As part of their 2025 World Tour, the Savannah Bananas will bring their iconic “Banana Ball” game to Yankee Stadium from Sept. 13-14. The team will play two games against The Firefighters as part of their debut in the Bronx.
The Bananas’ unique game also comes with its own ruleset. Notable rules include a two-hour time limit, no bunting or stepping out of the batter’s box, Ball Four Sprints that enable runners to go as far as they can before all fielders touch the ball, foul balls caught by fans are outs, and a “Golden Batter” rule that brings the best hitter to the plate at a pivotal point in the contest. Banana Ball games also feature their share of trick plays that are kept track of throughout the World Tour.
Another aspect that makes the game stand apart is its scoring system. Every inning counts, and the team that leads at the end of each inning is awarded a point. This applies until the final inning, where every run counts as a point. The team with more points at the end of nine innings or when time expires is declared the winner.
However, above all, Banana Ball is a game that’s by the fans, for the fans. The game becomes a backdrop to what becomes a larger, show-like experience of game days. A typical day begins outside the ballpark, with the players walking through the crowd to get people excited for the day.
Once inside, the players do their warmups on the field, and the fans get warmed up as well. Among initiatives are the celebration of a Banana Baby prior to each game, a fan warmup led by a young fan in the audience, and another young fan attempting to hit a home run off the Bananas’ opponent that evening.
The game starts, and fans can get treated to unique walk-up sequences, celebrations when runs or innings are won, and a tradition of singing Coldplay’s “Yellow” late in the game. All this to be played in one of baseball’s iconic venues and the biggest markets in North America
Among Savannah’s top offensive threats is outfielder Reese Alexiades. The Bananas’ resident superhero leads the team in homers and RBIs with 12 and 42, respectively. The highest OPS on the roster belongs to Kyle “KJ” Jackson, with his team-best four triples and 29 Ball Four Sprints. Also among top performers are designated hitter Dan Oberst, with a team-best 15 doubles, and centerfielder and hits leader D.R. “Doc” Meadows with 68 knocks.
In addition to the boppers, the showmanship extends to some of the most entertaining players in their sport. The Bananas boast the sport’s trick play leader, shortstop and “Glove Magician” Ryan Cox, making 168 trick plays over their 68 games this season. Meadows is another wizard with the glove, making 116 trick plays to sit second on the Bananas.
The Firefighters, playing in their second season of Banana Ball, are led by catcher Dalton Cornett, who tops the team with four homers, 16 RBIs, eight doubles and 31 hits. Third baseman Logan Lacey and second baseman Liam Spence, who each have an OPS over .800, are also key contributors. A pair of players are averaging about a trick play per game, those being first baseman Stephen Cullen and shortstop Caden Green, with 24 and 22, respectively.
The Firefighters have played 23 games thus far this season, 14 of those games against the Bananas. Two more games will be played at Historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah before they meet in the Bronx.
The Bananas and Bananaball have gone all in on building their identity, and the experience has yielded great results both in putting new eyes on the sport. In addition to games being shown live on each teams’ YouTube pages, games have even reached as high up as ESPN, with select games being broadcast on weekends this summer.
Online, the impact is just as prevalent. The Bananas boast 10.6 million followers on TikTok, Banana Ball’s official page holds over 743 thousand followers, and the Firefighters own 317 thousand in their second season. The players themselves have also built followings of their own, with Cox, Cruz, and Jackson each having six-figure follow counts on the platform. Jackson Olson, a Banana since 2022, has amassed over two million followers.
Major League teams and players have also bought into the game of Banana Ball, with the World Tour stopping at loanDepot Park in Miami, Truist Park in Atlanta, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and more. Each stop will occasionally feature special guests that played or coached for the team based in each ballpark. In their most recent stop at Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski, and Mark Buehrle were among the guests of the Bananas.
Former Yankees to take part in previous games in other cities include Todd Frazier in Cincinnati and Nick Swisher at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Yankees Spring Training home. Most guests are surprises, so fans will be kept guessing to see who will make surprise appearances.
The Bananas previously played games in Buffalo and on Staten Island, but for the first time, they will call a New York MLB stadium home. As the final month of the 2025 World Tour approaches, their Yankee Stadium debut will be a headliner for a historic year for the team and their sport.
More information on the Bananas can be found at thesavannahbananas.com
