Clemson baseball goes Bananas with fun-filled exhibition

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CLEMSON – Things were a little bananas in Clemson Thursday night. No, they were a lot bananas.

A team made up of Savannah Bananas all-stars faced off against the Clemson Tigers in Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The final score? Not important (but I think it was 4-1). As a baseball purist, I didn’t know what to expect out of the contest, played on a warm autumn night under the lights.

I was too young to care about the designated hitter when it first came out, but I knew I didn’t like the cookie cutter stadiums and artificial turf that prevailed during my youth. Some of the changes made to the game today – wild cards and expanded playoffs and pitch clocks – have drawn mixed reviews from this baseball lover.

The Savannah Bananas are an exhibition barnstorming baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. The team was founded in 2016 and has played at Grayson Stadium since its inception. Banana Ball was born out of the idea of making baseball more fast-paced, entertaining, and fun. The Bananas now field two independent professional teams – The Savannah Bananas and The Party Animals. Both teams are made up of players who are recruited and paid for their play.

The lead-up to the game was chaotic and fun-filled, with players filing in and out of the crowd and the emcee making sure everyone was having a good time. The game itself featured trick plays (a behind-the-back catch in the outfield for a Clemson player and a behind-the-back catch for a Banana first baseman), a pitcher on stilts, plenty of dance moves, and constant engagement between the players and the crowd.

In other words, it’s entertainment wrapped around the guise of a baseball game. And it’s fun. If you’re a grumpy old baseball guy like myself, all it takes is realizing the game is about the entertainment aspect more than if a pitcher trusts himself to throw a 2-1 changeup to the other team’s power hitter. After all, it’s hard for a pitcher who stands 11 feet tall in stilts to get the proper downward plane on a changeup.

At one point, Clemson head coach Erik Bakich was shirtless on the mound.

For Clemson fans who missed out on this opportunity, the Bananas will be back in Clemson in April in Death Valley. The game between the Bananas and the Party Animals is scheduled to take place on April 26, 2025, with tickets to be sold and managed by the Bananas organization and broadcast information to be announced at a later date.

Clemson’s 81,500-seat Memorial Stadium would give the club the opportunity to break its single-game attendance record, which now stands at more than 45,000 after a Sept. 22, 2024 trip to Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pa.

We’ve been told that home plate and the infield will be on the WestZone side of the stadium, and a large net covering what will undoubtedly be a short left-field porch.

BANANA BALL RULES

RULE 1: WIN THE INNING, GET THE POINT

Every inning is worth one point. The team that gets the most runs in an inning, gets a point for that inning, except for the last inning, where every run counts.

RULE 2: TWO HOUR TIME LIMIT

You get the idea. No new inning can be started after 2 hours. In the last inning of the game, every run counts.

RULE 3: NO STEPPING OUT

If the hitter steps out of the box, it’s a strike.

RULE 4: NO. BUNTING.

Bunting sucks. If a hitter bunts, they are ejected from the game.

RULE 5: BATTERS CAN STEAL FIRST

On any pitch of an at-bat, the hitter can try to steal first base. This can happen on a pass ball or wild pitch.

RULE 6: NO WALKS ALLOWED

If a pitcher throws ball four, it becomes a sprint. The hitter will take off running while every defensive player on the field must touch the ball before it becomes live. The hitter can advance to as many bases as they want. The ball does not have to touch the catcher or pitcher.

RULE 7: NO MOUND VISITS ALLOWED

Let’s keep the game moving. No mound visits from the coach, catcher, or any other player at any time. Hype your pitcher up from afar if needed.

RULE 8: IF A FAN CATCHES A FOUL BALL, IT'S AN OUT

Why not let the fans get in on some of the action? Whatever you do, just don’t catch a foul ball.

RULE 9: SHOWDOWN TIE BREAKER

If the game is tied at the end of the two-hour time limit, the game will go into a Showdown Tiebreaker. In each Showdown, the hitter must score. If they score, it’s worth one point. If they get out, it’s worth no points and it’s called a Showdown Shutdown.

ROUND 1: Pitcher, catcher, and one fielder vs one hitter

ROUND 2: Pitcher and catcher vs one hitter.

ROUND 3: Pitcher, catcher, and one fielder vs one hitter with bases loaded.

In this Final Showdown, every run counts as a point. If no team has won after three Showdowns, they will continue with the bases loaded and one fielder until one team has won.

If at any point a homerun is hit over the outfield wall, it’s a walkoff win and the game is over.

RULE 10: THE BANANA BALL CHALLENGE RULE

In Banana Ball, each team is allowed to challenge one ruling on the field. The coach of each team will have a challenge prop/item that they must throw/shoot on the field before the next pitch for the play to be challenged.

The play will be reviewed by the broadcast and the call will be replayed to the Umpire Field Chief to make the call. If a team wins the challenge and the call is overruled, the team will retain a challenge for later in the game. If the call is upheld or the challenge is inconclusive, they will lose their opportunity to challenge for the rest of the game.

THREE CATEGORIES OF CHALLENGES:

-Fair/foul ball calls

-Force/tag play calls

-Catch plays in the outfield or infield

THE FAN CHALLENGE RULE:

In addition to each team’s challenge, the fans will have one opportunity to challenge a ruling during the game.

Prior to the game, the fans will choose one fan to represent them. The fan representative will have the opportunity to challenge one play a night.

If the fan representative chooses to challenge, the fan will shoot off confetti and hold up the “Fan Challenge” sign to make it official.

RULE 11: THE GOLDEN BATTER RULE

One time a game, a team may send any hitter in the lineup to bat in any spot.

Goal of the rule: Your best hitter can hit when the game is on the line.

Examples:

Ex 1.) Due up in the lineup are hitters 6,7, & 8. 6 & 7 make the first two outs. The team then uses the Golden Batter Rule to hit their #3 hitter in the 8-hole. The #3 hitter reaches base. The 8-hole would stay in the game, but he would not hit. The next hitter is the 9-hole. If the #3 hitter was on base and his spot in the lineup came to bat then the #8 hitter would become the pinch runner. Also if eligible the Designated Pinch Runner could run.

Ex 2.) The Golden Batter could technically hit back-to-back in one inning if the team chose to do so.

Coach Bakich wraps up an incredible day at DKS. 🍌 🐾 👏 🔊 pic.twitter.com/ZXPJKNLOgL

— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) November 8, 2024

🔥 @dionbrown_24 & Co. got the 🕺 https://t.co/yN3vdsCZcE

— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) November 8, 2024

Jay Dillard… Certified Country Boy 🤠@jaydillardd pic.twitter.com/tTiIw83pGM

— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) November 8, 2024

HEYYYY, HEYYYY BABY 🔥#Clemson x @BananaBall_ pic.twitter.com/QYPnDPNqSs

— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) November 7, 2024

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