Banana Ball In Spartanburg

is a very rare thing in this day and age where fads or trends come along and die just as quickly as they begin with the ever-changing world of pop culture. But, once in a while a trending thing manages to stay relevant by evolving to the point where it only continues to grow more and more popular.

One of those things that continues to blow up year after year is the Banana Ball craze — a wild take on the game of baseball that has kids and adults alike laughing and craving more and more. They constantly sell out major league ballparks and some of the largest football stadiums in the country. You can find their games on ESPN. At this point, to say it is a craze is too much of an understatement. Banana ball has become a global phenomenon, perhaps only rivaled by the Harlem Globetrotters in the 70s and 80s — whom the Bananas have frequently drawn comparisons to.

The Savannah Bananas began as a summer wood bat league baseball team back in 2016 following the departure of the Georgia port city’s former minor league franchise (the Sand Gnats). They competed as part of the Coastal Plain League, experiencing quick success and winning three Petitt Cup championships in six years. The brand was also an instant success with a name that was already fun and quirky enough to sell tickets and merchandise — not unlike our own Hub City Spartanburgers. But, the trajectory of the franchise changed dramatically thanks to a man in a yellow tuxedo that had a vision many ‘baseball purists’ would call insanity.

Jesse Cole, a 2006 Wofford College alum and former pitcher on the Terriers’ baseball team until a shoulder injury brought his career to an end, is the owner and founder of the Banana Ball craze. He began his career shortly after graduation from Wofford as the general manager of the Gastonia Grizzlies — another CPL team. It was there where his passion for showmanship that he discovered via studying theater in college intertwined with his work ethic and drive to create the best possible experience for the fans he can frequently be seen interacting with.

“Playing at Wofford, I had a dream”, said Cole. “I wanted to play professional baseball and was talking to several teams. That dream was very close, but then I tore my shoulder. When that dream ended, a new dream began. That’s what we have here in Banana Ball. When I faced my greatest adversity, that was when I realized it was my greatest opportunity. I started learning from PT Barnum, Walt Disney, Cirque Du Soleil, WWE, and Saturday Night Live. I studied entertainment and 20 years later, we have something that I am pretty proud of.

In 2018, Cole created the variation of baseball we now call banana ball — a new set of rules where the most commonly known is that if a fan catches a foul ball hit out of the field of play, the batter is out. By 2020, a second team was created for their exhibitions called the Party Animals, and in 2021, they went on their first Banana Ball “tour” playing two games in Mobile, Alabama’s Hank Aaron Stadium in front of capacity crowds. The next year, the tour expanded to six cities with 80 games — six of which were televised on ESPN, and in 2024, Banana Ball began playing in such Major League ballparks as Fenway, Progressive Field, Nationals Park, Citizens Bank Park, and Daikin Park.

The craze reached heights not dreamt of in 2025, playing in 40 cities and a variety of venues that included three NFL stadiums, several college football stadiums, and more than half of the ballparks in MLB.

Today, what started as one team with a pep band, dance breaks, break dancing coaches, enthusiastic umpires, a player on stilts, and some crazy trick plays has evolved to an entire Banana Ball Championship League with six teams — the Bananas, Party Animals, Firefighters, Texas Tailgaters, Indianapolis Clowns, and Loco Beach Coconuts. They all play by the BBCL rules and travel the country playing multi-game series that culminate in a championship.

This weekend, the 2026 iteration of the Banana Ball World Tour came to Spartanburg’s Fifth Third Park — marking the first visit by a Banana team since Savannah took on the original CPL Spartanburgers, managed by current Woodruff High baseball coach Wesley Brown at Duncan Park back in 2021.

“It was cool getting to coach against the Bananas”, said Brown. “I got to become good friends with many in their organization, particularly Tyler Gillum (current manager of the Bananas). He told me all that they had planned coming down the wire, and I believed even then that it would take off. You have to admire a man with Jesse’s vision. That showmanship brand of baseball appeals well to kids and families and it is flooding the youth leagues, which to me is why it has taken off and gotten so big.”

It did not take long to see exactly why the Banana Ball craze has taken off. Riding around Fifth Third Park to get to the parking lot, the scene was like looking at a circus. Striped tents, old school ticket booths and entry gates in the plaza, and jazzy music coming from a stage with a real life New Orleans-like street band echoing throughout the area surrounding Daniel Morgan Square.

