If you know me, as much as everyone here in the South loves college football, this is my addiction. It's not because it is the Bananas, but its baseball in general and what a way to end the fall season. The Savannah Bananas are schedule to return to Clemson in April for a game inside Death Valley and you can fully expect 80,000 plus to attend the event.
Let's get you familiarize with the Bananas and who they are as an organization.
October 2015 - Jesse and Emily Cole purchased a Coastal Plain League team after a minor league team left Savannah.
June 26, 2020 the first official game is plays at Grayson Stadium
February 25th, 2016 The Savannah Bananas team name is officially announced.
November 2nd, 2018 the Bananas tested in a game at Lander University.
July 21st 2020, the Party Animals gave the Bananas their first real competition
March 11, 2022 the Bananas world tour kicks off
August 19, 2022 ESPN 2 decided to get in on the action and broadcasted Banana ball for the first time.
October 4th,2023 the schedule is released for the first full season of Banana Ball
May 30th, 2024 The Bananas Ball third team known as the firefighters make their debut in a series against the Bananas in Savannah Georgia.
The Bananas also have baseball terms that fans need to be familiar with
Fans First: This is the motto of the organization and the name of their parent company. FANS FIRST, ENTERTAIN ALWAYS is the primary philosophy for entertainment and the base for every decision that is made
For instance if a foul ball is caught by the fans in the stands, it is an out.
At any time during the at bat, the hitter can steal first base.
322 and 622 are codes for two dances that is to be conducted in each game. In the 3rd inning and the 2nd batter and the 2nd pitch, the pitcher, middle infielders and center fielder perform a dance. In the 6th inning, the second batter on the second pitch, the Party Animals do the same thing.
Plussing is used as a verb to describe how they take the show to another level. They work on things that normally don't happen on the baseball field to make the game as unique as possible.
OTT - Over The Top is used two different ways. This is a meeting so they can be prepared for the game so when they execute the routine, it is flawless and done correctly.
Plaza Party this is more or less a party before and after the game to give the fans the ultimate fan experience to keep them coming back.
The interesting thing about this, is no game is played past 2 hours. I am not sure what the setup is going to be for this exhibition and it will be interesting to see if the Tigers and Bakich will have any antics of their own. Surely one would think that as animated as Bakich is, he would have something up his sleeve.
I know the exhibition isn't open to the public and if you want tickets you will have to pay an arm and a leg on the secondary sights to get into the game. If I am not mistaken, the game will be broadcasted on YouTube tv. Make no mistake, while I am in a position to witness this, I can't put into words the excitement for this coming Thursday night. It could be zero degrees and a blizzard and I would bundle up and make sure not to miss this event.
I will be posting thoughts here and there throughout the evening and pregame and post game interviews will be posted shortly after the exhibition is completed. I am sorry to say that play by play will not be available as the press box will not be available to the media from Clemson. However, don't let that keep you from checking in throughout the evening right here for updates. In the mean time join me in my excitement for this once in a lifetime moment and hopefully for those of you who entered the lottery for the game in Death Valley in April will be lucky enough to get to witness it for yourself!
Never miss the latest news from CUTigers!
Join our free email list