LISTEN: The Savannah Bananas have revealed next year's schedule, which for the first time will include games at MLB ballparks. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.
Fans of the Savannah Bananas' no-holds-barred brand of baseball will have more chances than ever to catch a game next year, as the team announced its 2024 schedule at a livestreamed event Thursday night in front of hundreds of fans at Grayson Stadium in Savannah.
Eighty-four games of “Banana Ball” will be played in 26 cities across the country from February to October — enough dates to accommodate more than 1 million fans, according to the team.
Even big-league venues want a bite of the Bananas: In a sign of just how popular the viral phenomenon has become, six MLB ballparks will host games, including the oldest venue in the league: Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, on June 8.
Other MLB ballparks on the tour include those of the Houston Astros (March 9), Washington Nationals (July 13), Cleveland Guardians (Aug. 10), Philadelphia Phillies (Sept. 21) and Miami Marlins (Oct. 12).
Twenty-three home games will be played at Grayson Stadium. With a current capacity of 4,000 people, the team announced that the city-owned ballpark would add an additional 1,000 seats in time for the home opener on Feb. 23.
Elsewhere in Georgia, the Bananas will play three games from March 22 through March 24 at Lawrenceville's 10,427-seat Coolray Field, home of the Atlanta Braves' Triple-A affiliate Gwinnett Stripers.
Most games will be played against the Party Animals, an arch-rival roster fielded by the Bananas organization, who have begun to generate their own fanbase donning the team's black and pink jerseys featuring a chimpanzee logo. Retired MLB players will also take the field for some games against the Bananas, as they did earlier this year.
Other cities on the tour include:
Tampa Bay, Florida (Feb. 8-10)
Peoria, Arizona (Feb. 15-17)
Jacksonville, Florida (March 1-3)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana (March 14-16)
Durham, North Carolina (April 12-14)
Albuquerque, New Mexico (April 20-21)
Mesa, Arizona (April 25-28)
Fresno, California (May 3-5)
Sacramento, California (May 9-11)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (May 16-18)
Columbus, Ohio (May 24-26)
Nashville, Tennessee (June 13-15)
Indianapolis, Indiana (June 27-29)
Buffalo, New York (July 5-7)
Louisville, Kentucky (Aug. 1-3)
Norfolk, Virginia (Aug. 16-18)
Salt Lake City, Utah (Aug. 30-31)
Des Moines, Iowa (Sept. 6-8)
Following the season's last game at the Miami Marlins' LoanDepot Park, the Bananas will charter a four-night cruise to the Bahamas, dubbed “Bananaland at Sea.”
A new in-house team similar to the Party Animals was announced: the Firefighters, who rode into the outfield at Grayson Stadium on a fire truck from the Savannah Fire Department.
Bananas owner Jesse Cole unveiled a new rule of Banana Ball known as the “Golden Batter.” In what could be seen as a funhouse-mirror version of traditional baseball's pinch hitter, the rule gives a team one opportunity each game to bring any player to the plate at any given time, regardless of their spot on the lineup.
In order to purchase tickets through the team, fans will need to sign up for the Bananas' ticket lottery before Dec. 1. A random drawing for ticket availability will be held about two months before each game.
