Game 1 Recap: Savannah Banana’s takeover Rate Field in Chicago!

Savannah Banana’s Vs The Firefighters in Game One of the weekend in Chicago at Rate Field

The Savannah Bananas played the Texas Tailgaters at Great American Ballpark on Friday June 13, 2025. The game included music, dancing, non-baseball games, backflips and featured Reds players like Todd Frazier, Bronson Arroyo and Sean Casey. The Bananas will play the Texas Tailgaters again on Saturday to a packed Great American Ballpark. / Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This weekend the Windy City played host to the Savannah Bananas and the Firefighter squads. Game one was played on Friday evening and even though we had countless memorable on-field plays and celebrity drop ins the crowd might have stolen the show.

The crowd was responsible for tying a record by recording six outs on foul balls hit into the stands at Rate Field in the first of back-to-back days of Banana Ball in Chicago. We saw moon shots that came straight down and were caught by a bare hand as well as the more well-prepared fans wearing baseball gloves snagging stray shots sprayed all around the 1st and 3rd baselines. The first of which was a laser down the third base line where a young fan threw up an open glove and grabbedthe ball for an out! As time went on this development made the telecast even more exciting as you were waiting to see if, yet another civilian could keep the streak alive. The 2nd inning came to an end due to another fan recorded out! To start the 3rd inning the crowd had already recorded 5 of the 12 outs to that point in the game! Watching fans casually make these spectacular catches made me examine the crowd to see if Matthew Broderick might be out in the crowd rocking a cheetah print vest, but I guess this was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. There was an opportunity to get the 7th out and capture the record but the crowd appeared to be lacking in communication but busting at the seams with tenacity!

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We saw #6 Ryan Cox start off the game with a trick play as he fielded a grounder to short and delivered it just in time to #3 Eric Jones at first base to record the out. Play by play commentators love to use the phrase “routine ground ball“, but a slow bouncing shot is always unpredictable, and Cox snagged the ball did a between the legs cross over and still hurled it to first just in time! This was a tone setter for the weekend, opening the eyes of Banana Ball first timers there in person or watching via YouTube or the televised coverage on ESPN2. A rare blunder in the outfield for the Firefighters in the bottom of the 1st saw a bobbled ball turn into a Banana run scored but with one out in the top of the 2nd the Chicagoland area was introduced to a backflip-pop fly catch in the outfield by #5 DR Meadows! My favorite play of the weekend came in the top of the fifth inning in game 1 as #6 Ryan Cox also pulled off “The Professor” where he fielded a ball hit to short where he did a reverse between the leg dribble of the baseball from his glove into his bare hand and delivered the ball just in time to beat the runner.

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After mid-fifth inning break courtesy of Chicago’s own Chance the Rapper, play resumed in with multiple trick plays to keep everyone on their toes. The sixth inning saw the Firefighters ruin a great moment as 2 time all-star, World Series Champion and former Chicago White Sock - AJ Pierzynski reached on a slider to hit a dribbler to 2nd base before being thrown out at first. AJ further proved to be the gamer that all White Sox fans grew to love as he not only took his turn in the batter’s box but also took up his usual spot behind home plate. Now that AJ was covering the dish it  was fitting when the Banana’s also surprised the forty thousand plus in attendance by bringing #56 Mark Buehrle out of the bullpen and up on to the mound. The five time MLB all star walked to the mound to a thunderous applause from the White Sox faithful in the stadium where his number is retired.

The Banana’s recorded the last out with 7 minutes and 46 seconds to go before the 2-hour time limit was met. The game seemed to absolutely fly by and the stadium appeared to be electric all night! What a great way to bring Banana Ball to Chicago! I can’t wait until next year and fingers crossed hopefully, we can get an opportunity to see Banana Ball in the “Friendly Confines” on the north side of Chicago!

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