After coming through the gates, the circus feel morphed into a classic American state fair — rows of food vendors and merch tables set up all along the concourse. More jazz music coming through the PA system. And, yes, even the overwhelming smells of all types of concession food bombarding your nostrils at once — immediately arousing your appetite. But, the fair feel quickly devolved back into a pure circus atmosphere as the gates opened. Five thousand plus people entering all through one gate while the music was turned up even louder made for near instant sensory overload.

As the fans settled in, the Emcee took to the field, with infinitely more energy than Hub City’s Wyatt Sutton and the Greenville Drive’s Jeremiah Dew (AKA “JDew”) combined. As the teams were introduced, there was a beautiful tribute to the original Indianapolis Clowns — a famous barnstorming Negro League team that could be described as the Bananas of their time. They made every game like a circus — wowing massive crowds that came to see such famous stars as Satchel Paige and Hank Aaron, both of whom notably played at Spartanburg’s historic Duncan Park Stadium.

After all the pregame fanfare of explaining the rules in song, the lineups being introduced, and the national anthem, the circus moved to its main ring — the diamond. The innings move quickly — almost so quickly that if you turn your head away for a split second, you will miss a lot of action. The pace of play is helped by the game’s strict two-hour time limit as well as the upbeat music that plays constantly — and loudly, throughout the game. Unlike “traditional” baseball, there are no long stoppages for dead balls after a play, which adds to the ‘blink and you’ll miss it‘ pace.

The first inning was over in about 15 minutes with the Clowns winning the inning — the goal in Banana Ball. Runs still count, as the Clowns plated three to the Tailgaters’ two. That earned the Clowns a point. As with any sport, the team with the most points (in this case meaning who won the most innings) wins the game. No doubt that fans of “traditional baseball” are turning red in the face reading this paragraph — and I feel you on that.

There are trick plays — which also earn points for the teams. Whether that is turning a double play by making the throw behind your back or deflecting a fly ball back into the air to be caught by another outfielder. If that is not enough for you, drawing walks also have rules. Instead of just trotting to first on ball four, the batter has to sprint and does not have to stop once he touches the bag. The option is there to keep running as the ball is thrown out to the infield and is not live until each fielder besides the pitcher and catcher have touched it. Again.. I feel you, fellow traditional baseball fans.

Between innings, there are everything from dance parties to inhaled helium singalongs. There really is not a moment of “dead air” to be found in the course of a Banana Ball game. In fact, you can almost get your whole money’s worth of entertainment value without ever actually watching a single pitch or any of the other action on the diamond.

Speaking of the action, Wednesday night’s game ended with the Clowns holding off a last-inning comeback attempt from the Tailgaters for a 4-3 victory. Former Red Sox and South Carolina Center Fielder Jackie Bradley Jr went two for three at the dish with a run scored for the Clowns while former Gamecock/North Greenville star Jalen Vazquez went 0 for two. Another former South Carolina standout — first baseman Kyle Martin, tallied two hits in four at-bats with a walk and a run scored for the Tailgaters.

One thing that stood out to me was that fans actually stuck around for the entirety of the game. Which is a big positive for the Banana Ball experience that sets it above any minor or major league game. So often in those professional games, especially on a Thursday night after the first day of school, many would head for the gates by the seventh inning stretch — another thing that lacks in the Banana games since many end before reaching the middle of the seventh.

All in all, Banana Ball’s first foray into Spartanburg was a huge success, and I do not believe this is the last time we will see them grace Fifth Third Park with their presence. Especially hearing how proud Jesse Cole was as he soaked in the moment.

“To see a sold out crowd in Spartanburg, where I played for four years and developed a dream, and to see the joy that that was brought today as our players put on a show — 27 trick plays, home runs, great moments. It continues to be a dream come true every night. I experienced so many great moments here and I am just happy I got to come back to Spartanburg”, Cole said with a smile.

To put a bow on things with my honest opinion, the games are just as insane as the atmosphere that, again, is nothing short of sensory overload for anyone experiencing it for the first time. That is why Banana Ball is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. It is great for its target audience — families and kids.

Although I don’t fall in that audience, I will say this from the point of view of a “traditional” baseball writer getting his first BBCL experience: I had fun. There were times when the music had me singing along and I couldn’t care less about the fact I was there to work and watch some “baseball.” Truly, Banana Ball in person is worth going to once — regardless of where you stand on the subject, as it is truly the only way to experience it for yourself and form your own opinions.