This might be a slight diversion from our normal posts, but last Friday night, I took JR to the Savannah Bananas game in Baton Rouge. If you have plans to go (anywhere), here are a few things to keep in mind.
First of all, if you are going for the baseball, don’t go. If you are a baseball purist, you will hate this experience. It is much more akin to a Harlem Globetrotters game than a Yankees game, so just keep that in mind.
Personally, I thought I was going to hate it, and whilst I did not love it, it was better than I expected. The players are all very talented, and it is quite a spectacle. I am not sure if this holds true at every venue, but in Baton Rouge, there was no assigned seating, so it was a made rush to find a place to sit amongst friends, but beyond that, the atmosphere was fun.
When we arrived, there were multiple shops at which merchandise could be purchased, and several players available to sign autographs. You might ask what interest there actually is in the autograph of a Banana, but kids at least up to the age of 12 love it. I bought JR a ball, and he got about half a dozen signatures. Even though the value of those signatures is little, monetarily, it was a great experience for JR, and all of the players were super-friendly.
In terms of the game itself, there are a few rules which are important to note. Most important is that the game stops at 2 hours, which was a huge relief. Additionally, points are only awarded at the end of the full inning to the team who scored the most runs. So if the Bananas, who are always the home team, give up 2 runs in the top of the first and score 5 in the bottom, they are up 1-0.
That leads to my next point of emphasis, they always play the same team, the Party Animals. These guys are basically just as good at baseball as the Bananas, and also try to put on a show.
What I Didn’t Like:
There isn’t a ton of commitment to the quality of the game play. It is clearly not meant to be high end baseball, and that was a detractor for me.
The umpires. They spent a lot of time dancing, more than one would expect in under almost any other circumstance. I felt like it took away from my enjoyment.
The walk rule. After a four ball at bat, the runner sprints to as many bases he can reach until everyone on the other team touches the ball. It sounds interesting, but it just ends up with runners sprinting to first and outfielders sprinting to second.
What I Liked:
As before mentioned, the 2 hour time limit, and the player/audience engagement. At one point, the left fielder player catch prior to the inning with my son and two of his friends, that was pretty cool.
The mid-inning entertainment. Between half innings, there was often a show of sorts. The best one was when two dad, each with two kids were selected from the crowd to stand and home plate. The kids were given a ten second head start and ran into the outfield, after which each dad was responsible for wrangling his youngsters. This was hilarious, and my favorite part of the whole experience.
All-in-all, I am glad that we went, and my son had a great time. I think my 16 year old daughter would have enjoyed it, but it might have been a bit much for the three year old. It was definitely a good experience, but if someone offered us tickets again in the future, I would try to find an excuse not to go.