How one minor-league team is proving that baseball doesn't have to be boring.
SAVANNAH, Ga. — It’s three hours before the first pitch, but the Savannah Bananas already are well into their pre-game routine on a hot, humid day in June.
Part of the pre-game entertainment includes players leading the sold-out crowd — all games are sold out — in singing “Hey Baby.” Like the girl in the song, everyone wants to give the Bananas a whirl these days, or to be whirled by the Bananas. Clearly, the Bananas have tapped into something other baseball teams haven’t. But what? Cole laughs, which he does often, then pauses to consider the question.
Most tickets are general admission and cost $20. That includes all the hot dogs, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, popcorn, chips, water and soft drinks you can eat and drink. The song played during the seventh-inning stretch isn’t “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” it’s “Yellow” by Coldplay, of course.
They found a stadium, and a team, in disrepair. They invested every dime they had and sold one season ticket in the first two months. Gillum is in his office, accessed via a few steps down from the dugout. The clubhouse and the office would make those in the movie “Bull Durham” look palatial. An uneaten sandwich is on Gillum’s desk and his boots are under it. A new player has reported and Gillum’s trying to get him outfitted while making sure everyone else is doing what they are supposed to do.
Gillum’s a baseball lifer. He played in high school and college. For the last 11 years, he’s been an assistant coach at South Mountain CC, where he also is the health and wellness program director, and he’s spent summers coaching in the Cape Cod League and the Texas Collegiate League. The Bananas who compete in the summer league aren’t paid salaries, although some have benefitted from NIL deals with the team. Some live with host families, who also provide some meals. Playing in the CPL usually requires a financial commitment by the players and their families.It’s not normal to wear cowboy boots with your uniform, as Gillum, who is from Oklahoma, does for home games. Or to imitate Tom Hanks’ character in “A League of Their Own.
“We don’t take baseball too seriously,” he said. “It’s not a job, it’s not a business. It’s a game that kids play and that’s what people love about it.”While the Bananas’ popularity has soared, Major League Baseball continues to struggle to retain its audience. The games move too slow and last too long. To a TikTok generation, and to many others, there is too much downtime and not enough to look at. Connection with the players is minimal.“We greet our fans at 5:30 ,” Gillum says.
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