dancing queens

The Savannah Bananas are taking baseball (and TikTok) by storm with their flamboyant flare

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There are many tried and true ballpark traditions: “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” the seventh-inning stretch, overpriced concessions. But one team is turning the ballpark experience on its head, with plenty of theatrics and group dance numbers.

Welcome to Bananaland!

The Savannah Bananas, an exhibition barnstorming team based in the picturesque Southern city, embark on an 80-game tour each season. For select contests, they play their brand of Banana Ball, which features a two-hour time limit, fans catching foul balls for outs and players stealing first base.

Folks who attend games at Grayson Stadium, which is ad-free, are treated to an array of shenanigans.

Let’s go team girls!

The Bananas may not be a gay baseball team per se, but their colorful antics are definitely homo-adjacent. They’re always performing, honey, and the diamond is their stage.

With more than 8.4 million followers on TikTok and 2.5 million on Instagram, it’s fair to say their flamboyant flare is the most viral form of baseball going today. (For comparison’s sake, the New York Yankees have 1.3 million followers on TikTok.)

Ballplayers are great and all, but piano men are even better!

@thesavbananas

Our piano MEN? #savannahbananas #bananaball #outkast #pianocover #mlb #baseballboys

? original sound – ?

The Bananas debuted in 2016, and for the first six years of their existence, were a collegiate summer team. They won three championships in the Coastal Plain League’s West division.

Always experimental, the Bananas embarked on their first “world tour” in 2021, which took them to Mobile, Alabama for a two-night affair. Then they expanded the tour in 2022, selling out all 14 dates.

From there, the Bananas went full-time exhibition, in the mold of the Harlem Globetrotters. They play a number of challenger teams, including the Party Animals, the Firefighters and Dirty Birds.

And everybody takes part in the fun and games. Is that Mariah we hear?

Why, yes!

@thesavbananas

It’s almost Mariah Carey season, OHH, we meant Christmas season (kinda the same thing though?)?????? #savannahbananas #bananaball #mariahcarey #christmasmusic #dancetok #dancetrend #holidayseason #dancemoms #baseballboys

? original sound – SXR??

There is a long history of minor league teams, many of which play in small cities and rural areas, bending conventional wisdom to sell tickets. Earlier this year, we covered the Dairy Daddies, a club in Southern Virginia with an androgynous mascot, McCreamy.

“He is a bull. This is a Dairy Daddy,” said Dan Simon, who created the brand. “The whole concept centers around the word ‘Daddies.’ The point is, this is a smooth bovine. You know, he’s your daddy.”

Related:

The Dairy Daddies are our new favorite baseball team & they’re ready to milk the minor league dry

The Danville Dairy Daddies take fun team names and mascots to a whole udder level.

While players on the Bananas are too young to be in their Daddy eras, they’re still very easy on the eyes. These boys have style and flair!

@thesavbananas

@Jackson Olson throwing away his shot?? ?NEVER? #savannahbananas #bananaball #hamilton #alexanderhamilton #aaronburrsir #baseballboys

? so american – louliv
@thesavbananas

The Hannah Montana & Banana Ball crossover episode that no one asked for????? @Coach RAC #savannahbananas #MLB #disney #jojosiwa #2000skids #mileycyrus

? original sound – The Kreator with a K

While it’s rare to see any male sports team embrace femininity, that’s especially the case with baseball. Maybe the most conservative sport in the country, young players in the big leagues are often discouraged to show personality.

There have only been 14 out gay pro baseball players in history, including just three in Major League Baseball. All three players, Glenn Burke, Billy Bean and TJ House, publicly come out after their playing careers were over.

But that culture is starting to change. We know that Gen Z is the most expressive generation in history, and young athletes are changing the rules. Boston Red Sox slugger Triston Casas, for example, proudly paints his nails.

We don’t see any mani pedis on the Bananas (yet), but we see everything else! It’s fair to say we are obsessed.

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