always been a game rooted in tradition, where change comes slowly but surely. Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole has transformed the national pastime by creating his flamboyant exhibition team; these players perform baseball as though performing on stage in front of an enormous audience.
The Savannah Bananas and Party Animals are on an international sold-out tour that includes stops in Tampa and Orlando before making their final stop of Syracuse NBT Stadium on Thursday. While MLB has struggled to attract younger fans, Cole’s team has been widely credited with reinvigorating baseball with their unique, fan-centric approach.
Though the fundamentals of baseball remain constant, Bananas and Party Animals have made their mark by adding dance routines, trick catches, costumed players, mascots and other fan participation events into games – without compromising what makes this sport great! Georgia Southern University professor of management studied their quirky style over multiple seasons and found that it actually enhanced player performance!
Bananas players have proven their talents in a small Coastal Plain League, winning three Petitt Cup championships while building a reputation for entertaining fans while playing high-quality ball. Their roster features players who excel at performing circus-like catches in the outfield, golf balls into cheap seats, stealing bases on command and performing impressive steals – but perhaps their most impressive moves come during pregame warmups when all members take a knee in unison and dance around each other before games begin.
The Bananas host a pregame celebration known as the Banana Baby ceremony, during which one lucky fan from the crowd is welcomed onto the field to be cheered on by players. Their flamboyant broadcaster Biko Skalla often goes beyond expectations with his spontaneous personality when breaking rules is appropriate to his goofy nature.
Skalla heard from an experienced college baseball coach while at Boston College that it’s important not to focus on what happens on the field but how it’s sold; yet his approach mirrors that of players on the field, creating a vibrant franchise attracting fans from around the country – all within Georgia!