SAN ANTONIO – Two teams are facing off this week at Nelson Wolff Stadium in the city’s first banana ball showdown, a fast-paced twist on traditional baseball.
The Texas Tailgaters faced off against the Party Animals on Friday, Sept. 12, and will meet again on Saturday, Sept. 13.
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The Savannah Bananas popularized banana ball with viral videos on social media showing players performing choreographed dances and scoring celebrations.
Here’s everything you need to know before heading out to the fun.
What is banana ball?
While it might look like regular baseball at first, banana ball has its own set of quirky rules.
- According to banana ball rules, every inning is worth one point. Whichever team gets the most runs in an inning gets a point for that inning, except for the last inning, where every run counts.
- There is a two-hour time limit. No new inning can be started after two hours. In the last inning of the game, every run counts.
- No stepping out. If the hitter steps out of the box, it’s a strike.
- No bunting — a hitter is ejected from the game if they bunt.
- Batters can steal first base on any pitch of an at-bat. This can happen on a pass ball or a wild pitch.
- No walks allowed. If a pitcher throws ball four, it becomes a sprint. The hitter will take off running while every defensive player on the field must touch the ball before it becomes live. The hitter can advance to as many bases as they want. The ball does not have to touch the catcher or pitcher.
- No mound visits allowed from the coach, catcher or any other player at any time. If needed, they can hype up their pitcher from afar.
- If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out.
To read more rules, including the showdown tiebreaker, the banana ball challenge rule and the golden batter rule, click here.
Tickets
Tickets for games are sold out, according to a spokesperson for the Savannah Bananas organization.
“There typically has never been an opportunity for tickets to be bought day of game,” the spokesperson said. “We also encourage fans to stay away from third-party sellers, as these tickets can potentially be fake, and are sold at very high prices, compared to tickets sold through us, which range between $35-$60.”
Party Animals roster
The Party Animals are the rivals of the Savannah Bananas.
The following players are on the Party Animals roster:
- #20 - Sal Jacobo, UTL
- #26 - Nate Tellier, P
- #40 - Mark Smith, DR
- #13 - Brady Kais, P
- #23 - Blake Benson, P
- #18 - Armando Becerra
- #5 - Andy Cosgrove, C
- #X - Jake Skole, OF
- #2 - Jason Swan, 1B
- #4 - Tanner Thomas, OF
- #6 - Reece Hampton, OF
- #8 - Bryson Bloomer, 3B
- #9 - Dustin Baber, 2B
- #10 - Bret Helton, P
- #11 - Chase Achuff, SS
- #12 - Noah Fisher, UTL
- #17 - Dalton Ponce, P
- #21 - Riyan Rodriguez, P
- #27 - Jake Lialios, P
- #28 - Drew Gillespie, P
- #25 - Sean Fluke, P
- #41 - Bronson Balholm, C
- #777 - Garett Delano, P
Texas Tailgaters roster
The Texas Tailgaters, which made their debut this year, will be the headlining team.
The following players are on the Texas Tailgaters roster:
- #9 - Andrew Mann, P
- #10 - Brett Carson, PF/P
- #0 - Brian Trepanier, P
- #12 - Christian Davis, P
- #21 - Cole Kitchen, P
- #7 - Indy Stanley, C/OF
- #23 - Joe Sperone, P
- #22 - Nelson Smith, DR
- #24 - Jon Reid, P
- #17 - Nick Lopez, UTIL
- #11 - Mac Danford, 1B/3B
- #13 - Marcos Castillo, OF
- #27 - Rodrigo Sanchez, P
- #26 - Taj Porter, C
- #28 - Kollin Stone, P
- #99 - Jimmy Lewis, P
- #85 - Taylor Justus, C
- #3 - Jayson Arendt, OF
- #14 - James Taubl, P
- #33 - Tre Jones, OF
- #1 - Jonathon Luders, INF
- #5 - Jorden Hussein, SS
- #2 - Zach Watson, OF
- #16 - Travis Moniot, INF
- #37 - Zach Blankenship, P
To view player stats for both teams, click here.
The Party Animals and Texas Tailgaters will also play in Round Rock on Sept. 19-20.
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