"Well, as you know, going to a Banana Ball game is akin to having a bit of the circus with your baseball game. That's been true since long before Jesse Cole made his own rules and changed up from being in the collegiate league with his team."
"Holy leapin' lizards!!! And there are six teams now? Does Jesse own all of them? Are they based in Savannah like the Bananas and the Party Animals?"
I honestly do not know. I think the Coconuts are out of Florida. The Tailgaters are in Texas. My guess is the Clowns are based in Indiana, but I don't know that as a fact. All I can say for sure about them is they are named for one of the Negro League teams. Here's the funny thing about that: those Clowns were up to shenanigans in the 40's and 50's, before Jesse Cole was even born! At one time, that original team was referred to as the "Harlem Globetrotters of baseball".
"So Jesse just codified the shenanigans, he didn't invent the incorporation of the circus into the baseball games."
Correct, though I do wonder if he might have gotten the idea from reading books about the Clowns of the Negro League. That could have been the start of Banana Ball! These Clowns, though, are affiliated with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum there in Kansas City, Missouri. The museum even had its president at the game!
"Good for them! That has to be good for history buffs, as well as folks who need a bit of enlightenment."
I agree!
Yep, that's him! When Jesse started interviewing players for Banana Ball, he'd asked the guy what special talent he might bring to the game. Pitching and batting and running on stilts was Dakota's reply! And guess what the Clowns have? A player in an elephant suit!!! I saw him walking around, but didn't see him in action on the field. By the way, that photo was taken at the top of the 7th inning. The time was 5:28 PM.
"That meant it only had two minutes left of play, right? Isn't one of the rules about the game lasting no more than 2 hours?"
That's correct, but I misspoke earlier. The pregame nonsense is what began at 3:30. The game itself started at 4 PM. So they still had about thirty minutes to wrap things up. At the time that 'Stilts' had his turn at bat, the score had the Bananas in the lead, 3 to 1.
"Well, don't keep me in suspense! Did they win?"
I have no idea. Tony and Laura came by to take me out to dinner and I missed the last two innings. I guess I could look up the score, but I haven't yet. I'm actually hoping that the Clowns won, as they did last night. I don't know why, but it seems the Bananas, as a team, are not quite as good, with a few exceptions, as the spin-off teams are.
"But you still like watching them play?"
I like watching them on TV, that's for sure. Going to the games in person is an exercise in chaos, as there is so much going on in the stands that it's hard to follow the baseball action. For the televised games, the cameras are focused on the diamond, so every play can be seen. I love that. I don't even mind the chatter from the press box, as it can be helpful when an inning is moving a little too fast. I plan to tune in next weekend to the CW for more of these baseball games. The Bananas will be up against the Coconuts on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Maybe I'll even have a watch party here at my house!
"That would be great! It's been forever since you've had folks over for a party!!!"
Hey, I said 'maybe', okay? But I am wanting to do something like that. I'll have to whip this dining room table into shape first, but that won't take long. It's more of a clutter than anything else. Yes, watching the game with others sounds like a good idea. Now, let's see if I can turn it into a plan! But not right this minute. ABC has "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" as it's Sunday Disney movie and I haven't seen that in years!
"Cartoon, romance, film noir... that one has it all! Enjoy!"
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