Savannah Bananas to play at Fenway Park on Saturday, in team's first game at famed Boston ballpark

Caption

Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling delivers a pitch at Fenway Park in 2006. The Savannah Bananas deliver their unique brand of baseball at the famed park on Saturday, June 8, 2024.

Credit: Creative Commons / David Salafia

Move over, Red Sox: the Savannah Bananas are taking over Fenway Park.

For one night only, that is.

MLB's oldest ballpark will play host to baseball's newest craze on Saturday night, when the barnstorming Bananas showcase their signature brand of no-holds-barred baseball before a sellout crowd of some 37,000 fans.

No, the Bananas won't be taking on the nine-time World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

That wouldn't be fair to the Red Sox.

After all, it was the Bananas who bested Boston legend Johnny Damon and a roster of other retired Major Leaguers last year.

Instead, the Bananas will take on the Party Animals — Savannah's in-house archrivals who, although fielded by the Bananas organization, are in it to win it.

As evident by the Party Animals' 18-26 record so far this season, Banana Ball — as the sport is officially called — can be an unforgiving game. Step outside the batter's box? Strike! Hit a foul ball into the stands and it gets caught by a fan? You're out!

And don't even think about laying down a bunt: Doing so will get you ejected. (Why? As Bananas owner Jesse Cole explained, “Because bunting sucks.”)

But Banana Ball also breeds an undeniably electric atmosphere, owing to its lightning-fast pace, meticulously choreographed dance routines, and spellbinding trick plays that make MLB Golden Glover highlight reels look like child's play.

“The demand is through the roof,” Cole told GPB ahead of the 2024 season, which has seen every game sell out — including the team's MLB ballpark debut at the 41,000-seat Minute Maid Park in Houston. “We added a half million more tickets this year [than last season], by going to Major League stadiums and bigger venues. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before.”

The Bananas' game at Fenway Park will be streamed live on the team's YouTube channel, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. and first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.

It's not just fans who are looking forward to it: So too is 2007 Cy Young Award winner and Red Sox alum Jake Peavy, who served as a commentator during the Bananas' 2024 schedule announcement show.

“It is gonna be a match made in heaven, when you talk about Red Sox nation at Fenway Park meeting Banana Nation,” he said shortly after the Boston date was revealed. “I cannot wait.”