Savannah Banana Roster – The Savannah Bananas team has players like Mat Wolf, Bill Leory, and Ryan Cox on their official photo roster. They’re a Georgia baseball team and play games at Grayson Stadium, which became their home in 2016. In 2022, their unique way of playing, Banana Ball, became popular, so they kept playing exhibition games. Fans are excited to know all the details about who’s on the Savannah Banana Roster.
Before, they played in a group called the West division of the Coastal Plain League. They did so well that they won the Petitt Cup Championships all three times they joined in, from their first year to their last.
The Bananas are super famous on TikTok, where they have more than six million fans. They’re one of the coolest college teams that many people love. When they started, around 80,000 people came to watch their first season’s 25 games. So, let’s talk about all the players that make up the Savannah Banana Roaster.
Savannah Bananas 2023 Tour Schedule
Dates: Next year, in 2023, the Savannah Banana Roster has big plans – they will visit 32 different cities, which is a lot more than the five cities they went to in 2022. The games in all these cities will start at 7 p.m. local time, and you can get in at 5:30 p.m. But there are a few special games: the one on March 5 in Jacksonville, Florida; the game on June 24 in Birmingham, Alabama; and the first game of a doubleheader on September 9 in Milwaukee – these will start earlier, at 1 p.m. local time.
Just like how the Globetrotters have their rivals, the Washington Generals, the Bananas will mostly be playing against the Party Animals.
Their season kicked off on February 17 in West Palm Beach, Florida. When they play in Savannah, they’ll be at the Grayson Stadium, which they call Bananaland. This used to be where the Savannah Sand Gnats played, but they moved to Columbia, South Carolina. The stadium was first built in 1926, but it had to be fixed up in 1941 because a hurricane messed it up in 1940.
| Date | Location | Game Time |
|---|---|---|
| March 2 | Savannah, Georgia | 7:00 p.m. |
| March 4-5 | Jacksonville, Florida | 1:00 p.m. |
| March 10-11 | Savannah, Georgia | 7:00 p.m. |
| March 13 | Savannah, Georgia | 7:00 p.m. |
| March 16-18 | Sugar Land, Texas | 7:00 p.m. |
| March 24-25 | Montgomery, Alabama | 7:00 p.m. |
| March 31 | Scottsdale, Arizona | 7:00 p.m. |
| April 1 | Peoria, Arizona | 7:00 p.m. |
| April 6-7 | Savannah, Georgia | 7:00 p.m. |
| April 13 | Savannah, Georgia | 7:00 p.m. |
| … | … | … |
| August 30 | Savannah, Georgia | 7:00 p.m. |
| September 1-2 | Savannah, Georgia | 7:00 p.m. |
| September 4 | Savannah, Georgia | 7:00 p.m. |
| September 8-9 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1:00 p.m. |
| September 14 | Syracuse, New York | 7:00 p.m. |
| September 16 | Cooperstown, New York | 7:00 p.m. |
Savannah Banana Players in 2023
Next year, in 2023, you’ll see some familiar faces on the Savannah Banana Roster, like Michael Deeb, Malachi Mitchell, and Jackson Olson. Right now, there are twenty-four skilled players on the Savannah Banana roster. Interestingly, a few of them have played in the NCAA Division I before.
In their latest game, the starting positions were held by players like Meadows, Deeb, Jones, Oberst, McFadden, Cox, Olson, Leroy, Bridges, Hosley, and Luigs. These are the main players who usually start for the team. Leroy, for instance, catches the ball for the University of North Georgia’s team. He’s known for flipping the bat after a hit and hitting the ball really hard.
Bill’s leadership helped the Savannah Bananas win the Petit Cup Championship, and he was even nominated for the 2021 Second All-CPL second team. Another important player in the 2023 Savannah Bananas team is Eric Jones.
He also catches the ball. Jones is from North Carolina and can hit from both sides of the plate. He’s good at throwing the ball and working with the pitcher. Now, let’s talk about Luigs. He’s a pitcher from Georgia Southern University. He throws the ball with his right hand. He’s known for his fast throws, a tricky slider, and a changeup that surprises the batters.
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Coaches Leading the 2023 Savannah Bananas
In 2023, the Savannah Bananas team is guided by coaches Eric Byrnes, Tyler Gillum, and Adam Virant. Tyler Gillum has been a key part of the team for five years, and they’ve won two Petit Cup titles with him. After the 2022 season, Gillum agreed to be the head coach for the Banana Ball World Tour team for a whole year. He’s won an award twice for being a great coach in the CPL league. He’s known for helping players get better and finding new players who can play Banana Ball.
