Savannah Bananas: baseball fun??
- Thread starter The Gray Eagle
- Start date
Is this a work with the Bill Lee thing or is he really being worked on? Incredibly poor taste if it's a work so I imagine it's real?
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I think it's real. he just collapsed, they went to a commercial, now they're rerunning the "Bananaland" documentary thing
Bananas leaving the Costal Plain League and will go full time with Banana Ball.
https://thesavannahbananas.com/cplfaq/
Pretty amazing transformation in the 6 years of their existence.
https://thesavannahbananas.com/cplfaq/
Pretty amazing transformation in the 6 years of their existence.
Another former Sox hurler joined the Bananas for a cameo last night:
View: https://twitter.com/TheSavBananas/status/1565865395143286792?s=20&t=vOTqY-UnpXhte2-e-8ptUQ
Savannah Bananas
@TheSavBananas
The ultimate power move: Jonathan Papelbon pitching in a kilt with his 2007 World Series trophy behind him
EDIT: adding the video to do this justice:
View: https://twitter.com/TheSavBananas/status/1565880258783580161?s=20&t=vOTqY-UnpXhte2-e-8ptUQ
Savannah Bananas
@TheSavBananas
Nothing quite like World Series Champ, Jonathan Papelbon, coming to pitch in a kilt for your Nanners with the World Series trophy sitting behind the mound the whole time
View: https://twitter.com/TheSavBananas/status/1565865395143286792?s=20&t=vOTqY-UnpXhte2-e-8ptUQ
Savannah Bananas
@TheSavBananas
The ultimate power move: Jonathan Papelbon pitching in a kilt with his 2007 World Series trophy behind him
EDIT: adding the video to do this justice:
View: https://twitter.com/TheSavBananas/status/1565880258783580161?s=20&t=vOTqY-UnpXhte2-e-8ptUQ
Savannah Bananas
@TheSavBananas
Nothing quite like World Series Champ, Jonathan Papelbon, coming to pitch in a kilt for your Nanners with the World Series trophy sitting behind the mound the whole time
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I figure most of you know this guy that’s where basically every kid of the 2004 Red Sox currently play
Coming to hartford too sounds like they are eyeballing Fenway and mlb parks in 2024
https://www.savannahnow.com/story/sports/minors/savannah-bananas/2022/10/04/savannah-bananas-baseball-announce-banana-ball-world-tour-2023-schedule-cities-include-las-vegas/8180576001/
https://www.savannahnow.com/story/sports/minors/savannah-bananas/2022/10/04/savannah-bananas-baseball-announce-banana-ball-world-tour-2023-schedule-cities-include-las-vegas/8180576001/
Unfortunately, their ticket purchase process seems to be garbage. I was on a waiting list and chosen in the lottery to be able to purchase tickets at 10:00 AM this morning. They have two games in Akron and the email they sent with the link this morning said the July 3rd game was sold out but the July 2nd game was available. I had already set up an account like they asked and followed the link within a minute of them sending it, but nothing would come up on the site when I tried to select July games... even the "Sold Out Events" option didn't bring anything up. I tried multiple browsers on multiple devices with the same lack of results. I called their number, but the person I talked to could only refer me to an email address, so unless they respond to that I'm out of luck.
It is a complete and utter shit-show, and I say that as a fan and ticket holder to a few games over the past 3 years or so.
They have an "insiders club" called the K club. It is $50 per year and got you access to but no promise of getting tickets. It was only $50 for the year, so I jumped in and if it was a bust for me, I would bail next season and not renew. Tickets open for K-Clubbers back in the fall. It was a mess for many (including me). The virtual wait room was a joke. I was in at # 600 or so, waited 90 minutes give or take and as I got to #1 I get a message that all tickets for everything are sold out. That was not really the case, because the servers got bombed and all kinds of problems happened. To be fair, many were able to get in and out without a problem. If I recall correctly, the reopened tickets again and I was able to get in and out with the games I wanted for my family and as gifts. I'd give my K-Club experience about a B because I did get tickets to what I wanted (more or less) but it was much harder than I expected.
