I Dreamed the Savannah Bananas’ 2027 Schedule—Then Things Got Completely Out of Control

Maybe I’ve been thinking about Banana Ball too much.

Actually, there’s no “maybe” involved.

The 2026 Banana Ball season is heading toward its conclusion, and one date is already occupying space in my head: October 15.

That’s when we’re expecting to learn much more about what’s ahead for Banana Ball in 2027.

Where will they play?

How much bigger can this thing get?

What stadium hasn’t been conquered yet?

Could Banana Ball expand internationally?

What celebrities might suddenly appear in uniform?

And what could Jesse Cole possibly do that would surprise us anymore?

I started thinking about all of that.

Then apparently I fell asleep.

Because the 2027 Banana Ball schedule I dreamed up became completely ridiculous.

So before we go any further, an important disclaimer:

None of this is reporting. None of it is a leak. None of these games, appearances or collaborations have been announced.

This is my Banana Ball fever dream.

Six teams.

One enormous season.

Big stadiums. Tiny stadiums. Disney World. Cooperstown. Canada. Mexico. Australia. Sweden. Dave Matthews Band. Baseball legends. Sesame Street.

And eventually, outer space.

Welcome to my completely imaginary 2027 Banana Ball Championship League season.

It begins where it should: Savannah

Opening weekend doesn’t happen at the biggest stadium Banana Ball can find.

It happens at home.

Historic Grayson Stadium.

All six teams descend upon Savannah for a celebration of where this whole strange experiment began.

Players from today. Players from the early years. Banana Nanas. Dad Bod Cheerleading Squad. Banana Band. Dancing umpires. Fans who remember when getting a Banana Ball ticket didn’t require entering a lottery and hoping the baseball gods smiled upon you.

Before Banana Ball tries to conquer the world, it remembers where it came from.

Then Jesse gets on a plane.

And everything gets progressively more ridiculous.

Yankee Stadium—with Derek Jeter wearing yellow

We’re dreaming, remember?

So let’s quit fooling around.

Yankee Stadium.

Savannah Bananas versus Party Animals.

Sold out.

And shortly before game time, the video board goes dark.

A familiar figure emerges from the dugout.

Derek Jeter is a Savannah Banana.

Not forever.

One night.

Give him an at-bat.

Let him field a ground ball.

Put Jeter in a choreographed dance and see whether anybody on Earth has enough authority to make him actually do it.

That’s appointment television.

And now we’ve established another rule for my imaginary 2027 season:

Legends can become Bananas.

Roger Clemens wants the ball

If Jeter gets an at-bat, somebody has to pitch.

So later in the season, Roger Clemens gets the ball.

One inning. He joins the Texas Tailgaters. It fits.

Banana Ball rules.

Pitch clock running.

Fans screaming.

Dancing going on behind him.

And somewhere Jesse Cole is wondering whether anybody remembered to explain that a fan catching a foul ball is an out.

Actually, don’t explain it.

That’s funnier.

And then Ichiro walks out

Seattle.

One of my favorite places in the world.

And one of the most recognizable baseball players ever associated with the city walks onto the field.

Ichiro Suzuki.

One game as a Party Animal. Yeah, nope. He is a Savannah Banana.

If we’re really dreaming, don’t announce it weeks ahead.

Let the crowd discover it.

Imagine the reaction when Ichiro walks toward the batter’s box wearing yellow.

There are moments when entertainment doesn’t need embellishment.

That would be one of them.

Banana Ball meets baseball history in Cooperstown

Then we go somewhere completely different.

Cooperstown, New York.

Not because it’s enormous.

Because it matters.

Around Hall of Fame induction weekend, Banana Ball partners in my imaginary universe with Major League Baseball and the National Baseball Hall of Fame for a celebration of baseball’s past, present and wonderfully strange future.

Hall of Famers everywhere.

Kids everywhere.

Banana Ball players walking through the museum and staring at artifacts from Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and generations before them.

Then everybody heads outside and does the least museum-like thing imaginable:

They play Banana Ball.

I’d call it:

Baseball Through the Generations.

And I’d have newly inducted Hall of Famers participate somehow.

Not because Banana Ball is trying to replace traditional baseball.

Because this whole crazy sport exists because people have loved baseball for generations.

Dave Matthews Band meets Banana Ball

Now I’m indulging myself.

But there’s actually a philosophical connection here.

Jesse Cole has talked about the influence of Dave Matthews Band and the idea that fans can return again and again because they don’t know exactly what they’re going to experience.

So let’s finally put those worlds together.

Banana Ball x Dave Matthews Band.

