“Banana Ball” takes over Syracuse

More than 10,000 fans filled NBT Bank Stadium to watch the Savannah Bananas for the penultimate game of the 2023 Banana Ball World Tour against the Party Animals. 

For those who might be unaware, Banana Ball combines the classic game of baseball and the fun of dancing and acrobatics with one group of people as the priority: the fans.  

It was a game of baseball like never before with full-team dances on the field when runs were scored, players completing backflips before making a catch, and home plate umpire Vince Chapman twerking from behind home plate. 

“None of my dances are choreographed or scripted as far as me learning them, it’s all pretty much me shaking my butt,” Chapman said. 

A child is held up after he ran the bases for a home run after he hit a ball on a tee at the Savannah Bananas baseball game Thursday night at NBT Bank Stadium.

The Bananas are known for taking fan suggestions from social media outlets such as TikTok and Instagram. Bananas third baseman Jackson Olson has taken the social media platform by storm with more than 1.5 million followers and his platform is only continuing to grow.  

“That’s one of the coolest things is when you see a comment on social media, and you come to the ballpark and you’re standing right here during the VIP experience, and you see the same people say the same comments to you,” Olson said. “When they’re saying, ‘You made me love baseball again,’ you see that online and you see that in person, and it’s just so cool.”

Games consisting of Cuban water balloon cornhole with dads being the target, singing competitions between sections of the stadium, and old ladies beating each other with pool noodles saw the fans at NBT Bank Stadium having an amazing experience. 

One of the more unusual sights was Dakota Albritton, commonly known as “Stilts,” completing an at-bat while standing on a pair of … well, you guessed it … stilts. Albritton stands at just under 11 feet tall, but he quickly learned that he was a natural with using them. 

“I was 10 years old, and Santa Claus brought me a pair of stilts for some reason,” Albritton said. “I didn’t know where baseball and stilts would combine.” 

Even though players dance on the field or walk up to the plate in a Santa costume with Mariah Carey’s famous “All I Want for Christmas is You” blaring over the speakers, every member of the Bananas and Party Animals will remind you that nothing is predetermined. 

“The game is real, it’s not scripted,” Chapman said. “So, I do get yelled at and cussed out sometimes.”  

While every city on the Banana Ball World Tour had large crowds and provided a lot of interactions, Syracuse took things to a whole different level. 

“I have signed more autographs here before the game than I ever have prior to any game before,” Stilts said. “We had quite a few people standing outside of our hotel getting us to sign stuff.”

The final game of the Bananas’ 2023 tour is Saturday night in Cooperstown in what will be a winner-take-all for the championship between the Bananas and the Party Animals.