The next big issue is the secondary market. That is a nightmare. There are several FB groups that sell tickets and 99% of them are full-on scams. The FB K-Club group is a lot safer, as you cannot get there without being in the K-Club so the sellers are a little bit of a known quantity (I guess). I feel badly for people who get scammed out of their money in their desperation to get tickets - it happens many times per day. I am not really sure what they (The Bananas) can do, though something came across my radar recently that might help. They own their own ticket agency and do not have the horsepower of a Ticketmaster but they might need to adopt one of the programs they have.
Recently I put in for a lottery for tickets at a venue here in Washington, DC. No paper tickets, all virtual. The person who bought the tickets has to be the one going to the concert. If they want to resell, the only way to do so is through something Ticketmaster set up and it has to be at face value. If the Bananas can do something like that, at least people would have a chance on the secondary market for legitimate tickets.
Last year I thought we were not going to be able to go to any more games since getting tickets was hard when they played in the College League. Leaving the college league, and going on a US tour made them even harder to get, though the K Club made access possible. We may be Banana'd out in our family after 3 years or so.
just notified I did not “win”the lottery for Hartford. Bummer.
I love the concept of the Bananas, but I’m not sure enough to actively seek out watching them on TV or streaming. Would be nice if they got to some bigger venues as has been mentioned above. Seems like an experience that would be much better in person.
And all the credit in the world to them for being this successful and popular.
I love the concept of the Bananas, but I’m not sure enough to actively seek out watching them on TV or streaming. Would be nice if they got to some bigger venues as has been mentioned above. Seems like an experience that would be much better in person.
And all the credit in the world to them for being this successful and popular.
Disclaimer: I have not seen them anywhere other than Savannah, and Grayson holds about 4,000 people.
I am not sure how well the "act" translates to the larger stadiums. In watching on TV, they have gotten better at involving the further reaches of the 10k parks they are going to, but I am not sure how it would scale to a place like Fenway or larger. Of course, that won't stop them for trying. Unlike the Globetrotters (whom they are often compared to) a lot of the "fun" is fan interaction and as the venues grow it gets harder and harder to keep everyone involved.
Too bad about the Hartford miss - tickets are very hard to come by. I do wonder about the long term prospects of this. Sure, there is a mad frenzy now, but what about in 2 or 3 years - will the excitement wane? I like the idea of what they are doing, but to be honest, I think I liked them in the College Summer league a bit better.
Two plays from yesterday’s Bananas game made the ESPN Top 10. One just a grest baseball play, one a great Banana play.
ESPN+ seems to have a few games On Demand
ESPN+ seems to have a few games On Demand
The Bananas play in Brockton tomorrow, then in Portland Friday and Saturday, so some locals will get to see Banana Ball in person. (We're going Saturday.)
I saw them in Hartford and it lived up to the hype. The best way I can put it is my 13yo daughter is usually bored at baseball games. She didn’t take her eyes off the field.
10/10 recommend.
https://x.com/nut_history/status/1691272349612388352?s=46&t=iJ0XfY8p_sD24cvcPYYoTQ
10/10 recommend.
https://x.com/nut_history/status/1691272349612388352?s=46&t=iJ0XfY8p_sD24cvcPYYoTQ
Any chance someone has one ticket to sell for the Saturday game (8/19) in Portland? I managed to get four tickets and would love to have our family of 5 get to go.
I just sent their marketing manager a message to try to bring the team to my city next year. This stuff is too fun.
Glob report on the Bananas from the Brockton game:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/08/18/sports/banana-ball-professional-baseball-players/
Johnny Damon made an appearance:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/08/18/sports/banana-ball-professional-baseball-players/
Johnny Damon made an appearance:
It was awesome, despite the rain. What a fun product. Although I hope the fan participation waivers are airtight. This was between innings. The moms had to run to first base, put lunch bags in the backpacks, pick up a kid on second base, pick up a kid on third base, and then run home. Watch until the end. I think everyone was OK.
https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/sJwpfFTpQEWGoZc6JU5Tlg.RhY9GgIYDf1BGRKps1Uyph
https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/sJwpfFTpQEWGoZc6JU5Tlg.RhY9GgIYDf1BGRKps1Uyph
I learned only recently that the mastermind behind this is Jesse Cole from Scituate. I played with and against the guy. He was a baseball junky but not a huge guy and definitely got the most out of his body. Good on him for coming up with this concept.
