TAMPA — The Savannah Bananas are a sports entertainment phenomenon. The former minor league and collegiate summer league franchise fully launched its brand of “Banana Ball” in 2021. Every game- with it’s list of modified rules- is a mixture of Harlem Globetrotters, karaoke, dance competition, trick plays, and a fully emersive fan experience.
This weekend, Savannah opens its 2024 World Tour at Steinbrenner Stadium in Tampa. If you’re look for tickets you’ll have to join a waiting list. Every game of the season- which runs through early October- is sold out. That includes games at Fenway Park in Boston and Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Gainesville-native Malachi Mitchell is entering his fourth season with the Bananas. He played college baseball at Florida A&M, and he wanted to pursue a professional career. But getting a minor league tryout can costs hundreds- sometimes thousands- of dollars, which Malachi says he didn’t have. In 2021, he took the advice of his former travel baseball coach who coached for Savannah before they became the Bananas. All it cost him was $25.
"There was a guy who posted 'Free Hotel Rooms For The First Ten People Who Sign Up.' I was the second person to sign up,” Mitchell explained after a Bananas rehearsal. "So I ended up getting a free hotel room for the weekend. I got my 25 dollars back. And I got to play on one of the funnest teams on social media- ever.”
Mitchell’s entering his fourth season with one of the most popular shows in sports entertainment.
"Even if you would’ve told me five years ago that this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
Every player on the Bananas roster has a unique story of how they ended up in one of the most unique spectacles in baseball. Bananas owner Jesse Cole says that’s what makes his franchise so special.
"So many guys, they're close to having the opportunity to have professional baseball experience, or playing professional baseball and it just wasn’t a great fit,” Cole explained. “Now, they come here and they’re playing in front of more fans than they’ve ever played in front of, and they’re excelling. The reality is, we try to make it fun for the guys. We want to be the most fun they’ve ever had playing."
Mitchell, along with other players, had doubts about the longevity of Banana Ball. But they stuck with the program, and they’re selling out every stadium on their schedule with people who can’t wait to be a part of the show.
"I’m having fun. I want to see where this goes,” Mitchell said when recalling his early days as a Banana. "Then I started having conversations with Jesse, and I saw his vision. And I was just like, I know where this guy’s gonna go, and I’m gonna ride with him ’til I die.”
Malachi says he wants to use this massive stage to inspire other athletes of color to follow their baseball dreams.
“That was my plan for this year. Get more coverage for black baseball players, HBCU athletes. I want to use my platform, being a black baseball player, to say that “Hey, we’re here, and we do play ball,” Mitchell added. “If somebody reached out to me and was like 'Hey, I play at FAMU. I play at North Carolina A&T. I would need some coverage. Dude, can you post this video for me?' I wouldn’t charge ‘em. I wouldn’t even blink twice. I would say 'Yes, I got you.' And I’d post this video of them. Because when I left playing HBCU ball, that was what I did. I was posting on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, just for somebody to see it."
Now, millions of people flock to see the performance of a team whose motto is “Fans First.”
"We’re just having the time of our life, and we realize that it’s contagious,” Cole said, wearing his trademark yellow suit and top hat. "When people are having fun, it really spreads. It’s going to be really amazing to see what happens the rest of this year.”
The Bananas play their rivals, the Party Animals, tonight at 7 P.M. and tomorrow at 1 P.M.
