{"id":1067,"date":"2026-03-08T18:46:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T18:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/?p=1067"},"modified":"2026-03-08T18:46:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T18:46:00","slug":"discover-how-the-savannah-bananas-built-a-500-million-baseball-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/?p=1067","title":{"rendered":"Discover how the Savannah Bananas built a $500 million baseball empire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even diehard baseball fans will admit a game can drag: Three hours in and the score is only 2-1<\/em>? That\u2019s a big reason the Savannah Bananas<\/strong> have exploded in popularity. The professional exhibition team has turned America\u2019s ordinarily sluggish pastime into a fast-paced spectacle.<\/p>\n

Their version of the sport, Banana Ball, keeps things moving\u2014the rules forbid traditional walks and mound visits, for example\u2014and downtime is strategically filled with choreographed dances, comedy bits and crowd participation. The Bananas are often referred to as the \u201cHarlem Globetrotters of baseball,\u201d but there\u2019s at least one major difference between the troupes: Banana games aren\u2019t scripted; the competition is real.<\/p>\n

Keep reading to learn more about the Savannah Bananas, including how they got started, what the team gets paid and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfac<\/strong>SIGN UP for \u2019s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox<\/strong>\u00a0\ud83c\udfac\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are the Savannah Bananas real players?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yes! The Savannah Bananas are competitive players who run, pitch, catch, slide and swing like any other baseball players, only they also entertain the crowd by dancing, backflipping, walking on stilts and more.<\/p>\n

Why are the Savannah Bananas such a big deal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Blame it on shorter attention spans if you must, but the Bananas built a fanbase by making baseball, which traditionally moves at a glacial pace, into a quick-moving, high-energy sport that combines athleticism and showmanship. Their on-field antics are tailor-made for TikTok and Instagram, where clips of behind-the-back catches and mid-inning dance numbers rack up millions of views.<\/p>\n

In fact, according to Forbes<\/em>, the Bananas have a bigger social footprint than any MLB franchise, with more than 21 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube.<\/p>\n

Related: The 30 Most Memorable Moments in Sports History<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who started the Savannah Bananas?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Savannah Bananas were co-founded by husband-and-wife duo Jesse <\/strong>and Emily Cole <\/strong>in 2016, but the grain of the idea actually\u00a0 came nearly 10 years prior, when Jesse\u2014a college pitcher who initially went into coaching\u2014was sitting in a dugout, bored to tears. \u201cI remember vividly being in the dugout and saying, \u2018I wish the game was fun for everyone, and not just the people playing the game,\u2019\u201d he told Acquired<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He went on to become the General Manager of a college summer league, the Gastonia Grizzlies, in North Carolina, by age 23, but the team couldn\u2019t pull a crowd. So he started reading books about P.T. Barnum<\/strong>, Walt Disney<\/strong> and the WWE for inspiration on how to put on an irresistible show. \u201cI just said, \u2018Let\u2019s go crazy,\u2019\u201d he recalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a decade spent \u201cexperimenting\u201d with the team, he and his then fianc\u00e9, Emily (who had been the \u201cdirector of fun\u201d with the Grizzlies), jumped at the chance to lease Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Ga., after its minor league team left for South Carolina.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The idea was to bring sports-u-tainment to Savannah, but locals saw the newly installed college summer baseball team as a downgrade from the minor leagues (which, technically, it was). \u201cWe had a launch event where we gave out free food, free alcohol \u2026 about a hundred people showed up,\u201d Jesse recalled. \u201cIt was so bad, how we started.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

By January 2016, he and Emily were out of money. They sold their house back in North Carolina, rented a roach-infested \u201cdump\u201d in Savannah, and beared down on a strategy. \u201cWe need to name the team something completely different and wild to get attention,\u201d Jesse remembered saying.<\/p>\n

They had a \u201cname the team\u201d contest, during which a 62-year-old nurse suggested Bananas<\/em>, and a spark went off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started thinking of everything,\u201d he said. A senior citizen dance team called <\/em>The Banana Nanas, a male cheerleading team called the <\/em>Man-Nanas, a Mascot named Split.<\/em><\/p>\n

And so the Savannah Bananas were born.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the first couple of years, the team continued to play traditional baseball, just with fun shenanigans in the mix. Then in 2018, they added exhibition games using Banana Ball rules only. Finally, in 2022, they retired their collegiate amateur team and took their Banana Ball show on the road as a barnstorming team.<\/p>\n

These days, you can easily spot Jesse at a game: He\u2019s the man in the yellow tuxedo and top hat.<\/p>\n

What are the rules of Banana Ball?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Banana Ball is a reimagining of traditional baseball with rules like:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Every inning is worth one point.<\/li>\n
  • Games have a strict two-hour time limit.<\/li>\n
  • No bunting or mound visits.<\/li>\n
  • No traditional walks (ball four becomes an immediate run to first with a chase).<\/li>\n
  • If a fan catches a foul ball, it\u2019s an out.<\/li>\n
  • Batters can steal first base.<\/li>\n
  • Special tiebreaker showdowns decide tied games.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Do the Savannah Bananas get paid to play baseball?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Yes, the players are professionals who work for money. Unlike in their early years as a collegiate summer team, today the Bananas play year-round in their own touring league and therefore earn year-long contracts. How much those contracts are worth is unknown, but according to a 2025 article published in Forbes<\/em>, players make two, sometimes three, times more than what minor leaguers typically make while playing almost 100 fewer games. To put that into perspective, the minimum annual salary for a minor leaguer in Triple-A\u2014the highest level in the minors\u2014is around $40,000 for a 150-game season.<\/p>\n

    \u201cObviously we\u2019re not on big league contracts,\u201d Bananas shortstop Ryan Cox<\/strong> told Forbes<\/em>, \u201cbut they\u2019re taking care of us better than any minor league guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Related: 7 Best Baseball Game Outfits, According to a Celebrity Stylist Who\u2019s Helped Style Taylor Swift<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Who is on the Savannah Bananas?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The Bananas\u2019 roster changes each season, but some key names include athletes like Jackson Olson<\/strong>, Ty Jackson<\/strong> and the towering Dakota \u201cStilts\u201d Albritton<\/strong>, who really does play on stilts. You\u2019ll also find a mix of college standouts and viral social media stars. Check out the current Savannah Bananas lineup.<\/p>\n

    Who do the Savannah Bananas play against?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The Bananas don\u2019t play in MLB, they tour the country playing against other teams in their own Banana Ball league. Opponents include teams like the Party Animals, Firefighters and Texas Tailgaters (all owned and operated by Cole).<\/p>\n

    Is Banana Ball scripted?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    No. While the entertainment is planned and choreographed, the baseball outcomes themselves are not predetermined. That\u2019s part of the fun!<\/p>\n

    How can I buy tickets to a Savannah Bananas game?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Tickets start at $35 when purchased directly through the team\u2019s site, but the 2026 season sold out almost immediately in October 2025. You can still find tickets for sale on third-party sites like StubHub and Ticketmaster, but they\u2019re marked up quite a bit.<\/p>\n

    What are the Savannah Bananas worth?<\/h2>\n

    According to Forbes<\/em>, the Bananas are now worth half a billion dollars. That’s a whole bunch <\/em>of money.<\/p>\n

    Next: Calling All Sports Fans! Test Your Knowledge with These 125 Sports Trivia Questions (Plus Answers!)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Even diehard baseball fans will admit a game can drag: Three hours in and the score is only 2-1? That\u2019s a big reason the Savannah Bananas have exploded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}