Inside The Rangers

Banana Boy Does Best to Distract Houston Astros, Cheer on Texas Rangers in ALCS

A San Antonio teenager dressed in a banana costume behind home plate went viral during Game 4 of the ALCS between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros.
Art Garcia|
Banana Boy Does Best to Distract Houston Astros, Cheer on Texas Rangers in ALCS
Banana Boy Does Best to Distract Houston Astros, Cheer on Texas Rangers in ALCS

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ARLINGTON, Texas – Even “Banana Boy” isn’t exactly helping at this point.

For those watching Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday night between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, there was no way to avoid the teenage boy wearing a banana costume in a suite behind home plate at Globe Life Field.

The FS1 cameras sure couldn’t.

Christian Saenz, a 13-year-old San Antonio junior high school student, saw the fruit suit at costume store in his hometown and came up with a plan.

“When I was at the Spirit Halloween store, I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I can wear this to the Rangers game and try to be a distraction to the Astros,’” Christian said, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The teenager was jumping up and down, waving his arms and apparently having the time of his life. The gag caught the attention of social media, not to mention millions of viewers.

It didn’t work so well in slipping up Houston pitchers. The Astros won 10-3 to tie the best-of-seven series 2-2 going into Game 5 on Friday afternoon back the Globe Life Park.

Despite the blowout, Christian didn’t slow down. With his parents also in the suite, his one-man party continued into the late innings. Their phones were blowing up throughout the game as banana-mania spread.

“I don’t mind the attention if I’m in a crowd, but I don’t know about everyone talking about just me,” Christian told the paper. “I was just trying to distract the Astros for my team. I wasn’t expecting all this.”

Not that the attention was all bad.

“I’m just happy I’m making people smile,” he added. “That’s pretty cool.”

Why Rangers Will Win Game 5

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Art Garcia
ART GARCIA

Art Garcia (@ArtGarcia92) has watched, wondered and written about those fortunate few to play games since the 1990s. Award-winning stops at NBA.com, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and San Antonio Express-News dot a career that includes extensive writing for such outlets as ESPN.com, FOXSports.com, CBSSports.com, The Sporting News, among others. He is a former professor of sports reporting at UT Arlington and continues to work in the communications field. Garcia began covering the Dallas Mavericks right around Mark Cuban purchasing the club in 2000. The Texas A&M grad has also covered the Cowboys, Rangers, TCU, Big 12, Final Fours, countless bowl games, including the National Championship, and just about everything involving a ball in Texas.

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