Savannah Bananas “Magical” Night in Syracuse

Syracuse, N.Y.– The Savannah Bananas made an appearance in Syracuse Thursday night on their 2023 Banana Ball World Tour in front of a sold-out crowd. Even though the Bananas lost to the Party Animals 4-3, the atmosphere inside the stadium of over 10,000 fans was a once-and-a-lifetime experience.

The Savannah Bananas are not your typical baseball team and have taken the social media world by storm. Owner Jesse Cole set out to create “The Greatest Show in Sports,” after purchasing the franchise back in 2016. Formerly, the Bananas were a member of the Coastal Plains League, a wooden bat league for collegiate players across the country to take part in during the summer. 

That was until Cole had an idea to break away from the mold and play by their own set of rules called “Banana Ball” that would speed up the game and put the fans first. For Cole, it still doesn’t feel real the amount of growth the Bananas have had from their humble beginnings to going on an 87-game, 33-city tour across the country. 

Savannah Banana fans at the entrance of NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse watching owner Jesse Cole pregame. Photo by Griffin Della Penna.

“Ya know it’s just wild. To see our waitlist grow to over a million for tickets to see our show is something that my wife and I never could’ve thought of seven years ago when we were sleeping on an air mattress about to sell our house. I’m just proud, and I think these players are proud to be a part of it too,” Cole said. 

Thousands of fans flooded NBT Bank Stadium for a chance to get the best seats in the house close to the action when the gates opened. Catcher Bill Leroy has played on the Bananas since his college days at the University of North Georgia, yet it never gets old witnessing the joy the fans have each game. 

“Man, it’s been crazy. I never would’ve thought that the Bananas would be this massive sensation traveling across the country after being a small-town college summer league just six years ago. I’m blessed to be part of something that breaks down the barriers with fan interaction to create one big Banana family,” Leroy said. 

Third baseman Jackson Olson is a TikTok sensation with over 1.5 million followers and is playing his first full season with the Bananas. After playing five seasons in college, Olson wanted to keep the dream alive playing the game that he loves, but didn’t expect this level of support as a fan favorite.

3B Jackson Olson signing autographs for “VIB” fans on the field before the gates opened. Photo by Griffin Della Penna.

“There are literally no words that can even explain it. It’s been a magical experience and now that we only have two games left it’s sad, but we’ve been playing all year. Every city that we’ve gone to the fans have brought the energy, and it’s just so much fun,” Olson said. 

Once fans got to their seats, they rarely even sat down in them. Cole preaches keeping the viewers engaged throughout the entire game and emphasizes that they do different routines in each city they visit. For the Syracuse crowd, they saw Dakota “Stilts” Albritton go up to bat, new choreographed in-game dance routines by both teams and two fans caught foul balls in the crowd that were registered as outs.  

The Bananas took a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning, but the Party Animals stormed back to take the lead in the eighth inning. Due to Banana Ball rules, whichever team scores more runs in each inning scores a point. There is also a two-hour time limit for games and when that timer expires, regardless of what inning it’s in. 

In that final inning of play, all runs count as a point, which is how the Party Animals took the lead in the top of the eighth inning after scoring two runs. This new brand of baseball has been popular with fans because of its quick nature and corks that differ from traditional baseball. Cole believes that Banana Ball has the potential to be the future of the sport. 

Griffin Della Penna interviewing young fans Elijah, Jack, and Seth doing a Savannah Bananas chant. Photo by Abbie Kludt.

“We are trying to build the game of Banana Ball, and we believe in it. You see fans catching foul balls, games happening in less than two hours, and over 500 trick plays happening over this tour. We are going to build it to more than just two teams and build something that’s hopefully all over the world with the game we love,” Cole said.  

The season series between the Bananas and Party Animals is tied up at 43 wins apiece. It all comes down to the final game of the tour on Saturday at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. To stay up-to-date with all Savannah Banana content, make sure to follow them on all your favorite social media platforms.