The Savannah Bananas will visit Camden Yards on Aug. 1 and 2, 2025, the team announced Thursday night. The Bananas, essentially baseball’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters, will play “Banana Ball” inside the Orioles’ historic home venue as part of their 2025 Banana Ball World Tour.

Once a member of the Coastal Plain League, a summer collegiate baseball league, the Bananas focused on playing a one-of-a-kind version of the sport starting in 2022. “Banana Ball” focuses partially on playing baseball, but the Bananas add elements to their games designed to entertain fans. The Bananas play in kilts and perform dances throughout their games, and there are unique rules that include no bunting and fans catching foul balls for outs. Games last no more than two hours.

The Bananas’ unique playing style has led to a cult-like following. They have more than 15 million social media followers and will play at 18 MLB stadiums in 2025, including Camden Yards. They will also visit Nationals Park on June 27 and 28. The Bananas will play in several football stadiums in 2025, including Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, which seats more than 80,000 people, and Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

“Our goal has always been to be Fans First and to take Banana Ball to as many fans as possible,” Bananas owner Jesse Cole said in a news release. “Now, to be at some of the largest stadiums in the entire country, these venues are something we never could have imagined. We know they will provide an electric atmosphere which will create some unforgettable nights for our fans.”

Tickets are awarded for the Banana Ball World Tour through a lottery system. Interested attendees are asked to sign up for the lottery before Nov. 1. During the sign-up process, customers select the city in which they’d like to attend a Banana Ball World Tour game, and lottery winners will be announced two months before each game. Lottery winners are then given the ability to purchase tickets.

While the Bananas have yet to play at Camden Yards, there are connections between the Orioles and Bananas. Current Orioles pitcher Cade Povich pitched for the Bananas in 2020 and dominated. He made six starts and seven appearances, posting a 2.05 ERA and striking out 23 batters in 26 1/3 innings. Recent Orioles draft picks Jared Beck (2022 selection) and Carson Dorsey (2024 selection) pitched for the Bananas in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Cole said the Bananas and their affiliated teams, the Party Animals and Firefighters, have drawn more than 1 million fans this year. The goal for next year is 2 million.

“We’re not just building a team, we’re building a sport,” Cole said, “It’s all about creating the fastest, most entertaining sport for the fans.”

He takes umbrage with those who call the Bananas nothing more than the Globetrotters with bats and gloves, pointing out that the winner is never predetermined.

“We have people say, ‘Hey, these guys can really play,’ ” he said. “The Bananas actually lost their tour in 2023. They lost more games than they won against the Party Animals. That’s not going to happen to the Globetrotters.”

During its 2024 campaign, the Bananas played before sellout crowds at big league ballparks in Houston, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland, with another packed house expected next week for a game at the Miami Marlins stadium.

The Bananas also will hold 30 games in their home base of Savannah, the quirky city on Georgia’s coast where they were founded in 2016. They play at 5,000-seat Grayson Stadium, which opened in 1926.

“It’s our home,” Cole said. “We have 200-plus people who travel around the country with us, but we always come back to Savannah. It’s the smallest stadium we play at by far, but it’s where it all started for us.”

The Bananas will have a new opponent next season, as a team known as the Texas Tailgaters will join the Party Animals and Firefighters. Cole is now planning to start his own circuit, the Banana Ball Championship League, with two more squads coming aboard in 2026.

One can only imagine what the prize will be for the title-winning team.

A trophy shaped like a banana, perhaps?

“In between the football stadiums and MLB stadiums and 2 million fans, we’re dreaming as big as we can,” Cole said. “We might as well start a league while we’re at it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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