BOSTON – Fans flocked to Fenway Park on Saturday to watch the Savannah Bananas play Banana Ball.
‘We have different rules’
“They do crazy dances,” says one young fan.
“It’s baseball with a twist,” said Savannah Banana player Ethan Skuija.
The Savannah Bananas and the Party Animals are made up of experienced baseball players, both on the field and on the field, but with a little something extra thrown in.
“We have guys who make backflip catches. I’m personally a long toss guy. I threw a ball out of center field here at Fenway Park, that’s pretty cool,” Skuija said.
The teams make the sport a performance. They walk on stilts, dance, sing and even the audience can play along.
“We have some different rules.” SAYS SKUIJA.
If a fan catches a fly ball, the batter is out. That’s just one of the new and different rules they’ve created for Banana Ball. It’s all part of their performance.
Savannah Bananas sell out Fenway
The team is on tour and stopped at Fenway Park for their second MLB stadium appearance since the team started.
“When this stadium was built in 1912, I don’t think they thought Banana Ball was coming,” Savannah Banana president Jared Orton told WBZ.
The team and Orton are incredibly proud of the sale of the iconic baseball park.
“We want to make baseball fun for 37,000 people now. People are looking for something to celebrate, to do it with the staff at Fenway Park, to do it with the Red Sox, to put on a show tonight. Hopefully we laugh and I think that resonates,” Orton explained.
And both fans and players are living their dreams.
“It’s surreal. This is what every kid dreams of growing up. We get to do it in front of one of the biggest crowds in sports,” said player Noah Fisher.
