(NewsNation) — The Savannah Bananas are doing things a little differently! The baseball team is based out of Savannah, Georgia, and instead of walking to the dugout in between innings, you’re more likely to find them dancing on the pitcher’s mound.
From the danger zone to the strike zone, The Bananas are dancing their way across home plate. The team is made up of two teams — a summer collegiate team that plays by conventional baseball rules, and a premier team that travels across the U.S. playing banana ball, a modified two-hour time limit game interspersed with dance breaks.
Many have referred to them as the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. Players Kyle Luigs and Bill Leroy said they don’t take that as an insult, and it just might be the best way to describe the team.
“What we do is honestly crazy, and it’s hard to describe. I think that’s the closest way you can describe us, but it’s like this is crazy entertainment with this incredible form of competitive baseball,” Leroy said.
From flaming baseball bats to TikTok dances, it’s proving to be the greatest show in sports. The Bananas’ TikTok page has racked up nearly 3 million followers. And one of their best traditions is that each player gets to announce themselves when they go up to the plate.
“I think regardless of the rules we’re playing by, we’re having a great time. The managers do such a great job of pushing down barriers and pushing down walls and make the game fun and they’re treating our fans in the right way,” Luigs said. “So whether it’s conventional baseball, whether its banana ball, people are getting entertained.”
There is no sign they’re slowing down, The Savannah Bananas will kick off the first games this summer in August, and those games are already sold out. But that’s nothing new; they’ve sold out every home game since they first started in 2016.
The docuseries, “Bananaland,” chronicling “Banana Ball,” is set to release on ESPN+ this summer. Click here to watch the trailer.