SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 6, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — “Banana ball” is coming to Salt Lake City.
The Savannah Bananas are bringing their barnstorming baseball circus to Smith’s Ballpark for a pair of games vs. the rival Party Animals on Aug. 30-31, 2024.
An online lottery for tickets for the 2024 Banana Ball World Tour is underway through Dec. 1 on the team’s website.
The Savannah Bananas and owner/ringleader Jesse Cole have created a touring baseball exhibition with its own set of rules to keep games fan-friendly, fast-paced and often amusing.
The Bananas have been introducing “banana ball” to sold-out ballparks across the county since 2021, with revised rules and in-game entertainment focused on keeping fans in the stands until the final out.
Bananas games regularly include choreographed dance moves, trick plays, flaming bats and even a player pitching and hitting on stilts.
The Bananas’ focus on fun is similar to the Harlem Globetrotters exhibition basketball games, though Cole notes the Party Animals are not the Washington Generals.
“This is not Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals, where the Globetrotters always win,” he said in “Bananaland,” an ESPN+ documentary series about the team’s 2021 and first world tour. “Do we like when the Bananas win? Hundred percent, but we want to make it competitive.”
The Bananas have sold out every game they’ve played since 2016, their first season in Savannah, Georgia. The team initially competed as a collegiate summer squad in the Coastal Plain League and won three championships in 2016, 2021 and 2022.
By 2023, the Bananas were playing “banana ball” full time with a sold-out, 80-game tour that included stops in 33 cities and 22 states.
“Over the years baseball has become longer, slower and in my opinion tremendously more boring,” says Cole, who owns the team with his wife, Emily. “We exist to make baseball fun. That’s where everything started.”
A random drawing for tickets to the Savannah Bananas games at Smith’s Ballpark will take place about two months prior to Aug. 30-31, team officials said. Those selected will have the opportunity to purchase tickets.
The 2024 Banana Ball Word Tour was announced with a live draft Thursday night on YouTube.
What is ‘banana ball’?
“Banana ball” follows typical baseball rules with 11 exceptions:
1. Every inning counts
Every inning is worth one point. The team that gets the most runs in an inning gets a point for that inning, except the last inning when every run counts.
2. Two-hour time limit
No inning can begin after one hour and 50 minutes. “When we hit two hours — boom — it’s over,” Cole says, “unless there’s a tie, and then it goes to a one-on-one showdown — pitcher vs. hitter with only one fielder. The pitcher has to stop the hitter, or the hitter has to score.”
3. No stepping out
If a hitter steps out of the batter’s box, it’s a strike.
4. No bunting
“Bunting sucks,” Cole says. “We’re eliminating it. Swing the bat.”
5. Batters can steal first
On any pitch of an at-bat, the hitter can try to steal first base.
6. No walks allowed
“Walks are now sprints,” Cole explains. “On ball four, the hitter takes off. He can advance to as many bases as he wants, while the catcher has to throw the ball to every single position player before it becomes live.”
7. No mound visits allowed
“The coach does a slow-mo walk out to the mound, you’re just delaying the game. Fans don’t need that. We’re done with that,” Cole says.
8. If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out
“Everyone’s trying to be a part of a game. Now fans can be,” Cole says.
9. Showdown tiebreaker
If a tie game comes down to a showdown tiebreaker, the hitter must score. If the hitter scores, it’s worth one point; if the pitcher gets the out, it’s considered a “showdown shutdown” and no points are awarded. There can be up to three rounds in a showdown tiebreaker, with changes to each to increase odds of scoring. A home run at any point during a showdown tiebreaker immediately ends the game.
10. ‘Banana ball’ challenge rule
Each team is allowed to challenge one ruling on the field during the game. Fans also have one opportunity to challenge, with one attendee being designated prior to the game to represent them.
11. Golden batter rule
One time during the game, teams can send any hitter into the lineup to bat in any spot.
