
‘Banana Ball’ Is Coming To Minnesota Next Summer!
The Banana Ball World Tour is bringing its high-energy, one-of-a-kind style of baseball to Minnesota for the first time in 2025. The Party Animals will play at CHS Field in St. Paul on August 1st and 2nd.
The Party Animals began in 2020 as the opponents of the Savannah Bananas, but since then the team has developed its own following. Their mascot is known as "Pharty The Party Animal."
The Savannah Bananas toured six MLB stadiums in 2024, playing in front of over one million fans, and will visit 18 MLB stadiums in 2025. The team will also visit many minor league stadiums, like CHS Field, and three football stadiums.
According to ESPN, 'Banana Ball' began in 2015 when Jesse Cole bought a former affiliate of the New York Mets, which he turned into a summer collegiate league team. After incurring losses around $1 million dollars, the team switched its mascots and turned the game of baseball on its head... and the people started showing up in droves.
ESPN:
The concept is comprised of 11 rules. Stepping out of the batter's box results in a strike, and bunt attempts warrant an ejection. Mound visits are not allowed. Each inning exists as its own entity, and games are limited to two hours. Fans are allowed to challenge calls and can record an out by catching foul balls.
Instead of a traditional walk, batters sprint around the bases on a fourth ball and continue to advance until the defensive team throws the baseball to every fielder. In the event of a passed ball or a wild pitch, batters can "steal first," regardless of the count. A one-on-one showdown is staged in lieu of extra innings, whereby the field empties except for one fielder, the pitcher and his catcher, and the batter attempts an inside-the-park home run upon putting the ball in play.
An 11th rule -- "golden batter" -- was recently introduced, allowing each team one opportunity to deploy any hitter from any spot in the lineup.
Fans hoping to attend the games in St. Paul (or elsewhere) can join a ticket lottery before November 1st for a shot at tickets.
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