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Savannah Bananas come to Chicago for the 1st time: ‘It’s the hottest sporting event you can go to’

The Chicago White Sox stadium will be filled this weekend, but not because of Luis Robert Jr. and company. You won’t see black jerseys but a splash of yellow instead.

The Savannah Bananas come to Rate Field on Friday and Saturday for a pair of sold-out games as part of their 2025 Banana Ball World Tour. It’s the first time the viral, groovy baseball team will play in Chicago.

“Chicago is actually (on our) top-five list of interests from fans,” team co-owner Emily Cole said. “It’s a very highly anticipated city for us. The White Sox have been wonderful to work with.”

The games start at 7 p.m., but game day can be an all-day affair. Fans can meet players, mascots and team officials at 2 p.m. at the “pregame plaza” located in the parking lot north of 35th Street. The “Before the Peel” show begins at 3, and those with tickets to the game can get autographs from players, sing karaoke or dance to the Banana Pep Band and a DJ.

Fans can choose their own adventure, and Cole believes they get their money’s worth.

“It’s the greatest show, the greatest party and the hottest sporting event you can go to,” she said. “It will bring family and friends together so that they can all enjoy something at the same time.”

Bananas games are competitive and unscripted — this weekend’s games are against the Firefighters, one of three touring partner teams — but they look different from what baseball fans are used to. The teams play by Banana Ball rules, which have a goal of keeping fans entertained.

A prominent one is the two-hour time limit. When the Bananas began in 2016 as a wooden-bat college summer league team, Cole and her husband and co-owner, Jesse Cole, put cameras on fans to track behaviors: when they left for the bathroom, when they looked at their phones, etc.

They realized when fans zoned out and wanted to minimize fans leaving early.

“If we start at 7 p.m., we were shown that folks got up to leave at around 9 p.m.,” Cole said. “Fan habits were showing us that two hours was about the limit.”

Savannah Bananas pitcher Dakota Albritton throws against the Firefighters at Coors Field on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Denver. (Andy Cross/Denver Post)Savannah Bananas pitcher Dakota Albritton throws against the Firefighters at Coors Field on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Denver. (Andy Cross/Denver Post)

Among the other rules:

  • Teams score points by winning innings.
  • It’s a strike if you step out of the batter’s box.
  • Bunting gets you thrown out of the game.
  • You can steal first base.
  • If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out.

Cole sees these as an “evolution” of baseball.

“Look at the game of baseball, what parts don’t add excitement? Let’s do the opposite,” Cole said. “We’re developing Banana Ball behind closed doors, working toward it and twisting it around.”

In the development of Banana Ball, there are no bad ideas. Jesse Cole — perhaps while wearing his yellow tuxedo — has thrown some wild pitches in brainstorming sessions.

“The wildest idea that I continue to shoot down is that Jesse would like all of our players to skydive to a position,” Emily Cole said. “Maybe it will happen, but that’s a wild one. If that’s our limit, then we’ve got a pretty wide berth of things we can do.”

The Savannah Bananas and co-owner Jesse Cole sing "The Circle of Life" as a baby in a banana costume is held in the air before the Bananas play the Firefighters at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Aug. 1, 2025, in Baltimore. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)The Savannah Bananas and co-owner Jesse Cole sing “The Circle of Life” as a baby in a banana costume is held in the air before the Bananas play the Firefighters at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Aug. 1, 2025, in Baltimore. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
The Savannah Bananas perform a kick line before taking on the Firefighters at Angel Stadium on May 30, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)The Savannah Bananas perform a kick line before taking on the Firefighters at Angel Stadium on May 30, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)

If you’ve been on TikTok, you’ve probably seen the Bananas dance numbers. In a 3-2-2 — third pitch to the second batter in the second inning — players and umpires will bust a move. On a scale of one to 10, Cole said the dancing will be at an 11.

Bananas players put immense effort into the dances. Starting pitcher Ryan Kellogg said the team spends the hour before first pitch rehearsing, as well as sessions during the week. The team has danced to various artists such as Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift and Mariah Carey.

Kellogg, who stands 6-foot-6, said he’s improving at the dance breaks.

“I am not a good dancer,” he said, “but I will say that I’ve gotten better.”

The Chicago trip will find Kellogg in familiar territory. The 31-year-old was drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round in 2015 after a successful career at Arizona State. In six minor-league seasons he posted a 20-28 record, 4.12 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 316 strikeouts in 137 games.

“I’m very excited to be back in Chicago,” Kellogg said. “My parents are there and it’s always a good time.”

