RBIs. OBP. SLG. AVG. BB%. IP. PA. HR. IP. SB. K%. ISO. BABIP. SO. If you know what any of these mean, you have some understanding of “America’s pastime”: baseball. I’ve played baseball for 11 years and had to google what the baseball statistics isolated power (ISO) and batting average on balls in play (BABIP) mean. Baseball is a complicated sport which is why it is not fun to watch. The MLB 2022 World Series hosted a little over 12 million viewers online. Almost the same number of viewers that tuned into “America’s naptime” a golf tournament called the Masters. Besides MLB games having lasted up to 8 hours and 6 minutes long, there are various reasons why baseball as a whole is not fun to watch. However, with the rise of the Savannah Bananas and their game Banana Ball, viewers don’t have to ask Alexa to play Sugar, Sugar by the Archies to watch elderly people dance. Instead, viewers can turn their attention to the sidelines of a Banana Ball game to watch these 65+ year olds shimmy and shake with all their might.
One of the main problems with watching baseball is that it can last forever if one team never outscores the other. Banana Ball solves this problem with ease, applying a strict 1 hour and 50 minute time limit to each game. Furthermore, the MLB has a history of long at bats where batters step out of the batter’s box – the area allowing the pitcher to throw a pitch – and take their sweet time after each pitch before reentering the batter’s box (allowing the pitcher to throw another pitch). This behavior draws out baseball games and has no place in a game of Banana Ball. If a batter steps out of the batter’s box in a Banana Ball, they are given a strike (three strikes and the batter is out). Finally, mound visits are prohibited in Banana Ball preventing further delays in the already shortened game of baseball.
Another problem with watching the game of baseball is that the only fan engagement consists of the various fan cameras and the singing of “Take me out to the ball game” in the middle of the 7th inning. The Savannah Bananas (the creators and hosts of Banana Ball) fixed this by interlacing games with fun activities, such as: baptisms of a babies in banana suits, players acting out dances and stunts during the game, and fans impacting the score of the game (homeruns caught in the air are outs). These engaging components, when combined with the Bananananas (a cheerleading squad with members starting at age 65), leave fans always on the edge of their seats.
Finally, the general game play of Banana Ball is far superior to that of baseball. Hate when a player gets walked? There are no walks, rather on ball four the batter takes off sprinting around the bases until every field player has touched the ball. Enjoy stealing? Batters can attempt to steal first on a pitch that misses the catcher. Hate bunts? They are an automatic out.
Overall, Banana Ball is simply superior in every way, shape, and form. This entertaining spinoff of baseball makes “America’s pastime” significantly shorter, loads more engaging, and only costs $35 a ticket. What better ways are there to pass time? Definitely not a boring “normal” baseball game.
