Savannah Bananas

The Savannah Bananas are a baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. The Bananas compete in the Coastal Plain League (CPL) in the West division. The team was founded in 2016 and has played at Grayson Stadium since its inaugural season. The Bananas have won two Petitt Cup championships, first in 2016 and again in 2021. The team has sold out every game since the first season in Savannah and every city on the Banana Ball World Tour, totaling over 150 sell-outs. The team has been featured by ESPN, The Wall Street Journal, and Sports Illustrated because of its on-field hijinks and viral videos.[1] The Bananas were named the league's organization of the year in both 2016 and 2017.

Savannah Bananas
Information
LeagueCoastal Plain League (West)
LocationSavannah, Georgia
BallparkGrayson Stadium
Year founded2016
League championships(2) 2016, 2021
ColorsBlue, Green, Yellow
MascotSplit
OwnershipFans First Entertainment (Jesse & Emily Cole)
CoachTyler Gillum
Websitethesavannahbananas.com

History

Following the departure of the South Atlantic League's Savannah Sand Gnats for Columbia, South Carolina, on September 22, 2015, the Coastal Plain League announced Savannah as its newest team to begin play for 2016. On February 25, following a name-the-team contest, the Bananas name, logo and colors were officially revealed by the team.[2][3]

The 2016 Bananas ended their inaugural season as the 1st seed in the CPL West Division, earning home-field advantage for the first two games of the playoffs. In game one, the Bananas beat the Asheboro Copperheads 3-2 with the first walk-off in franchise history. The Bananas then defeated the Forest City Owls 2-0 to win the CPL West Division championship and advance to the Petitt Cup Championship. Game one of the championship was played at Grayson Stadium, where the Bananas defeated the Peninsula Pilots 8–4. The team traveled to Hampton, Virginia where the Pilots' 4–3 win in game two forced an all-or-nothing game three. The Bananas took home the Petitt Cup after a 9–7 win in game three.[4]

The Bananas continued their success on the field, finishing with the best regular-season record in the CPL at 37–13.

In 2019, the team finished with a 35-15 record.

The Bananas made history in the 2021 season. The team had the best start in Bananas history by going 11-0 at the beginning of the summer. After winning the first and second half of the West Division, the Bananas advanced to the CPL Petitt Cup Playoffs. In the first best of three series, the Bananas beat the High Point Thomasville HiToms to advance to the Championship. In the second, the Bananas beat the Morehead City Marlins to become the 2021 CPL Champions.

Attendance

The Bananas recorded over 91,000 total fans at 25 home games in 2016. They broke the CPL's single season attendance record, previously held by the Peninsula Pilots, after only 22 regular season games.

The team also ranked second in average attendance (3,659 fans per game) among 160 collegiate summer teams across the country.[5]

In 2017, they welcomed 108,498 fans, once again breaking the league's attendance record. They also sold out all regular season games, with an average of 4,173 fans each night.

2018 continued the streak of sold out games, with the entire season being sold out with over a month remaining in the regular season. They brought a total of 118,262 fans to Grayson Stadium, shattering their own previously set league records as well as ranking 2nd in the country in attendance for summer collegiate teams.

In 2019, the team had a total of 117,729 fans. For the fourth year in a row, they led the Coastal Plain League in attendance.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the team reduced capacity to 30% to ensure safe distances between fans.

The Bananas sold out the 2021 season in July. This was the first season back to full capacity since the pandemic restrictions were lifted.

References
  1. Heupel, Shannon (March 17, 2022). "Going Bananas! Two wild nights of 'the greatest show in baseball' coming to Montgomery". Montgomery Advertiser. Gannett. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. "Savannah Baseball Announces Team Name and Unveils Logo". Coastal Plain League. February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  3. "Savannah's new baseball team: The Bananas". SavannahNow.com. Savannah Morning News. February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  4. "Bananas Win CPL Championship". The Savannah Bananas. August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  5. Reichard, Kevin (August 15, 2016). "2016 Summer Collegiate Attendance by Average". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
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