For the first time ever, a game was played in Death Valley that was intentionally funny, unlike the tragic comedies played out during decades of “Clemsoning” that unfolded there prior to Dabo Swinney and a couple of good quarterbacks.
I can recall, not too far back…okay, a quarter century ago…while working at Georgia Southern I heard about a game in Savannah where we could go and see John Smoltz pitch a rehab assignment. My first thought was…Savannah has a baseball team? Turns out they did, the Sand Gnats, and to sweeten the deal it was something like nickel beer night, so I *think* I saw Smoltz pitch some and not a whole lot else that I can remember. Such was baseball in Savannah, from my fuzzy recollections.
Well, flash forward to 2025. To see a game in Savannah, you have to get on a wait list, and tickets for games on Stubhub start around 150. For a baseball game. For a similar price you can get lower deck tickets to see this weekend’s game in Atlanta as they host the Dodgers.
But there’s no dancing in Atlanta, at least not on the field with the guys in uniform. As what can be best described as TikTok but on a baseball field, the Bananas are what would happen if you went to a minor league game that hosted a similar nickel beer promotion, but the players were allowed to participate in the promotion while playing.
Here’s the segment from 60 Minutes on “Banana Ball” if you have around 14 minutes:
To be fair, they were designed to be this way. Put an entertaining product in the field that cuts through the bloat of a crowded market while trying to garner interest from tourists who have tired of ghost tours and eating out and walking River Street for a few hours. Visiting Savannah? Thinking southern history, ghosts, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? Were you thinking baseball? Probably not.
What resulted is profitable, and now in high demand and coming to traditional baseball stadiums and even…college football stadiums now. If you’re wondering how they fit in a traditional baseball diamond into a stadium like Death Valley, then you’re thinking the wrong thing when it comes to the Bananas.
Lately, though, there’s been a growing push back to the antics and theatrical production. Baseball purists are arguing that it’s an insult to the game. As the 60 Minutes special indicates, it’s like the Harlem Globetrotters for baseball, but baseball had well established itself as an American sport long before the Bananas arrived. The Globetrotters, by contrast, were playing at a time where the sport of basketball had yet to develop a firm hold on sporting minds’ interests.
So what say you? Are the Bananas a refreshing change to the sport, or an insult to an established sporting institution, much like Pac10 or ACC is to college football (I keed, I keed…sort of)?
Have at it in the comments.
I don’t care. It’s market forces at work. Eventually, they’ll go the way of the Globetrotters.
Baseball for the TikTok generation? That sounds about right.
I guarantee they won’t separate $150 from me to watch.
Screw the baseball purists. The Bananas are incredible and fill a niche. They aren’t taking anything away from MLB or any other level of standard baseball.
You have to give that guy credit for what he and his wife have created. Nice job of thinking outside the box. I thought it was interesting at first and watched the reality series when they first started, but once I saw it a few times on TV I lost interest. It seems it has gone further since then towards the pro wrestling and circus end of the entertainment spectrum.
I actually miss the days of the Bananas being the rival of the Macon Bacon at this point. Living in Perry we enjoyed those games when my boys were still playing youth baseball. A short drive for fun baseball in an intimate setting with reasonable ticket and concession prices. There were typically a few UGA players on the Bacon’s roster,as well, which was fun.
College summer ball is the best. Guys playing because they love the game and also busting their ass to get a look from the scouts. I’m glad the Bananas are having so much financial success, but it’s sad that they ended up killing their CPL squad in the process, especially since it was those same college players who helped create the whole thing to begin with.
If you liked the CPL, you owe it to yourself to go visit the Cape Cod League at least once. It’s magical.
“Thirsty Thursdays” – two 32oz beers for $5, those were the good ole days!
Go Bananas! MLB has become a joke anyway. There’s nothing to be a “purist” about as long as we have sliding gloves, larger bag sizes, poor hitting, etc.
The bananas are a Vegas show, it’s choreographed for women. Think WWE.
