September is a big month for baseball. The best teams are fighting for spots in the MLB playoffs. But one team in another league is stealing the show. Fans are going bananas for the Savannah Bananas!

On September 13–14, 2025, the Bananas packed 49,000 fans twice into Yankee Stadium in New York. Then they sold out another stadium in Seattle, Washington. Why are the Bananas so a-peel-ing? News-O-Matic went to Yankee Stadium to find out!

“We are not your typical baseball team,” says the Bananas. “We are different.” The team from Savannah, Georgia, plays “Banana Ball.” It is a faster kind of baseball. The players wear funny outfits. They dance. Even the umpire dances! One player, Dakota Albritton, wears stilts on the field.

“We play with a few different rules,” said Reese Alexiades. He said these rules bring “more excitement, more entertainment, and a whole lot more fun.” Each game is only two hours long. A batter can steal first base. And if a fan catches a foul ball, the batter is out!

Alexiades called it a dream to play for the Bananas. He shared a message: “Never give up,” he said. “Always have fun playing the game. The love of the game is what it’s all about.”

Pitcher Jared Donaldson agreed. He said the Bananas “celebrate and have fun with one another.”

The fans join the fun too. Carter Thomas, age 11, liked that fans get to be “a part of the game.” His twin brother, Cooper, enjoyed the silly cheerleaders. They are called the Dad Bod Cheerleading Squad, or the Man-Nanas!

Jesse Cole created the Bananas. That was back in 2015. Now the team is more popular than ever. Their 2025 world tour included 40 cities. Every game sold out. The Bananas may be worth $500 million!

Banana Ball has four teams. Those include the Firefighters, the Party Animals, and the Texas Tailgaters. Two teams will join in 2026. Alexiades promised the Bananas would “keep it going” and take baseball “to new places.”


By Russell Kahn (Russ)
Updated September 22, 2025, 5:00 P.M. (ET)