Best Day Ever!

Three months ago... I won the Banana Ball Ticket Lottery and purchased tickets for my friend and her mom.  A few weeks ago, the plans changed and I was going in her mom's place.

Part of me was excited, because I have wanted to go to a Savannah Bananas game since I heard about them two years ago.  On the other hand, as I have mentioned in previous posts... things are a little hectic with end-of-the-year activities... so I was feeling a little anxious.  But if the title wasn't a hint... it ended up being a really awesome experience.

I was going to document the entire trip in this post, but after realizing most people don't care about where we shopped and what we snacked on during the drive... 50% of the original post ended up on the cutting room floor.

Let's get to the interesting stuff (well the stuff I find interesting)...

We arrived at Angels Stadium... about five hours before the game.  Temperatures were in the low 90's, but we were stuck standing around on the black asphalt with hardly any shade to be found.  The first hour or so wasn't too bad, but thing got a little heated from about 3:30 to 6pm.  Literally.

While everyone waited to enter the ballpark, the Savannah Bananas provided fans with lots of entertainment like singing contests, music, and interactive games.  However standing around on black asphalt in the extreme heat really took its toll on us (especially me).  There was a point where I thought I might pass out.  Thankfully after they opened up the gates... we found a place to hang out in the shade and cool off.

However before we went into the stadium, we grabbed we some Banana merch:

The first time around, I bought a hat (to provide me with some shade), a shirt, and a set of their trading cards (see down below).  A little later in the evening, we got back in line because my friend wanted to exchange her shirt for a different size.  That's when I grabbed foam fingers for each of us.

After recharging our batteries, we started walking around the stadium and eventually made our way to our seats:

It might be a little hard to tell... but we were in the last row of the upper deck.  Even though I have been to this stadium before (back in the 90's), I didn't remember how steep those steps were.  It kinda freaked my friend out.  Outside of the Star Spangled Banner and a few tributes... her butt was firmly planted in her seat.

Now if you've never heard of the Savannah Bananas, they are baseball's version of the Harlem Globetrotters.  It's baseball with a bunch of gimmicks built in to make things fun and interesting.

Here's a quick look at how things are different from the baseball we're familiar with:

Baseball traditionalists probably might not appreciate this style of baseball... but if you have kids and an open mind... then I highly encourage you to attend one of their games.  There's a minor league vibe with all of the mini-games and interactive events between the fans and the teams.

One of my favorite moments was the baby race right before the bottom half of the first inning (skip ahead to 13:30):

Oops!  I got a little ahead of myself.  One of the things I was most excited about were the special guests the Bananas bring out.  The first special guest was Southern California native and 2004 Heisman Trophy winner: Matt Leinart...

He was selected to throw out the first pitch of the game:

One of the quirky rules is that whatever the person throws (ball or strike) actually counts in the game.  Leinart pitched the football for a strike.

If you aren't familiar with Leinart, he spent most of his NFL career on the Arizona Cardinals as Kurt Warner's backup.

Here are a few of his rookie cards of his that I spent almost an hour looking for:

2006 Topps Total #484

2006 Topps #354

2003-04 Collezioni Firenze Campioni di Futuro #57

The other special guest was Anaheim Angels fan favorite: Troy Glaus.  He came in to pinch hit in the bottom of the 7th inning:

Assuming this YouTube video works, here is Troy's at-bat (skip ahead to 1:36:00):

And here are a pair of memorabilia cards of his that I dug up:

2001 E-X Behind The Numbers #NNO

2003 Upper Deck MVP Total Bases #TB-TG (#'d 060/150)

The 2002 World Series MVP singled, but was replaced by a pinch runner after receiving a round of applause.

In addition to the special guests, it was really cool to see all of the trick plays during the game... and entertaining events in between innings.  They went above and beyond to highlight the kids in attendance and get them involved.

But ultimately the Savannah Bananas are about baseball.  Here's a peek at this year's team set of trading cards:

The set was $15 and contains thirty-four cards.  Most of the checklist is made up of players and coaches.

Here's a closer look at the front and back of a player's card:

2025 Choice Savannah Bananas #16

At first glance, I thought this resembled one of the mid 2000's Topps flagship designs.  However I wasn't able to find any matches.

The back of the card features career stats, a fun fact about the player, and their social media accounts.

My favorite card is easily the team mascot:

2025 Choice Savannah Bananas #34

A huge thank you to my bestie for taking me on this awesome road trip.  During this hectic time of the year, it was nice to relax and not think about projects, grades, field trips, dances, or graduation.  Instead it was a day filled with fun banter, tasty eats, lots of shopping, and one of the most entertaining sporting events I have ever attended.  Hard to say whether or not this was truly the best day ever... but it was definitely one of the best days in recent years.  Thanks Jennifer!

As for the rest of you...

Have you ever attended a Savannah Bananas game?

If not, does it interest you?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts down below.

Happy Monday and sayonara!