Banana Ball by Jesse Cole Published by Penguin on May 16, 2023
Genres: Biography & Autobiography / Sports, Business & Economics / Leadership, Sports & Recreation / Baseball / General
Pages: 272
Format: Audiobook
Amazon|Barnes&Noble|Goodreads
The Savannah Bananas have peeled back the game of baseball and made it fun again.
This is their story.
For his entire childhood, Jesse Cole dreamed of pitching in the Majors. Now, he has a life in baseball that he could have only imagined: he met the love of his life in the industry; they shaped Savannah, Georgia’s professional team into the league champion Savannah Bananas; and now the Bananas have restyled baseball itself into something all their own: Banana Ball.
Fast, fun, and outrageously entertaining, Banana Ball brings fans right into the game. The Bananas throw out a first banana rather than a ball. Their first-base coach dances to "Thriller" or Britney between innings. Players run into the crowd to hand out roses. And the rules themselves are bananas: if a fan catches a foul ball it’s an out; and players might go to bat on stilts or wearing a banana costume. And their fans absolutely love it.
But the reason this team is on the forefront of a movement is less about the play on the field and more about the atmosphere that the team culture creates. For the first time in this book, Jesse reveals the ideas and experiences that allowed him to reimagine America’s oldest sport by creating a phenomenon that is helping fans fall in love with the game all over again.
This is a story that’s bigger than baseball and bigger than the yellow tuxedo Jesse wears as the “ringmaster” of every game. And to understand the movement, you have to understand the story at its core. In Jesse’s telling, it takes heart, innovation, and joy (and a bit of tropical fruit) to make something wholly original out of one of America’s great traditions. His story is part Moneyball, part Field of Dreams, part The Greatest Showman. It is a personal story, a creativity story, and the story of a business scrapping for every success. And it has several distinct love stories—love stories like Jesse and his father, Jesse and his wife, the team and the sport of baseball, the team and the fans.
This is Jesse calling his dad from the outfield after each Bananas game, and putting unending creativity into a team with the ultimate goal of bringing the Bananas to the professional ballparks he himself never got to play in. This is his story of baseball, love, leadership, and going just a bit bananas for all.
Ya’ll, this book requires a story. I mean, it’s well known I am not a sportsball fan. I mean, I’ll go to a game in person, but the rest I really just don’t care. And if you think about it, this is my second baseball book this year! The first, local author. This one, this one has ties to my Momma. My parents are sports fans. Daddy all about the baseball (Cardinals, please) and is OK with football. My Momma, all about the football (Chiefs, please) and is OK with baseball. They made it work. Neither care either way about all the other sports, but Momma did get into the basketball March Madness. Not so much the watching, but the teams who were in to win. But I got off topic. Momma, Banana Ball, and Me. I have ESPN+, not cuz sports, but it’s part of my Hulu package as provided by my phone plan. And nights that Daddy went to bed early, Ma and I would watch our shows. But when I was looking for sporty things that Daddy might like, I kept coming across this Banana Ball and had no idea what the world it was. A little (lot) Googling and some talking about it Ma and I decided to try it out when we got the chance. And instantly hooked. I mean, this is a sport I can get behind. Like if the Harlem Globetrotters gave up basketball for baseball. When we could, it was our shared sportsball. Daddy wasn’t interested; I have tried 😀 It wasn’t the Cardinals. So when I accidentally stumbled across this audiobook on Libby, I knew I had to listen. It’s sportsball, yes, but it’s also actually interesting, funny, and tied to Momma.
I chose to listen to this as an audiobook because Jesse narrated it. You can hear his passion and enthusiasm throughout the entire book, from stories from his childhood to talking about the future. From being doubted and misunderstood to finding success on the Banana Ball journey. At its heart, it’s a book about sportsball and making baseball better. There were a lot of sports references, name-dropping of players and even teams, and that was completely lost on me because . . . not a sportsball person at heart. Despite that, I felt the passion, the idea behind taking a sport you love (I mean, until a college injury, his goal was to go pro), and a creativity that oozes from his voice and creating something new and different, and that pulls in someone like me. I mean, before the Banana Ball I discovered on ESPN+ it was a summer college league in a city that never supported a baseball team. They bought a losing proposition and created something that is international. That’s passion, creativity, and possibly slightly unhinged. And it works because it’s ‘fan first’ sportsball entertainment.
But a book about a new take on baseball isn’t just a sports book. It’s a book about Jesse and his wife and family. He talks about their foster care journey, which is something you see highlighted at the games. That passion he has doesn’t start and end with baseball but envelops people. From foster children (Bananas Foster)to the Banana Nanas (grandma dance team) and the Dad Bod Cheerleading Squad (exactly what it sounds like), Jesse has created something new, fresh, and completely entertaining. Something I discovered on accident, fell in love with with my Mom, and is actually coming to my hometown in 2027 (ticket lottery is going on now) Banana Ball is the kind of sportsball I can get behind.
About Jesse Cole
Jesse Cole is the founder of Fans First Entertainment and the owner of the Banana Ball Championship League, including the world-famous Savannah Bananas as well as the Party Animals, Firefighters, Texas Tailgaters, Loco Beach Coconuts, and Indianapolis Clowns.
With the mantra “Fans First. Entertain Always”, the Bananas are on a mission to Make Baseball Fun by creating the Greatest Show in Sports.
The team has sold out every game since their inaugural season in Savannah and has since grown a ticket waitlist of millions of fans from all over the world.
With more than 35 million social media followers and features on such outlets as The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, HBO Real Sports and 60 Minutes, in addition to Bananaland, a five-part documentary original series on ESPN+, Banana Ball is just getting started.
Jesse is the proud inventor of the fastest and most entertaining game of baseball, Banana Ball. Banana Ball puts a fun twist on traditional baseball with new rules featuring a two-hour time limit, no walks, no bunting, no stepping out of the box, no mound visits and best of all, fans can catch a foul ball for an out.
He is the not-so-proud promoter of the Grandma Beauty Pageant, the Human Horse Race, the Living Pinata, and Flatulence Fun Night.
In addition to the wildly successful Banana Ball, Jesse continues to create raving fans all over the world as a best-selling author of “Fans First, Find Your Yellow Tux”, and as a highly sought-after international keynote speaker for some of the world’s largest and most respected organizations.
Most of all, Jesse is a raving fan of his wife, Emily, his 3 kids, and peerless promoters like Walt Disney and PT Barnum.
Wanna share your thoughts? Leave a comment!