Are you sure about this? Link? The Bananas site is still doing lottery sign-ups, and I have gotten email but not phone verification from my entry the other night. I was under the impression that the actual ticket sale was quite a ways down the road. Is there another source I'm missing? From my email:
-------------------------------------------
We're trying to keep tickets in the hands of REAL Bananas fans. In order to keep the bad guys out, we’ll need to authenticate you as a good guy.
After clicking the link above to verify your email address, we will send a text message to your cell to link your phone to your email.
Again - please allow up to 24 hours to receive this text message. It's gotta go up to mars and come back, ya know.
You'll have plenty of time to verify your information before the lottery list closes at the end of November.
You will not be eligible for the Ticket Lottery until you verify your email address AND your phone number.
I"m in the same boat. I verified email - no phone verification. Tried the email verification again it says I'm already on the list. So sounds like their tech isn't working properly.
The sale today (and tomorrow and Saturday) is for anyone who is a member of the K-Club. It is something you pay for to get early access to tickets and a separate line to get in the stadiums.
You are correct on the lottery, those games open up later.
I joined the lottery for tickets to both Greensboro and Durham next summer. I got the emails for both, but only got phone verification for the Durham game. It definitely seems that their tech isn't working 100%.
Just got an email today that stepped through the process of sending a text to verify my phone since my text from the Bananas never came through. Hopefully those folks who never got a text received the same.
I am still waiting, though since they have already sold me tix, maybe they do not need to verify.
Good luck whenever the next opportunity arises for more tickets.
Nick Swisher (who is made for the Bananas) and John Cena make appearances. It will be interesting who they pull for the games in Boston this summer.
They've already had Spaceman, Damon, Papelbon, Peavy - not sure if I'm missing any. They all fit the Banana's slightly off kilter personality traits so who else should they try and get - Tavarez? El Guapo? Millar? Obviously Pedro is never a bad guy to have around.
That is correct, but in Fenway, I'll bet they really go all out. Jesse Cole is coming home and some high-enders like Papi or Pedro might not be a crazy as it sounds. I am looking forward to the game.
I registered in the initial lottery, and received a lottery verification.
There is ALSO going to be a season ticket holder pre-sale, but you had to register in advance a couple weeks back.
There is ALSO going to be a season ticket holder pre-sale, but you had to register in advance a couple weeks back.
Good for you! I did the lottery for a game in Savannah and did not get in. Good luck once the time rolls around.
Interesting on a pre-sale for season ticket holders - I had not heard that before.
The MLB stadiums are going to be a challenge for them; scaling from 4,000 seat SAV to 10,000 minor league parks probably taught them a lot of lessons. Let's see how it goes from 10k to 40k+. It is still open seating, but for my BOS tickets, I am limited to certain sections, I do not have free run to sit anyplace (which makes perfect sense).
Season ticket holders usually are given a pre-sale (or even a set-aside sale) opportunity for nearly every event - concerts, other sports, and so forth - with VERY FEW exceptions. The only exceptions were the NHL Winter Classic events, and we were IMMEDIATELY and pro-actively informed that it was unlikely that we would be allowed to purchase tickets (we weren't) and when the BC-Notre Dame game came to Fenway as well. I am also a Boston College football season ticket holder, and because it was a Notre Dame home game, they didn't control the ticketing, either.
The most recent (current) one is for the upcoming Pearl Jam concerts in August, we were invited to pre-register for a lottery because a quantity of tickets are being set aside for us.
I wouldn't be surprised if there's no STH presale for this.
I've heard lots of feedback that the Bananas have incredibly high demands of venues that host them, not least of which is near-total control over every seat.
I've heard lots of feedback that the Bananas have incredibly high demands of venues that host them, not least of which is near-total control over every seat.
That is interesting. I know they are really anti scalping, I wonder if this want of control is a by-product of that.