Banana Ball and the Future of Baseball: A Night to Remember with 81,000 Fans at Death Valley
A record-breaking crowd and a bold new twist on America's pastime.
This week I want to tell a bit of a story. One that I'm not really connected to but have found an interesting thread that I think I can weave together.
As I've shared in previous articles, I'm a huge baseball fan. I also very much want to pass that love on to future generations, it’s one of the biggest reasons I coach youth baseball. It's no secret that baseball has been fighting for attention in an increasingly fast-paced world, and finding ways to make the game more accessible, more exciting, and more joyful has been something that's often on my mind.
Crossing Paths at Wofford
In the fall of 2003, a freshman pitcher named Jesse Cole showed up at Wofford College. I had just graduated that spring and had started my career working nighttime help desk support on campus. Wofford was a small school back then — only about 1,200 students — so even though I don’t specifically remember meeting Jesse, it’s likely our paths crossed at some point. After all, we both shared a love for baseball and a drive to bring it to others.
Jesse’s journey took him down a remarkable path. After an arm injury ended his playing career, he discovered a passion for entertainment while working in Wofford’s theater department. He realized he loved the show just as much as the sport.
From Summer League to Savannah
Fast forward a few years: Jesse became the general manager of a small collegiate summer league team, the Gastonia Grizzlies. The team wasn’t doing well. Instead of doubling down on baseball fundamentals, Jesse took a different approach: he focused entirely on the fans. Players danced. Promotions got wild. Games became events rather than just competitions. And it worked — attendance surged.
But Jesse didn’t stop there. In 2016, he and his wife Emily founded the Savannah Bananas, a new collegiate summer league team that would fully embrace their "Fans First, Entertain Always" mantra. From dancing coaches to players on stilts to senior citizen dance squads ("The Banana Nanas"), every moment at a Bananas game was engineered to delight. They sold out every single game, built waitlists of thousands, and quickly became a phenomenon.
Inventing Banana Ball
Still, Jesse noticed that even with all the entertainment, the game of baseball itself needed a jolt. Games were too slow. Attention spans were too short. And so, he created Banana Ball — a new, fast-paced version of baseball with rules designed to maximize action and engagement:
Games are capped at two hours.
Fans can catch foul balls for outs.
No bunting (bunt and you’re ejected!).
Walks turn into chaotic sprints around the bases.
No mound visits allowed.
Tie games are settled by a one-on-one showdown between hitter and pitcher.
Banana Ball wasn’t just a gimmick — it was a reimagining of baseball itself. It tapped into something that many of us who grew up loving the game already knew deep down: baseball could be fun, fast, and accessible without losing its heart.
A Night to Remember at Death Valley
Last weekend, I had the chance to be part of something truly historic. Last Saturday on April 26, 2025, Banana Ball set a new attendance record: 81,000 fans packed into Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, better known to football fans as “Death Valley”, to watch a baseball game. Let that sink in for a minute: 81,000 people for a baseball game.
Jesse Cole, still proudly wearing his yellow tuxedo, led the energy from start to finish. It wasn’t just a game; it was a full-blown celebration of fun, athleticism, and community. Watching kids, parents, and grandparents all laughing together, it struck me: this might just be how you keep the spirit of baseball alive for the next generation.
Experiencing Banana Ball Firsthand
I took my family and some of my children's friends to the event. It was an experience like nothing they had ever seen before. That many people at an event all at the same time and the party was non-stop. Music was changing almost every single pitch, side acts, trick plays, dancing everywhere, and the kids were loving it.
Now that I've seen a Banana Ball game, I have a much better understanding of it. Yes, it's the Harlem Globetrotters of Baseball, but for a baseball fan like myself, it's so much more. It's how you GROW the game. It's how you bring future generations into loving hitting and fielding a rubber and cork ball covered in cowhide around a baseball diamond.
The truth is, with events like Banana Ball, it's easy to be excited about baseball reversing its shrinking appeal and finding new and youthful energy for the sport. It's absolutely a different version of baseball, but so is softball, and the two coexist beautifully.
It's amazing what you have created, Jesse. I know we're only loosely connected at best, but what you have built and are doing truly is something to behold. Now if you could only fix the parking situation so we aren’t stuck in hours of traffic after the game!