I’m the baseball purist that give the other ones a bad name. Savannah Bananas don’t bother me in the least. In fact, if it’s a gateway to pullin’ for the Cobb County Barves (Los Bravos for the Terrapin fans), I’m down. It’s better than the idiotic Little League World Series brought to you by the corporations and carrier fees that bankroll the World Wide Leader’s minions (slaves) to lecture you on who “plays””the””game””for””the””love””of””it.” Love of the game? Yeah, travel ball dorks inspire so much passion. Nothing beats watching six kids tell you Derek Jeter is their favorite player. Thank sweet baby Jesus (with his batting tee and little Easton Thumper getting a thousand swings in every night), Little Leaguers ain’t geared up in armor from head to toe like the want to join the Crusades or some bleep, yet.
I read the dude’s book, though, and highly recommend it. Made me a better teammate and really taught me about building culture with some of the younger teammates. Also, it’s a good story about innovation, determination and dedication.
Finally, I’ll roll with the Bananas (or at least smoke the banana peels – hippie lettuce reference, get it?) because they inspired this post’s intro – “Funniest thing since Clemson football” – which is utterly hilarious and I don’t think Doba gets how hilarious his act really is. He’s like the Carrot Top of Christianity and then clocks a couple rings gravytrainin’ a masseuse groper and the chick from the Frozen. While they mesmerize all the losers in the world thinking getting lucky against Alabama instead of having Dirty Dan spring the final block for the greatest pick six known to man (I apologise for my lack of hyperbole regarding that touchdown) is how you punk the GOAT.
Go Dawgs
Screw Clemson and the mule that swims around their lil pond
Took the kids last year to see the bananas in Jacksonville. 7 and 9 yo at the time. They enjoyed it, and a lot of what the players did was impressive, but it could have been way better for the kids. By that I mean they totally BS when they say it’s a “family” show. It is vulger. The songs they play, the dances they do, the provocative mannerisms they do. The satanic rituals they perform (pretty much what it devolved into). It is for gay dudes and soccer moms who don’t get enough raunch in their normal lives. Luckily most of the raunch was over our kids heads but they still asked questions about the things they saw that they shouldn’t have seen and they made cringy faces (as well they should have) at some of the inappropriate stuff.
They could make it an amazing and entertaining family experience if they truly made if family friendly. The product we saw was not that. And we will never be going back. We have been offered free tickets on several occasions to sold out games in Savannah and Jacksonville (we aren’t far from either), and politely decline every time.
Didn’t realize the show had become raunchy. When I watched it they had not gone that direction yet.
I thought about going to see them when they swung through Houston but one look at the ticket prices and I decided otherwise. I do enjoy minor league baseball, though. There’s a group at work that goes to the Space Cowboy games. I need to join them sometime.
Baseball “purists”
College football “purists” too, but justifiably so.
Saw them last year in the Strippers stadium. Was a fun time, but once I have seen live there’s no point in spending money on it again. It’s the Globetrotters of baseball. It’s an entertainment gimmick that makes millions of dollars….for now.
Everyone I know who went had a great time. There was a lottery to get tickets. They could have sold out more than once. There is a minor league team in Greenville and a new minor league team in Spartanburg so there is love for traditional ball here too.
I was one of their 1st season ticket holders when they started up. I only keep renewing as they’re impossible to get again should I give them up. I go to 1, maybe 2 games a year, and the rest of the time I give them to my employees who love going.
My thoughts:
1. I liked it MUCH better when they played the college kids and it was more of a real game with antics between innings.
2. They’ve built their “show” for the larger stadiums, and in the friendly confines of Grayson Stadium in Savannah it’s sensory overload. My seats are right behind the Bananas dugout where they do a lot of bits. I can last about 2/3 of a game before I’m ready to go.
3. The owners are building their own league that might be a year-round thing – think WWE, and are geniuses.
4. Look at the images of any MLB or football stadium they play in: every other person has bought a hat, shirt, etc. Again, geniuses.
5. While their ticket prices have crept up (they were $18/game in year 1), you still get all you can eat/drink except alcohol – at least in SAV we do. So taking a family is not going to break the bank like a MLB game.
Faithfully submitted, Another Grumpy Old Man.