The Savannah Bananas Are Trying Something Called 'Banana Ball', Which Sounds Like Baseball on Acid

If you're not familiar with the Savannah Bananas, they're an independent league baseball team that has always done things a little differently. Their uniforms include a kilt and an all-yellow outfit meant to make the team look like actual bananas. They always have wacky promotions and do everything they can to get fans engaged. But their plans for 2021 have taken that to an entirely new level.

This year, the team will be playing something called "Banana Ball" for a select few games, which reads like someone trying to come up with a unique variation of baseball while tripping on acid. Among some of the rules of Banana Ball are things meant to speed up the game and make it more watchable, like not allowing batters to step out of the box and eliminating mound visits. But then you get into the fun ones.

Wall Street Journal — Every inning counts. In “Banana Ball,” the team posting the highest score in a single inning “wins” the inning. The goal is to get five points. As soon as a team wins five innings, game over, go home.

No walks. That’s right, no walks. On Ball Four, the hitter starts running. First, second, third—as far as you can go. The defense, meanwhile, has to throw the ball around the entire infield and outfield, and only then it can try and throw you out on the base path. Maybe you’ll get tagged out! Maybe you’ll get an inside-the-park home run! Who knows!

No bunting. This one’s personal. The Bananas just don’t like bunts. Swing for the fence!

If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out. OK, this has been my dream in every baseball game I have attended since I was 5 years old. Why do you think I always brought my glove?

So the best I can tell, we've got a sort of baseball match play going on where a walk turns into an insane game of around the horn and the ability to foul out to Steve in the 17th row. It's so insane that I actually love it. If you want to watch a normal, three-and-a-half hour baseball game — which I do, I'm not knocking that — you can turn on your regional sports network any night from April to September. But if you want the coked-out fever dream of a baseball madman, you head down to the Bananas' ballpark and go watch some Banana ball, where you may have the chance to record an out for your team and be out of there after five innings.

This is the future.