The plate umpire dances during a game between the Savannah Bananas and the Firefighters at Coors Field on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Denver. (Andy Cross/Denver Post)The plate umpire dances during a game between the Savannah Bananas and the Firefighters at Coors Field on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Denver. (Andy Cross/Denver Post)

Kellogg’s major-league dreams were cut short when the Cubs released him in 2021. After one season in an independent league, he was without a team in 2023. While on vacation with his wife in Mexico, he contacted a friend to see if there was a baseball opportunity in that country.

That’s when he was pointed to Savannah, Ga., where the Bananas needed an arm.

“When the Cubs didn’t renew my contract at the end of ’21, I thought it was going to be the end of it,” Kellogg said. “Having this opportunity now, I’m getting to do it in a fun way that brings the fun back to the game.”

It required a slight transition to the new rules — especially the no-walks rule — but Kellogg was on board with the Coles’ vision. While it’s still competition, the emphasis on fun is a nice change of pace.

Savannah Bananas starter Ryan Kellogg delivers against the Party Animals at Excite Park on July 25, 2023, in San Jose, Calif. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)Savannah Bananas starter Ryan Kellogg delivers against the Party Animals at Excite Park on July 25, 2023, in San Jose, Calif. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

“Don’t get me wrong, I love baseball, but this is a different way (where) not everything is about performance like it was in the minors or college,” Kellogg said. “It frees you up a little bit and allows you to have fun and be a kid again.”

Added Emily Cole: “We’re at a point now where people are choosing to play with us over other opportunities, and that speaks a lot to the idea that they just have fun playing Banana Ball. We got into baseball for the love of the game, but then it gets too competitive or it becomes a job and we lose some of that love.

“Our goal is to go out there and have fun (being) around the game we grew up loving. I wish everyone in the world could wake up and have a job they’re excited to go to.”

In the minors, players get fined for signing autographs during a game. The Bananas not only give out autographs, but also interact with the crowd in other ways. Fans should expect to be involved with the game, including dancing and even the chance to use a fan challenge to reverse a call.

“One of our main focuses is to break down that barrier between athletes and the fans,” Emily Cole said. “So (these rules) are a great way to do that.”

Savannah Bananas mascot Split marches through the crowd as fans are let into Angel Stadium on May 30, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)Savannah Bananas mascot Split marches through the crowd as fans are let into Angel Stadium on May 30, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)

Jesse Cole was born about 25 miles south of Boston. He had a childhood dream of playing for the Red Sox, but a shoulder injury in college diverted his baseball path to coaching. He was sitting in a dugout when he developed an unexpected feeling.

He was bored.

Cole went to North Carolina to run the Gastonia Grizzlies — a team in the Coastal Plain League, a summer league for college players — and decided to shake things up. When Emily saw Jesse for the first time, she saw something she never had before.

“He’s the general manager of the team, keep in mind,” Emily said in a “60 Minutes” interview. “He’s on the field teaching his players how to do the ‘Thriller’ dance.”

They were married three years later.

Together they launched a new Coastal Plain League team in 2016 in Georgia, naming it the Savannah Bananas. Concessions were all you can eat, and the focus was fun over competition. They won three championships in seven years but left the league in 2022 to pursue Banana Ball year-round.

Savannah Bananas fans cheer during a game against the Party Animals at Memorial Stadium, home of the Clemson Tigers, on April 26, 2025, in Clemson, S.C. A crowd of 81,000 attended the game, the first at a college football stadium. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)Savannah Bananas fans cheer during a game against the Party Animals at Memorial Stadium, home of the Clemson Tigers, on April 26, 2025, in Clemson, S.C. A crowd of 81,000 attended the game, the first at a college football stadium. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

The Bananas have three touring partners — the Party Animals, Firefighters and Texas Tailgaters — and they sold out most of their 2025 tour, including some NFL and college football stadiums. But popularity often comes with disdain. Some see Banana Ball as an embarrassment to baseball, a silly version of the sport.

The Coles hear the criticism — but not over the love from the Bananas faithful.

“Whenever you do something different in life, society has taught you to look down on that thing,” Emily Cole said. “There are a lot of people that don’t agree, and that’s OK. We are true to ourselves and we believe that there are plenty of people out there that want to be entertained like this.”

This weekend’s games will be full of home runs, dancing and a version of baseball Chicago will see for the first time. Kellogg said there’s a 99.9% chance that fans will want to see the Bananas again.

“You will not be bored for any period of time while you’re at the ballpark,” he said.

Originally Published: August 14, 2025 at 6:00 AM CDT

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