JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Savannah Bananas are adding an additional game in Jacksonville next March as part of their 2023 Banana Ball World Tour, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp announced Wednesday.
The team will play at 121 Financial Ballpark at 7 p.m. March 4, the date that was announced last month, as well as at 1 p.m. March 5.
The Bananas, who play a wild and theatrics-filled brand of Banana Ball on their tour, will play their traditional opponent, the Party Animals, during their tour.
The Savannah Bananas are adding an additional game at 121 Financial Ballpark in Jacksonville for their 2023 Banana Ball...
Posted by Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Wednesday, November 16, 2022
Bananas owner Jesse Cole told News4JAX when it visited Savannah this past July that he’d spoken to Jumbo Shrimp owner Ken Babby about playing a game in Jacksonville.
“The response has been absolutely Bananas for this world tour,” Cole said in a statement. “Everywhere we go we hear from fans begging us to come to their city. We are so grateful for their support and because of their passion for the Bananas and Banana Ball we knew we had to extend the tour dramatically in 2023. Now we are bringing the show to almost four times the amount of cities as we did in 2022 to make sure we are able to connect with as many Bananas fans as possible.
“Taking the Bananas to Jacksonville and the Jumbo Shrimp’s 121 Financial Ballpark, has been something we’ve heard constantly from our fans over the years. Ken Babby and Harold Craw, with the Jumbo Shrimp share a similar passion for the fans and their experience so we are fired up to bring an unforgettable show to them this spring.”
The Bananas’ national profile has exploded over the past two seasons. They were even featured in a five-part documentary on ESPN+. And they had a waitlist of 80,000 for their traditional games in the Coastal Plain League.
The Bananas played two variations of baseball. The team played traditional baseball in the Coastal Plain League throughout the summer. That team was stocked with college players. Cole announced that the Bananas would no longer play in that league in 2023 as it looked to barnstorm around the country on its tour. On its tour, the Bananas play something called Banana Ball, which includes zany antics and modified rules to make the game fast, wild and fun.