Eric Byrnes brings a lot of excitement to the team with his energy. He’s like one of the most lively people around. Adam Virant is the newest coach on the team and is also important. He’s managed the Bananas and the Party Animals in Banana Ball games. He’s helped the main coaches a lot.
Before coming to the Bananas, Adam Virant worked with a good young sports program called the Bulldog Ball Club in New York City. Tyler Gillum and Adam Virant are good at teaching baseball and making the players excited. Eric Byrnes played in the big leagues and is always energetic.
Adam Virant also helps Berry Aldridge. Berry takes care of all the plans for the team. Berry went to Armstrong State University. Players Luigs and Leroy don’t just play – they also help coach the team.
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Cheerful Cheerleaders at Savannah’s Banana Games
Let’s introduce you to the fun group of cheerleaders who make the Savannah Banana Roster even more exciting – the Banana Nanas. These are not your usual cheerleaders; they’re a bunch of experienced senior women who bring their special energy to every game.
They wear bright yellow tutus, banana earrings, and cool sunglasses that make them stand out. But it’s not just their looks – they also sing and dance along to songs like “Hey Ya!” by Outkast, “All Star” by Smash Mouth, and “I’m a Believer” by Smash Mouth.
During the games, the Nanas dance, play games with the crowd and throw T-shirts to keep everyone entertained. And there’s a fun character called Nana Split, who is a big banana wearing glasses and a wig – the mascot of the Banana Nanas.
The group has women of different ages and jobs who all come together to create a lively team. Karen Olenick, the captain, makes sure they know their dance moves before every game. On the field, Maceo, the energetic coach at first base, does cool moves while the Nanas cheer from the side.
People love the Banana Nanas, not just in Savannah but in other places too. Big newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN have talked about them. They even inspired another group called the Man Nanas, who are middle-aged men who also cheer. The players on the team even do dances that the cheering groups made up.
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Nashville & Future Dates to Buy Savannah Bananas Tickets
Want to see the Savannah Bananas play? You can grab your tickets from Vivid Seats. For the Tulsa game, they had the cheapest tickets at $140. And if you have little kids under three, they can come in free – no need for a ticket because they won’t need a seat.
Getting tickets to watch the team’s Coastal Plain League games won’t cost you a lot, either. In the old days, a ticket was just $20, and it even covered things like hot dogs, burgers, and soda.
If you’re thinking about Bananas tickets in Nashville, you have choices. You can find them for as low as $168 on CloseSeats, or they might be a bit more expensive, around $276 on VividSeats. The team is also going on their Banana Ball World Tour and playing a fun game against the Party Animals. Put June 2, 2023, on your calendar – it’s happening at Nashville’s First Horizon Park.
There are still twelve more dates left for the Banana Baseball 2023 World Tour, but all the tickets for those games are already sold out. If you were hoping to get tickets, you could have checked Ticketmaster or the team’s official website.
Some FAQs
Q1: Are the Savannah Bananas for Real?
A1: The Savannah Bananas are based in Savannah, Georgia, and they’re known for playing special baseball games. Imagine them being like the Harlem Globetrotters, but in baseball. Although their main place is Savannah, they travel to different places to entertain their fans.
Q2: How Much Money Do Savannah Bananas Players Make?
Players on the Savannah Bananas team earn around $200,000 for each game they play at home. They also make extra money by playing special exhibition games called Banana Ball.
Instead of playing in the Coastal Plain League in 2023, the team chose to play in a different kind of schedule with 70 special games. They’re on a tour right now, visiting 33 cities in 22 different states. One of the players, Luigs, plays and helps coach the team.
When it comes to exactly how much money they make, it’s not very clear. Even in smaller leagues, players don’t make a lot of money. So, even though playing in the Coastal Plain League might not bring in a lot of money, the special Banana Ball events help them earn a good amount.
Conclusion
As part of their World Tour, the Savannah Bananas had performances in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Las Vegas during May. But that’s not all – their journey also took them to places like Scottsdale, Charleston, Peoria, Tampa, Montgomery, Jacksonville, and Sugar Land. This sums up the key information about the Savannah Bananas and their tour.
