Banana Ball

For the past two nights there's been a new baseball game in town. Banana Ball, as played by the Savannah Bananas barnstorming team is a fast-paced and entertaining game. Hubby Tony and I were lucky enough to attend last night's game.

The view from our seats

Because the team is so popular, just getting tickets was an adventure. Both Tony and I entered an online lottery for the opportunity to buy tickets. Tony's name was chosen. After navigating a verification process, he was assigned a time where he could log in and purchase tickets. St. Louis had more entries into the lottery to buy tickets than any other city on this year's tour.

Banana Ball is played in Major League stadiums when the home team is on the road. There are three potential opponents for the Savannah Bananas. In St. Louis they were facing the Party Animals. 

The games were originally scheduled for early April, but due to severe weather that weekend they were canceled and rescheduled for mid-July. I figured it would be hot and sticky. It was. The game started at 6:30, but the doors opened at 4:30 and for those so inclined there was a pregame event outside the stadium at 3:30. We chose to go out to dinner with some friends and arrive an hour before the event started.

The Savannah Bananas are often compared to the Harlem Globetrotters of basketball, who combine athleticism and theatrics. Banana Ball is fast paced, and has some unique rules. Last night's experience is almost impossible to describe, but some of the things I most enjoyed were:

• A DJ who played a continuous stream of popular and oldies music, encouraging people to sing and dance along when they felt like it. 
• Choreographed on the field dances between some of the innings (and sometimes even during play). 
• Trick plays, like a player bobbling a fly ball before catching it inside his shirt, or someone doing a flip before catching the ball.
• Crowd interaction events between every inning, some with babies, some with children, and some with adults. 
• The Dad Bod Cheer leading Squad, who lived up to their name. 
• Guest appearances by two retired Cardinal pitchers. (On Friday night there had been one, and in addition the Savannah Banana's starting pitcher was a local.) 
• The World's Tallest Baseball Player (10-feet 9-inches tall on stilts), who actually came up to bat.

The huge strike zone is between his knees and shoulders

The Savannah Bananas won the game in the ninth inning, and we joined the rest of the sold out stadium inching their way slowly to the turnstiles. The heat and humidity was even worse in the enclosed stairwell, and I was thrilled to see the exit. I was even more thrilled when I got home and jumped in the shower!