BALTIMORE – The sellout crowd of more than 45,000 fans at Oriole Park at Camden Yards stood on their feet, screaming and celebrating Saturday’s walk-off home run.
There had been a palpable buzz at the stadium all night long. It started hours before first pitch, as fans packed merchandise booths and waited in food lines — the kinds of lines typically only seen on Opening Day and in October — as soon as the gates opened.
Saturday’s game was closely contested, with the crowd hovering near full capacity the entire night. When it was over, fans reluctantly headed to their car.
They weren’t there to see an Orioles game (the O’s had trouble selling out their two home playoff games last year), or even a Major League Baseball game. They were there to see the Savannah Bananas, an independent barnstorming group of professionals who have, in founder Jesse Cole’s words, “removed the friction in baseball” and play a fast-paced, backflipping brand of “Banana Ball” that’s taken the sports world by storm, generating millions of fans and seemingly growing at warp speed.
34 comments
Banana ball is great at what it is but it’s no comparison to the MLB. I’ve been to a Banana game once and it was fun but it’s not something I personally would go back to. In my opinion it’s catered to the younger generation who have a tik tok attention span. I think there’s a place for both Banana ball and the MLB and that’s great. It doesn’t have to be one against the other. The idea that one needs to be more like the other isn’t needed.
The Bananas are tons of fun and great for the game in general but I don’t see how what they do translates to Major League Baseball. They’re fun and I’m glad they exist. But I don’t want to see them 162 times a year.
I’d say if there were 81 Banana games in your city each year it would also not sell out so easily. It’s a fun novelty but ultimately not much more than that. At the end of the day you’re watching a less talented version of the same sport.
Bring in the fans catching a ball for an out. home field advantage baby. Play to win your division not a playoff spot!
Tuned into their YouTube feed on Saturday and was generally captivated by the event.
As someone with adhd, and this is where society is today, I need a much randomness as possible, and a banana game checked all the boxes.
MLB can be white noise to me, when driving around town, and that’s a thing I like about it, but it’s not a good tv product, where Bananas are.
It’s been really fun to watch their success. They have a love for the game- plus their social media and silliness is what keeps people engaged.
Looking back at Ozzie Smith – he was a great player obviously but his signature back flip has stuck with me for decades. He was fun! He was entertaining!
I’ve watched, and tried to like, Banana Ball. I just couldn’t.
I mean it’s fun and all, but a) it’s not baseball, and b) it’s obsequiously tiresome after a one game. Sort of like The Globetrotters.
Plus the Jebus thang from Jesse Cole is just cringy. I bet they do groupd prayer before games, and instead of a “hail Jebus” they scream .Banana”.
I watched the other night for about 10 minutes and got the gist. Call me an old fuddy duddy, by I don’t think I could sit through nine innings of that.
I was at this Saturday’s game. Comparing attendance for the first time this thing was ever in town for two nights to 81 games of the civic institution that is the Orioles is kinda ridiculous. It was a very fun evening. I’d do it again. I don’t feel like I *need* to though, and I definitely wouldn’t invest in a season-long product the way it is now.
It felt like it couldn’t quite decide whether it wanted to be a (very entertaining) show or a (intriguing and interactive) new sport, and that lack of decision hurt both ends of the product. The trick plays, which don’t actually seem to add any incentive but are nonetheless frequently attempted, made me feel a little like I was watching pro wrestling. But it wasn’t “scripted.” It just felt like neither team really cared about winning.
Still a fun night. But they need to address that if this is going to be sustainable.
Incidentally, in my anecdotal experience the lines were actually smaller and quicker than usual, especially after the game actually started (there was a sense of not wanting to leave your seat after that; I did twice briefly but the concourses were practically empty at those points).
I can’t do it. I saw a YT video of an opposing player from the Australian team hitting a monster home run to right field and the ump called it a foul ball. Come on. Just stupid.
It’s the throwing a tablet at your kid version of baseball
Was a heck of a lot of fun. Seeing Markakis and Wieters on the field again swinging a bat was def high point. It was sensory overload and the owner was everywhere. I was in the 300 section and turned in my seat and he was next to me asking if I wanted to take a selfie.
Truly building a brand and I hope they’re around d for a very long time.
MTV Rock n Jock
i was skeptical at first, but after watching them on TV, it was enjoyable – just like going to the circus.
however, I can see fans getting frustrated when their shortstop drops a routine pop-up while trying to do a backflip, thus costing them the game.
