Going Bananas
SAVANNAH, Ga. — What began as an internship may wind up in a forever career for Alisha Wetzel.
A 2018 Butler High School and 2022 Slippery Rock University graduate, Wetzel accepted a finance internship with the Savannah Bananas, a baseball carnival organization, in May of last year.
“I’ve always liked baseball and grew up playing rec league softball,” Wetzel said. “I saw their (Bananas) intern opportunity on-line, applied and got it.”
She just didn’t know what she was in for.
Savannah plays a brand of baseball affectionately known as “Banana Ball,” with all games having a two-hour time limit, teams having to “win the inning” to get a point as opposed to tallying all runs, batters can steal first base, no hitter is allowed to step out of the batter’s box, all nine defensive players must touch the baseball before anyone drawing a walk can be thrown out, etc.
Even more unique is players’ interaction with the fans. The team runs into the stands exchanging high-fives with fans after a home run. Players may break into dance at any time, Butler resident Alex Ziegler performs bat tricks and the Banana Nanas, a seniors cheerleading group, perform at games.
“My favorite rule is that if a fan catches a foul ball, the batter is out,” Wetzel said.
As a finance intern, Wetzel dealt with invoices, signing checks, balancing the cash flow, etc. And she got to watch virtually all of the games.
She majored in mathematics with a minor in sports management at SRU.
“My goal in college was to eventually get a job in Major League Baseball,” she said. “Now I never want to leave here. I’d love to work here forever.”
Wetzel accepted a full-time position as ticket experience coordinator with the Bananas in November. She handles a lot of group ticket sales, putting together packages for 10 or more.
The Bananas’ group sales are already sold out for the 2023 season.
“We sold about 2,000 group packages, around 200,000 tickets that way,” Wetzel said. “Individual tickets go on sale two months before each game.”
The Savannah Bananas baseball brand was formed in 2018. The “premier” team played against the Party Animals — similar to the Harlem Globetrotters playing the Washington Generals in basketball — while the Bananas also had as team playing traditional baseball in the Coastal Plains League.
Often referred to as the Globetrotters of baseball, the Bananas premier team played all home games until making a road trip to Mobile, Ala., in 2021. Last year, the team took seven road trips.
This year, the Bananas will play in 33 different cities covering 22 states. Their season begins Feb. 17 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
“We’re still playing the Party Animals, who are part of our organization, most of the time, but have 11 Challenger games as well,” Wetzel explained. “Those will be against other teams forming to play Banana Ball for the first time.
“I will be traveling with the team on most, if not all, of the road trips. I can’t wait. It’s so much fun. Anyone who grew up not liking baseball, thinking the game is too slow and boring, should take a look at this.”
Challenger games will be played against former major leaguers through the MLB Players Association, the Aussie Drop Bears from Australia, a group of Florida League All-Stars, among others.
The closest the Bananas will be to this area is a couple of games in Akron, Ohio, during the first week of July.
“Just seeing how excited people are, the lines outside of ballparks waiting to get in, how engaged the players are with the crowd during games ... It’s incredible,” Wetzel said.
“I never want to leave this.”
