![]() ![]() “I get light-headed a little bit,” Lee said. Savannah Bananas’ Bill Leroy (1) celebrates his two-run home run against the Party Animals in the third inning at Excite Park in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Since then, he said he’s been doing yoga regularly, swimming every day, throwing every other day and hoping that the Bananas team doctor will clear him so he can return to the mound. He passed out on the field after what first responders considered a “cardiac episode.” Then there’s the 76-year-old Lee, who has been on the DL - “not the disabled list, the dead list,” he said - since a particularly hot night last August, when he tried warming up in the bullpen but his body couldn’t handle it. Most of the players are in their 20s or early 30s, former big league prospects and college standouts who have chiseled abs and bulging biceps. ![]() A little after 4 p.m., the VIBs (Very Important Bananas) entered the stadium and strolled onto the field to mingle with the players, who were already in full uniform and practicing dance moves. Tuesday’s party started early, with music playing at 3 p.m., four hours before first pitch. He’s a popular guy, taking selfies with fans and serving as a part-time stadium announcer while leading between-innings entertainment and climbing on the bleachers to dance with the crowd. It means a lot.”Ĭole is getting every penny’s worth out of his banana-colored New Balance sneakers. I never knew this could make such an impact on so many people. “The amount of people who follow us everywhere - wherever we go, we’re mobbed. This year’s tour is already “100 times bigger than it was last year,” said Cole, whose team was featured on an ESPN documentary and will play in big league parks next summer. Now approaching the home stretch of their summer-long, nationwide tour, the Bananas took over the San Jose Giants’ ballpark so seamlessly a casual onlooker might’ve guessed it was their home stadium.Ī baby is introduced to the crowd by the Savannah Bananas and owner Jesse Cole, in hat, before their game against the Party Animals at Excite Park in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Barnum & Bailey circus and it’s an authentic baseball game at the same time,” said 76-year-old Bill Lee, a former Major League Baseball All-Star who is now part of the Bananas’ traveling roster whenever his body allows. This is silly, boundaryless, highly unusual and deeply intoxicating fun that is being had by everyone from the twerking umpires to the do-si-doing concession stand workers, from the youngest kid in the stands to the oldest player on the field. Not just enjoy-a-ballgame-on-a-Tuesday-night fun. It’s all about the three-letter word: fun. The most riveting competition taking place at Excite Ballpark on Tuesday night, when the trailblazing Savannah Bananas brought their sold-out, Harlem Globetrotter-like show to the 81-year-old ballpark in San Jose, actually has nothing to do with baseball. SAN JOSE - It was about the third inning - or maybe the fourth, it really doesn’t matter - that a little girl standing near third base threw a pie at her dad’s face and revealed the point of the whole thing. ![]()
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