Are the Savannah Bananas Scripted? The Show Is, but the Competition Isn’t

If you’ve ever watched the Savannah Bananas and thought, “There is absolutely no way all of this is spontaneous,” congratulations.

You’re right.

And also completely wrong.

That contradiction may be the best way to understand Banana Ball.

The dances are rehearsed. The walk-ups are planned. The celebrations are choreographed. The entertainment team knows where people need to be, cameras are positioned for specific moments, and some of the biggest spectacles are mapped out long before the first pitch.

But who wins?

That part is real.

The baseball itself is not scripted.

And that distinction may be the secret behind why Banana Ball works.

So, are Savannah Bananas games scripted?

The shortest answer is:

The show is scripted. The competition is not.

Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole has addressed the question directly. He has said the dances, performances, walk-ups and celebrations are planned and rehearsed, sometimes beginning days before a game. But when the actual Banana Ball game begins, the result is not predetermined. That means Banana Ball occupies a fascinating middle ground between traditional sports and live entertainment.

It has a script.

It just doesn’t have a scripted ending.

Think Broadway meets baseball

Imagine going to a Broadway show where everyone knows the choreography, the lighting cues and when the music starts.

Now imagine that halfway through the show, nobody knows how the story is going to end.

That’s basically Banana Ball.

The Bananas openly acknowledge that players perform choreographed dances during games. Their famous “3-2-2” routine—the third inning, second batter, second pitch—is one example of an entertainment moment built directly into live baseball action.

The organization also plans walk-ups, scoring celebrations and other moments designed specifically to surprise and entertain the crowd.

But after the dancing stops, somebody still has to throw the pitch.

And somebody still has to hit it.

That changes everything.

The most important part isn’t scripted

This is where comparisons to professional wrestling or the Harlem Globetrotters can become misleading.

Those comparisons make intuitive sense because Banana Ball looks theatrical.

But the competitive element is different.

Major League Baseball’s coverage of the Bananas has specifically noted that the action on the field is not scripted and that wins and losses matter to the players. Former professional players have described the games as legitimately competitive, with high-level athletes throwing in the 90s and hitting balls hundreds of feet.

CBS’s 60 Minutes made the distinction even more plainly: the entertainment is scripted, but the baseball is real competition.

That uncertainty is critical.

A player can rehearse a dance perfectly and then strike out 30 seconds later.

A pitcher can know exactly when the music stops but have absolutely no idea whether the next pitch is getting launched into the seats.

A spectacular trick play can fail.

And a team can lose.

That risk is what keeps Banana Ball from becoming merely theater dressed up as baseball.

Actually, “scripted” may be the wrong word

Here’s the more interesting question:

Is every professional sporting event scripted to some degree?

The Super Bowl halftime show certainly is.

NBA arena entertainment is.

Mascot routines are.

Player introductions are.

Music cues are.

Video-board segments are.

Commercial breaks are.

Even the exact moment players run onto a field can be timed to the second.

Traditional sports have always surrounded unscripted competition with scripted entertainment.

The Savannah Bananas simply erased the wall between the two.

Instead of waiting until between innings to entertain people, the Bananas let entertainment invade the game itself.

And that is why the experience can feel so strange the first time you watch it.

Your brain keeps asking:

Am I watching a baseball game or a show?

The answer is yes.

Why script the entertainment at all?

Because spontaneity is overrated.

That sounds almost sacrilegious in sports, where fans love the idea that everything is happening naturally.

But creating a consistently entertaining live event for tens of thousands of people requires preparation.

The Bananas describe themselves with a simple philosophy: “Fans First” and “We Entertain Always.” Their operation includes choreographed dances, unusual entrances, celebrations and dozens of planned entertainment moments.

Recent MLB reporting described a sophisticated entertainment operation in which major moments are planned across departments and video crews have schedules telling them where they need to be and when.

That isn’t evidence that Banana Ball is fake.

It is evidence that the show is professionally produced.

Disney doesn’t leave a parade to chance.

Broadway doesn’t tell the cast to “just see what happens.”

And the Bananas don’t accidentally create hundreds of viral moments every season.

They manufacture the opportunity for something memorable to happen.

Then they introduce the one ingredient nobody can fully control:

A live baseball game.

The genius is the collision between control and chaos

This may be the most interesting thing about the entire Banana Ball model.

The organization controls almost everything it can control.

Music.

Timing.

Choreography.

Costumes.

Camera placement.

Entrances.

Celebrations.

Promotions.

But it intentionally refuses to control the thing that makes sports sports:

the outcome.

That creates a collision between precision and chaos.

And chaos is where some of the best moments come from.

A perfectly rehearsed dance could be followed by a home run.

Or a strikeout.

Or an error.

Or a fan catching a foul ball for an out.

Nobody knows.

Even the performers don't.

That uncertainty gives the scripted parts more energy because they are constantly crashing into something unpredictable.

Are the trick plays scripted?

This is where the answer gets even more nuanced.

Some trick plays and entertainment concepts can clearly be practiced beforehand. Players train to make unusual catches, transfers and throws, and the organization encourages creativity on the field.

But practicing a move is not the same thing as predetermining whether it will work during live competition.

A basketball player practices a behind-the-back pass.

A quarterback practices a flea flicker.

A soccer club practices set pieces.

Nobody calls the game scripted merely because the athletes practiced something spectacular beforehand.

Banana Ball simply practices things traditional baseball teams might never attempt.

The better question: What exactly are we watching?

Maybe the debate about whether Banana Ball is “real baseball” misses the larger point.

It isn't trying to be traditional baseball.

It is trying to answer a different question:

What happens if you keep the uncertainty and athletic difficulty of sports, but redesign nearly everything surrounding it for entertainment?

That experiment has produced something difficult to categorize.

It is not exactly baseball.

It is not exactly theater.

It is not professional wrestling.

It is not the Globetrotters.

It is not a circus.

It borrows pieces from all of them.

And perhaps that ambiguity is one reason people cannot stop debating it.

So are the Savannah Bananas fake?

No.

They are manufactured.

There is a difference.

The environment is heavily produced.

The entertainment is carefully engineered.

Some of what looks spontaneous is anything but spontaneous.

But the athletes still have to perform the difficult part live.

The pitch still has to cross the plate.

The batter still has to make contact.

The catch still has to be made.

And nobody backstage gets to write down the final score beforehand.

That may actually be the most Banana Ball thing of all:

They script everything they possibly can.

Then they leave the ending to baseball.

Are Savannah Bananas games scripted?

The entertainment portions are heavily planned and rehearsed, but the actual Banana Ball competition and game outcomes are not predetermined.

Do Savannah Bananas players rehearse their dances?

Yes. The organization openly says its players perform choreographed dances, and rehearsals are part of preparing the show.

Do the Savannah Bananas know who will win before the game?

No. According to the organization and independent coverage, the competition is real and the outcome is not scripted.

Are Savannah Bananas trick plays planned?

Players practice entertainment routines and unusual baseball skills, but executing those plays during live competition is not guaranteed.

See additional Savannah Bananas on si content!

Banana Bowl 2026: Savannah Bananas DJ Predicts Something Fans Have Never Seen Before

Who Is Jared Orton? Meet the Savannah Bananas President

Savannah Bananas History: From Empty Stadium to National Phenomenon

Add us as a preferred source on Google