20 years from now MLB will be going strong and the Bananas will either be a forgotten fad, or playing to half-empty high school fields. They’re fun to watch, but it’s a trendy gimmick that’s going to wear thin pretty quickly. MLB should just smile, be supportive, and let them enjoy the moment while it lasts.
Phillies sell out 40k a night at CBP and they didn’t even need to fuck over their home town to do it. 😆
Go to a Detroit Tigers home game. The crowd is energized the whole game
It’s cool that people have fun and enjoy it, but it’s not real baseball
I certainly appreciate the professionalism and high caliber and talent of MLB and wouldn’t change much of it, but there are a few aspects of Banana Ball that I found appealing for keeping especially younger fans engaged. The first one, which seems simple enough, is allowing music and other audio during a live ball. The Bananas have a fantastic playlist. The NBA has it already. MLB has also started to be more welcoming of player personas with walk up music, pitcher entrances and HR base path antics. Even though I’m kind of a traditionalist, I see how it appeals to younger fans and would like to see more of it. Lastly, make the players more accessible. It’s unreasonable to expect a starting pitcher to sign autographs for an hour before the game, but quit letting a $450 ticket for home batting practice be the only reasonable way someone has a shot at a selfie or autograph. If you want to neutralize the profit mongers seeking autographs, require that the autos all be personalized. I know there are routines and pre/post-game treatments that players want or need, but there must be some way that common fans can have more access.
Most of what I’ve seen has been through YouTube clips, which only show the fun parts. The majority of the game is just as boring as MLB.
No, just, no. All that schtick, all of it, came from one guy. Mike veeck. Son of former white Sox owner Bill veeck. MLB has had his antics in the past and there is a zero chance that stuff comes back to the majors. You’ll have your sausage race in Milwaukee, and a couple other 7th inning stretch rituals, but no. These gimmicks take away from the game on the field. At the top professional level, the product on the field is the star. The players are not going to want to be upstaged by wannabe basEketball bs.
There’s a great documentary on veeck and the disaster that was disco demolition night, The Saint of Second Chances.
this is like the plot of Happy Gilmore 2.
I want to see a team of MLB All-Stars vs the best Banana Ball has to offer
I much prefer attending a minor league baseball because there is so much more focus on between innings entertainment. I think MLB has learned from this with kiss cams, mascot races etc. but can still do more without destroying the integrity of the game.
Although I DO like the Bananas rule that a foul ball caught by a fan constitutes an out. Fan stats could then be recorded in the official box scores and be forever a part of MLB history.
WWE is super fun but there’s a reason they travel each week to new cities to draw 10,000 to 50,000 and their non-traveling brand gets a few hundred.
Ain’t no one going to 162 Bananas games.
The Bananas have announced that they are moving to a 6-team/60-game league structure in 2026 as the BBCL.
https://bananaball.com/banana-ball-championship-league/
The Bananas are great – but they’re a novelty – like the Globetrotters.
What MLB could probably learn a lot from are the WBC and LIDOM.
I’m what this sub would call a purist or old head and I think the excitement they generate in game is fantastic. Bring it on.
I really hate this type of comparison. If the Orioles played one game a year in Baltimore, they also would have a massive sellout crowd even if they sucked.
I think the MLB has more to learn from minor league stadiums than they do Banana Ball.
Cheaper concessions prices
Its so funny to read the bitter comments here.
Its not an accident or coincidence that MLB interest is plummeting.
The games are too long. Pacing is abysmal. Entertaining players are hammered by old fogeys for being “disrespectful” or not “acting like you’re been here before”.
There’s always another player ready to be “offended” by being “shown up” that any celebration is fodder for opposing teams to retaliate.
Banana ball is fun. Game lengths dictated. And Entertainment is celebrated not reviled.
Mlb continues to find ways to cut off its nose to spite its face. Look at the Athletics and Rays situations. Two major league teams playing in minor league facilities as they allow owners to chase tax payer funds, leaving behind countless fans ans alienating many more.
If the mlb would do the baby’s crawling as a race, I’d watch. That was entertaining
I still think MLB should schedule doubleheaders with them. Not *against* them, but play a one-admission Bananas game and MLB game on the same day. Have one of the MLB players for the home team take an AB in the Bananas game. Great promotional opportunity.
it’s pathetic how many fans hate on this, but some of y’all hate baseball anyways so it makes sense
Bananas do a great job of getting people to the game early, and retaining attention throughout the game. I think the MLB could attempt to do that in their own way.
I get the appeal for some, but after a couple innings I got bored.