One stadium.

One night.

Banana Ball first.

DMB afterward.

But the collaboration starts during the game.

The Banana Band works DMB songs into the night.

Players choose DMB walk-ups.

Dave Matthews throws out a pitch. Throws like his son—a righty, solid athlete. Strike.

Maybe Carter Beauford takes over the Banana Band for an inning, which seems spectacularly unfair to every other drummer alive.

And after the final out?

Nobody leaves.

The baseball field becomes a concert venue.

No two Banana Ball games are quite alike.

No two DMB concerts are quite alike.

For one night, those ideas occupy the same stadium.

I may buy my own imaginary ticket.

Banana Ball goes to the Little League World Series

This one I would genuinely love.

Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The home of the Little League Baseball World Series.

Every year, Major League Baseball brings two MLB teams to Williamsport for the Little League Classic.

So in my dream, Banana Ball joins the celebration.

Not to overshadow Little League.

The opposite.

Make the kids the stars.

Banana Ball players attend Little League games. Little Leaguers participate in Banana Ball entertainment. Players from around the world meet the Bananas.

Then one night, Banana Ball plays at Historic Bowman Field, where MLB stages its Little League Classic.

Imagine thousands of Little Leaguers watching a sport built around the idea that baseball should be fun.

That one almost makes too much sense.

The smallest Banana Ball game in America

After all that attention?

We disappear.

Find a gorgeous little baseball field in an American town most national sports tours would never visit.

Maybe 1,500 seats.

No suites.

No enormous scoreboard.

Fans right against the field.

And don’t make most of the tickets available nationally.

Give them to the community.

Call it:

The Tiny Ballpark Game.

One of America’s hottest sporting attractions intentionally stages its smallest event of the season.

There are some things you can do when you’re popular that are more interesting than simply getting bigger.

Mexico City

Now we leave the United States.

Mexico City.

Two games.

But don’t simply transport an American Banana Ball production across the border.

Make Mexico part of the show.

Mexican music.

Mexican entertainers.

Baseball legends.

Local traditions.

Maybe Mexican professional players try Banana Ball.

Maybe Banana Ball players try something uniquely Mexican.

Let the city influence the experience.

If Banana Ball is truly going global someday, the goal shouldn’t be exporting Savannah.

It should be discovering what happens when Savannah meets the world.

Oh, Canada

Next stop:

Toronto. My bride owes me a trip there.

Banana Ball meets hockey culture.

Someone takes a walk-up wearing skates.

A hockey star gets an at-bat.

The Banana Band learns “O Canada.”

And yes, there needs to be a penalty box somewhere.

For what?

I have no idea.

We’ll invent an infraction.

Disney World: The six-team Banana Ball takeover

Banana Ball has already experienced Disney.

In my dream, it takes over Disney.

All six BBCL teams.

Several days at ESPN Wide World of Sports.

Banana Ball Disney Week.

Mickey delivers the baseball.

Goofy coaches first.

Donald Duck argues with an umpire.

That feels less like fantasy and more like something Donald would inevitably do.

The Count would be perfect for keeping score, except there’s a problem.

He’s from Sesame Street.

Which brings us to...

Sesame Street takes over Banana Ball

I refuse to abandon this idea.

Sesame Street Night.

Big Bird has perhaps the most problematic strike zone in baseball history.

Elmo interviews players.

Oscar the Grouch heckles everybody from a trash can.

Cookie Monster raids the concession stand.

And The Count handles runs:

One run!

Two runs!

Three runs!

Ah-ah-ah!

It’s ridiculous.

It’s also exactly the sort of thing a six-year-old might remember for the rest of his life.

And that’s a pretty good definition of creating joy.

Justin Timberlake gets drafted

Now we introduce the Banana Ball Celebrity Draft.

Each of the six teams gets one celebrity for a special weekend.

They don’t just wave.

They join the team.

In my dream, Justin Timberlake is first off the board.

Someone else gets an NFL superstar.

Another gets an Olympian.

Another gets a comedian.

Another gets a WWE star.

And one team shocks everybody by drafting...

Madonna

Yes.

Madonna.

And I don’t even want to tell her what she’s supposed to do.

Give Madonna 90 seconds between innings and complete creative freedom.

“Here’s a baseball stadium. Here’s Banana Ball. Do something.”

Then everyone backs away slowly.

The Banana Open returns

I want another Banana Open, only bigger and considerably more unnecessary.

All six teams.

Players.

Celebrities.

Fans.

Golf.

Pickleball.

Home-run competition.

Dance competition.

Cornhole.

