Note: The following appears in The Citadel football gameday program.
On Oct. 3, 2024, it was announced to the public that Clemson, S.C. was selected as a 2025 Banana Ball World Tour host site. The Savannah Bananas play the Party Animals at Memorial Stadium on April 26, 2025.
The Savannah Bananas were founded in October 2015 by Jesse and Emily Cole following the departure of minor league baseball from Savannah for the first time in 90 years. The team was originally founded as a summer collegiate team of the Coastal Plain League. This affiliation lasted for seven years until 2022, when the Savannah Bananas announced they were switching to become an independent professional team and committing to play Banana Ball on a full-time basis. Since their first season, the Savannah Bananas have sold out every game they have played.
While the Bananas were originally a collegiate summer league team and they played their home games at Grayson Stadium (home to multiple minor league teams for years), their game play and rules are not like your typical professional or college baseball contest. The Savannah Bananas call their brand of baseball “Banana Ball.”
Some of the rules of Banana Ball that are unique to the organization include a two-hour time limit, each inning is worth a point (similar to match play in golf), no bunting allowed, no walks allowed, the batter cannot step out of the batter’s box and an out is recorded when a fan catches a foul ball in the stands. To keep things entertaining for fans, the players perform choreographed dances throughout the game to well-known songs and social media trends. The Bananas are even known for having the world’s tallest hitter, Dakota “Stilts” Albritton, who plays standing on 10-foot stilts.
To give fans in the Clemson area a sneak peek of what is to come in April at Memorial Stadium, Doug Kingsmore Stadium hosted an exhibition between the Banana Ball All-Stars and Tiger baseball squad on Nov. 7. It marked the first time the Bananas faced a college team. The Banana Ball All-Stars came out victorious in the exhibition 4-1 in front of a sold-out Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The exhibition had no lack of entertainment, as the Tigers participated in Banana Ball to the fullest, performing trick plays and choreographed dances. Tiger infielder Jay Dillard even rode up to home plate on a horse.
Head Coach Erik Bakich played an integral role in luring the Savannah Bananas to Clemson. Bakich emphasized that the Tigers incorporate some of the Banana Ball practices and mental ideas as part of their own preparation for the season.
“I love the Savannah Bananas,” said Bakich. “I love Jesse Cole. He is a creative genius. We’ve been playing Banana Ball since 2018…we do it all the time. The excitement the games bring and how Jesse has turned it into this total entertainment is inspiring. He is the ultimate creative entrepreneur and marketing genius. He’s created a unique brand. It is so awesome that they are coming to play here in April. We’ve been big fans of his for a long time and we’ve found a way to put some tweaks on it and put it into part of our scrimmages.”
The Bananas’ attendance record was recently set at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, as 45,000 fans were in attendance. Clemson is looking to break this record when the Bananas travel to Memorial Stadium.
While the Savannah Bananas always play a unique style of baseball, Tiger fans should have no idea what to expect when Banana Ball comes to Death Valley in April.
