The Savannah kicked off their “world tour” on Feb. 1 at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, the spring training location for the Chicago Cubs. They played the Party Animals, another team in their league, on opening night. Their rematch the next day, on Feb. 2 sold out, giving away 15,000 tickets, a common theme for this fascinating team.

The Savannah Bananas are often referred to as the “Harlem Globetrotters of baseball” as they make baseball fun for the fans. The Harlem Globetrttoers, a basketball team, are known to do crazy stunts and tricks during their games to interest fans. With the Savannah Bananas, fans are not stuck watching a long baseball game, instead having added-on activities for children or non-baseball fans. According to the Savannah Bananas, in 2015, the previous minor league team left Savannah, Georgia after 90 years. Jesse Cole and his wife decided to host a college summer team called the Savannah Sand Gnats in the old stadium. Very few were interested in the summer league, and the Coles had to sell their house to keep the team going. However, on Feb. 25, 2016, they decided to name the team the Savannah Bananas which drew attention from around the country. They sold out at opening and every night since.

The Bananas formerly were part of the Coastal Plain League, a summer league for collegiate baseball. They were in it for seven seasons before they decided to go out on their own to make baseball fun for the fans, something they called Banana Ball. Two teams, the Savannah Bananas and the Party Animals were created. Recently, a new team was added to the league: the Texas Tailgaters. Currently, their league contains four teams: the Savannah Bananas, the Party Animals, the Firefighters, and the Texas Tailgaters.

Banana Ball has 11 unique rules that make it more interesting for fans and differentiate it from other baseball teams. For example, a team can only get a point only if they win the inning. A team wins the inning by getting the most runs. The ninth inning is the only one where every run counts as a point. An inning ends after both teams get three outs or the second team beats the first team’s runs for that inning. Another rule is that bunting is not allowed because “bunting sucks.” Furthermore, walks are not allowed. If a player gets walked, everyone on base sprints as far as they can go before everyone on the pitching team touches the ball. If a fan catches a foul ball, it is considered an out. Next, games have a two hour time limit unless there is a tie. In the event of a tie, a one-on-one showdown occurs between a pitcher and batter. Finally, players are not allowed to step out of the batter’s box.

At the game on Feb. 2, there were many performances being done, both old and new. It began with players from both teams warming up by throwing and catching, but also dancing and flipping. They began going around the grass berm and the grass seats, signing hats, balls, shirts, and any other creative objects fans came up with. They were smiling and chatting while some played catch with fans. Before the game, there were many performances, including a Banana Ball rendition of “Popular” by Princess Potassia, the princess of Bananaland. Bananaland is the nickname for the Historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah Georgia. Cole came out of the dugout with a young fan and had her perform the first peel of the game. Similar to Groundhog Day, this girl peeled a banana and tasted it. If the banana tasted good, then it would be a good game. If the banana was rotten, the game would be bad. The girl reported that the banana tasted good as everyone cheered. Cole also introduced the Banana Baby of the Game, a baby from the crowd. The baby, Stella, was dressed in a banana costume and as her mom lifted her into the air to the Lion King Intro, the players kneeled in a circle around her. The captain of the Bananas and the captain of the Party Animals had a friendly competition before the game where they threw bananas from the stands into the field where players with comically large pants tried to catch the bananas in the pants. They allowed kids in the audience to attempt to throw the bananas as well. One of the players, Alex “Ziggy” Ziegler is known for balancing objects on his face. On Feb. 2, he was able to balance a Jimmy John’s sandwich on his face, as well as a ladder. Before the game began, the Bananas had a fan throw the “golden banana” similar to the first pitch in a normal game of baseball.

Throughout the entire game, popular songs were being played to keep the audience interested. Whenever a team scored, they did a choreographed dance to songs like “APT” by Bruno Mars and and Rosé. Towards the end of the game, the world’s tallest baseball player, Dakota “Stilts” Albritton, known for the fact that he plays on stilts, pitched the ball to a player. Weaving through the crowd was the pep band, made of brass instruments. Also in the stands were the Party animal “bartenders,” who, before the game, had done a breathtaking performance flipping and juggling bottles. The players occasionally in the stands signing autographs or giving out roses to young fans. Providing cheer to the crowd was the Dad Bod Cheer Squad, a group of four men with pom-poms, who also provided a hilarious lip-sync performance of “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls. On the field, the first baseman, Maceo Harrison, was also getting into the groove by breakdancing and moonwalking. Even the Bananas’ umpire, Vincent Chapman, is known as the Dancing Umpire for his spectacular moves throughout the game.

Even with new additions to the team and performances, the bananas have made sure to keep old traditions. The players performed a kickline at the end of the game. Furthermore, the players and audience joined in to sing “Yellow” by Coldplay.

Emily Cole, Cole’s wife, also made an appearance at the game as she introduced the Savannah Bananas’ non profit: Bananas Foster, which helps foster children and families. She introduced the Bananas Foster Family of the Game, a local couple who have housed many children with medical conditions who were celebrating their late foster son’s birthday.

The Bananas ended up beating the Party Animals 2-1 which made up for their 6-2 loss on opening night. They have since said goodbye to Sloan Park for the rest of the season. The Savannah Bananas have two more games in Arizona, both in Glendale, before they head to Fort Myers, Florida to continue their national tour. Though they do not go around the world, they travel the country bringing joy to baseball fans as they go.