Banana Ball World Tour 2024
Katie Over the summer I was able to go to 5 (6?) banana ball games in various ballparks and states. Rather than write a post for each of them, I decided to just include some highlights from each of the games. Since tickets went on sale for me this week for next season, I figured it was about time to finish this and get it posted before I ended up way behind!
Boston
Our first game of the season was Savannah Bananas vs the Party Animals at Fenway Park. They had 4 past Red Sox join them – Mitch Moreland who singled in the 2nd and Jonny Gomes who was out. Bill Lee joined the team to pitch and Jon Papelbon did as well. There were 2 Fan Outs (one for each team) and the Party Animals won!
Greensboro
For my birthday I got VIP for Party Animals vs Firefighters. Before the game we got to meet players from both teams, being my first VIP/VIB I wasn’t sure what to expect, but we went to my favorites first and got photos with them (and Pharty) and then just tried to get as many autographs as we could. It went fast, but I was happy with the experience and we snagged some ADA seats right behind home plate before the masses joined. (This was one of the few GA games I went to) In the first inning, Achuff tied the single season trick play record and in the 5th he took the lead for the record. The Party Animals won 3-1.
Savannah #1
For part 2 of my birthday we went to Savannah to see the Bananas take on the Aussie Drop Bears. We had VIB and got to meet some of the bananas before the game as well as the Nanas! Again we only did a few photos with favorites and got a lot of autographs. It seemed like way less people, but a lot of people went to try and snag seats. Somehow we managed right behind home plate, but shortly after the tarp was on the field and we got a lot of rain delay entertainment (when it rains, they basically turn into a boyband so I wasn’t complaining). Once an extreme downpour came we were told that the game had been canceled and we’d either get a refund or tickets for next season. As soon as I walked into the hotel, security came over and handed me a stack of towels. Earlier in the day I managed to get tickets to the game the next day, so all was not lost!
Savannah #2
We didn’t have VIB for this game so we ended up in ADA seats near the Drop Bears dug out. In the 3rd inning, Ryan Cox had the trick play record. In the 6th, DJ the Invader threw a record setting 47 second inning against the Drop Bears. It also was one of the fastest bananas ball games clocking in at 1 hour and 21 minutes. (I think because this was a makeup from the Friday game they didn’t have all the in between antics that they usually do and that had something to do with the quick inning)
Cleveland
Last minute for Cleveland I managed to snag us some VIB tickets for Cleveland, so we got to meet the players on the warning track before the game. A couple of them remembered me from Savannah. We opted for no autographs and as many photos as we could (including the favorites) which I think I ended up with about 10. The special guests for this game were the guy who did the first viral YouTube video for the history of dance, Zion Clark the fastest man on two hands, and former Cleveland players Jason Kipnis and Corey Kluber. Drew Gillespie of the Party Animals got the record for the fastest inning in bananaball history at 46 seconds (blink and you’d miss it!). But the Bananas were victorious.
Philly
Once again last minute I snagged some VIB tickets for Philly and got to meet the players again. This was by far the worst VIB set up, on the infield grass with mesh on the ground that did not cooperate with my walker’s wheels. (A couple of party animals offered to help me out which was so nice!) We hit up the favorites – of course they had to be as far apart from each other as humanly possible and then just tried to snag photos with whoever else we could before giving up. We got to meet the Nanas and Princess Potassia and then mostly Banana players other than my fave, Tanner Thomas. I was hoping for another home run from Jackson, but just before the game started the wind started blowing the wrong way to help him out. This was the largest bananas crowd ever at 45k, but with football stadiums being added to the mix for 2025, that is a record that won’t stand. In the 3rd inning, Chase hit the 100th HR of the tour and Jackson got his 100th trick play of the tour. There were 3 fan outs. Phillies legends that played were hitters Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard and pitchers Joe Blanton and Jaime Moyer – 3 of the 4 we had named as potentials on the ride down!
Next season I’m hoping to see some games in Savannah, Louisville, Allentown, St. Paul, Chicago, Pittsburgh and New York!