Trivia.

Some absurd sport Jesse invents Thursday morning.

Points accumulate.

The winning team receives an absolutely enormous trophy.

The results have no bearing whatsoever on the BBCL standings.

Because not everything fun requires a practical purpose.

The World Uniter Game—Sweden

Then my dream gets a little more ambitious.

Take Banana Ball somewhere unexpected in Europe.

Sweden.

Bring players, entertainers and young athletes from different countries together.

Call it:

The World Uniter Game.

No politics.

No sides.

No grand claims that a baseball game is going to solve the world’s problems.

Just a very simple proposition:

For a couple of hours, thousands of people from different places can laugh at the same thing.

Cheer for the same ridiculous trick play.

Watch kids from different countries meet one another.

Dance together.

Sing together.

Play.

Sport can’t fix everything.

But it can remind us that we have considerably more in common than the internet sometimes suggests.

That’s a Banana Ball experiment I’d love to see.

Sydney: Banana Ball meets cricket

Next?

Australia.

Sydney.

Banana Ball players meet Australian cricket players.

Cricket players attempt Banana Ball.

Banana Ball players attempt cricket.

Neither group is adequately prepared.

Americans wake up at some completely unreasonable hour to watch.

Australians spend the evening wondering what Savannah, Georgia, has unleashed upon them.

Success.

And then someone calls NASA

This is where I apparently entered deep sleep.

Because apparently international Banana Ball wasn’t enough for Dream Kenner.

I wanted interplanetary Banana Ball.

Not a game in space.

We’re saving something for 2028.

One pitch.

From the International Space Station.

Obviously, nobody aboard the ISS is literally throwing a baseball from orbit toward Earth. Even my imagination has liability lawyers.

Instead, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station makes the ceremonial pitching motion in orbit.

At precisely the right moment, back on Earth, another ball is released or delivered to the catcher.

The first ceremonial Banana Ball pitch from space.

The astronaut says:

“Play Banana Ball.”

The stadium loses its mind.

Somewhere, Jesse Cole quietly starts wondering whether the Moon has a suitable ballpark.

Six teams. Six homecomings.

Amid all this insanity, every BBCL team gets something important.

Its own weekend.

Not merely a different jersey.

A weekend built around that team’s identity.

Its personalities.

Its fans.

Its traditions.

Its story.

If Banana Ball’s next chapter is truly a six-team league rather than simply the Savannah Bananas plus everybody else, make us fall in love with all six teams.

The Banana Ball Mystery Game

Then announce a game without announcing anything else.

No opponent revealed.

No entertainment.

No celebrity.

No special uniform.

No hints.

Buy a ticket and find out when you arrive.

The Mystery Game.

Maybe nothing unusual happens.

Which, in Banana Ball, would actually be the biggest surprise imaginable.

The final stop is home

After New York.

Cooperstown.

Williamsport.

Disney.

Mexico.

Canada.

Sweden.

Australia.

Dave Matthews Band.

Jeter.

Ichiro.

Clemens.

Timberlake.

Madonna.

Big Bird.

And outer freaking space...

Come home.

Savannah, Georgia.

Historic Grayson Stadium.

And don’t try to top anything.

Make the final night smaller.

Bring back former players.

Bring back longtime fans.

Show old footage.

Tell stories from the early days.

Let players walk through the stands.

Let kids onto the field.

And then play one more game.

Because before the stadiums and television deals and celebrities and international ambitions, there was Savannah.

There were fans.

And there was baseball.

Then I woke up

So there it is.

My completely ridiculous 2027 Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball schedule.

Will Derek Jeter become a Banana?

I seriously doubt it.

Will Madonna take over an inning?

Probably not.

Will Banana Ball play Sweden, Australia, Mexico or Canada in 2027?

I don’t know.

Will an astronaut throw the ceremonial first pitch from the International Space Station?

Okay, that one’s a bit of a reach.

But that’s precisely why I wanted to write this before October 15.

Because soon enough, we’ll learn what Banana Ball actually has planned for 2027.

And here’s the funny thing.

A few years ago, if I’d written that a baseball team from Savannah would take its dancing players, trick plays and circus-like atmosphere into some of America’s largest stadiums, that probably would have sounded like the most ridiculous section of this article.

Then they did it.

That’s what makes trying to imagine Banana Ball’s future so much fun.

The boundary between “That’s completely ridiculous” and “Jesse Cole just announced it” has become surprisingly thin.

So I’ll enjoy my dream for a little longer.

And on October 15, we’ll see how badly I underestimated them.

See additional Savannah Bananas On SI content!

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