I have never watched a Banana Ball game, but I’ve heard of these. It’s basically the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. Right now, if you’re interested, a game is happening live on YouTube:
I gotta say, I love the uniforms these guys are wearing. And for those of us who are still learning about this version of baseball, the rules were helpfully provided in the description of the video:
🍌 Banana Ball Rules: 🍌
1. Every Inning Counts: The Team with the most runs at the end of the inning gets a point, the team with the most points wins the game! In the last inning, all runs count for a point!
2. Two Hour Time Limit
3. No Stepping Out of the Batters Box
4. No Bunting
5. No Mound Visits
6. Walks are Sprints
7. If a Fan Catches a Foul Ball it’s an Out
8. Batters Can Steal First
9. One on One Showdown Tiebreaker
Well that was a lot of fun.
I had never heard of banana ball.
I particularly liked the fans catching a foul ball rule. Could you imagine the debates on MLB if such a catch was the difference in a game?
This does make me wonder how much more fun MLB would be if some of the looser rules were adopted. But, of course, there is always the crowd that takes the game SUPER seriously, and this would never fly.