(C) BoingBoing
This story was originally published by BoingBoing and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



Baseball too boring? Check out Banana Ball [1]

['Gail Sherman']

Date: 2024-05-10  

Baseball isn't always very exciting. Even as a dedicated fan, I can admit this. Major League Baseball has made some improvements to speed up the game, like the pitch clock. Many things still slow down the game – mound visits, endless foul balls, and, even with the ghost runner, four-hour games thanks to extra innings. Minor league teams entertain fans with stuff like bat dogs. The Savannah Bananas have thrown the MLB rule book out the window with Banana Ball.

The Savanah Bananas started as a summer collegiate league team in 2016. During their successful run in the Coastal Plain League, they created Banana Ball as something fun for the fans. They split their players into two teams, the Green Bananas and Yellow Bananas, obviously, and created a new set of rules. Some of these are brilliant, and some of them are hilarious. If the batter bunts, they are out. Same with stepping out of the batter's box – an immediate out. There are no mound visits and no walks. My absolute favorite rule is that if a fan catches a foul ball, that is also an out.

Here is the complete set of Banana Ball rules:

On-field shenanigans are clearly encouraged.

The team even recreated the finale from Dirty Dancing. These guys have some moves.

I don't think MLB will implement any of these changes, but Banana Ball looks like a lot of fun. In 2022, the team left the league and switched to playing Banana Ball full-time. They have sold out games in major league parks like Fenway. At Minute Maid Park, a member of the Party Animals, Banana Ball's Washington Generals, hit a home run off 61-year-old Roget Clemens. Every game for the 2024 season is sold out. However, cabins are still available for Bananaland at Sea if you prefer your baseball with a side of norovirus.

Previously: Dear baseball: replace it with all Simba Cams, all the time!

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2024/05/10/baseball-too-boring-check-out-banana-ball.html

Published and (C) by BoingBoing
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/boingboing/