National Football League

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Lore & Background

The Banana Ball format began in 2018 when the Savannah Bananas, originally a collegiate summer baseball team, played an alternate-rules exhibition game with Lander University. The first official Banana Ball game was played at Grayson Stadium in June 2020, with the Savannah Bananas splitting into two for the game; a completely separate opponent, the Party Animals, was created for Banana Ball games the next month. From 2020 to 2022, the Savannah team played Banana Ball at home games and regular Coastal Plain League (CPL) rules on the road. The Savannah Bananas began playing Banana Ball full time by 2023, including Banana Ball games against existing baseball teams like the Kansas City Monarchs. In 2024, the Banana Ball Championship League was announced and began play two years later in 2026, after a 2025 Banana Ball World Tour Championship. The first Banana Ball Open, an early in-season tournament, took place April 16–19, 2026; it was won by the Texas Tailgaters.

Reader's Guide

The Bananas were a part of the Coastal Plain League (CPL) West division, where they won three Petitt Cup championships (2016, 2021, and 2022). However, after the growth of Banana Ball, after 2022, the team moved entirely to exhibition games against their partner touring teams. Known by their yellow colored team jerseys, they are the league's most well-known team. Notable current and former players include Kelsie Whitmore, Jocelyn Alo, Dakota “Stilts” Albritton. During the 2020 shortened Bananas CPL season, the organization debuted a second squad for Banana Ball games at home: the Party Animals, wearing black or pink uniforms. In 2024, the Party Animals were fleshed out as a more permanent team with its own slate of games outside of the Bananas tour. Some fans have begun to question whether Banana Ball is still 'family-friendly' given the antics of this team which includes things like players dancing shirtless in-between innings, players climbing on top of dugouts and then ditching their shirts, and a 'cougar race,' for which moms are summoned from the crowd and ordered to give piggyback rides to shirtless players around the diamond. The team has been called the 'gayest team in baseball' thanks to their theatrical, swagger-heavy routines that heavily borrow from queer and drag culture. Debuting on October 5, 2023, as part of the 2024 season launch night, the Firefighters wear firefighter-themed uniforms, including firefighter helmets instead of the usual batting helmets used by the rest of the league. Starting in 2025, they have their own slate of games separate from the Bananas tour. The Texas Tailgaters were announced on October 3, 2024, during the 2025 season launch night, as the fourth team in the league and fifth overall. Despite the name, the team is also currently based in Savannah, Georgia, but it hosted home games in Texas and Oklahoma since their inaugural season. The Tailgaters are the first semi-regional team to launch since the original Bananas. In addition to their Texas headlining tour, the Tailgaters' first season was also successfully held with games across the country against the other three league teams. They wear elements of the Texas state flag colors in their uniform jerseys. The Tailgaters would again be given their own slate of home games as part of the BBCL beginning in 2026. On October 9, 2025, as part of the 2026 season launch night, the BBCL announced the creation of the Loco Beach Coconuts, which will make their league debut in 2026 with their tropical and beach-themed uniforms. The team has a beach and oceanic theme with their two mascots, Coco the Coconut and Peter Colada, whom the team debuted during the 2026 Bananaland at Sea Cruise. Former MLB outfielder Shane Victorino was announced as the first 'primetime coach and manager' for the team. Also on October 9, 2025, the league would formally induct, as one of the new member teams, the Indianapolis Clowns, a revival of the club of the same name from the Negro leagues; they will wear a modernized form of the old uniform jerseys of the old club. The revival of the Clowns name was done in partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Former MLB first baseman Ryan Howard was announced as the first 'primetime coach and manager' for the team, while another MLB legend, outfielder and World Series champion Jackie Bradley Jr. officially made history as the first full-time former major-leaguer to ever play in Banana Ball, now as part of said organization, making his official debut on February 27, 2026. Other notable Clowns include Mo'ne Davis. Introduced in June 2024, the Visitors served as opponents for the Party Animals or Bananas in certain games when the other team faced the Firefighters or the Texas Tailgaters. The Visitors wore generic gray uniforms with blue numbering (with no names on the back of jerseys) and constituted the developmental or tryout wing of the Bananas organization, but that phased out as of 2026, and the franchise was split into two Banana Ball teams: the Loco Beach Coconuts and the Indianapolis Clowns.

Did You Know?

• The first official Banana Ball game was played at Grayson Stadium in June 2020, with the Savannah Bananas splitting into two for the game.
• The Party Animals have been called the 'gayest team in baseball' due to their theatrical, swagger-heavy routines that borrow from queer and drag culture.
• The Indianapolis Clowns are a revival of the original Negro league baseball team, done in partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
• Jackie Bradley Jr. made history as the first full-time former major-leaguer to ever play in Banana Ball, debuting on February 27, 2026.
• The first Banana Ball Open, an early in-season tournament, took place April 16–19, 2026, and was won by the Texas Tailgaters.