When Jesse Cole makes a promise, he delivers.

Cole, the owner of the Savannah Bananas of the Coastal Plain League — a 16-team summer series baseball league for top collegiate players — brought his own brand of fun and frolic to Grayson Stadium this summer and the staid, historic stadium hasn’t been the same since.

Nor will Savannah baseball be the same for thousands of fans, many of whom didn’t even realize they were baseball fans until the Bananas came to town.

Cole promised “interactive entertainment,” and he brought it.

Players performed choreographed dances on the field, they went up into the stands to bring roses to delighted little girls, they played goofy games with fans. There were silly contests, many of which ended with someone getting a pie in the face; dunk tanks, jump houses for the kids, silly skits and lots of prizes.

Fans munched on regular concession-stand fare along with Byrd’s famous oatmeal cookies, frozen chocolate-covered bananas and garbage-can nachos. There was even a popular Slippery Banana cocktail for the over-21 crowd.

All the while Cole — in his bright yellow suit and top hat — roamed the stands, taking selfies with the fans.

But that wasn’t all.

Cole, a former collegiate pitcher who could best be described as a cross between the Energizer Bunny and legendary showman P.T. Barnum, also delivered lights-out baseball with a talented group of players Savannah fans eagerly adopted as their own. 

First season champs

In fact, the Bananas, who didn’t know one another until they took the field together, were crowned league champions Tuesday night after defeating the Peninsula Pilots of Hampton, Va., in the best-of-three championship series.

“Make no mistake — this is top-notch talent out there on the diamond,” said Jared Orton, team president.

“These are the best collegiate players from around the country, many of whom are just a step away from the big leagues,” he said.

Indeed, the Coastal Plain League boasts such superstar alumni as Detroit pitcher and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander and Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.

Then there is Russell Wilson, drafted in the fourth round by the Colorado Rockies, who eventually chose football and went on to win a Super Bowl as the quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.

“We average about 10 to 15 scouts at every game,” Orton said, adding that Banana Ryan Flores, a right-handed pitcher, is expected to sign a free-agent contract with the Yankees Sept. 1.

Shattering attendance records

Those scouts should have had no trouble blending in to the crowd as the Bananas broke attendance records all summer long.

The team sold out 17 of the 22 home games played as well as one of its home playoff games, shattering the league’s single season attendance record and averaging better than 3,600 per game.

To put that in perspective, last season, the Sand Gnats — a Class A minor league team — averaged 1,962 fans a game, ranking 13th among 14 South Atlantic League teams despite having a team advance to the league championship series and a parent organization, the New York Mets, advancing to the World Series.

At a shade more than 91,000, the Bananas’ total attendance could have filled the Georgia Bulldogs’ Sanford Stadium.

“We could never have expected this,” Cole said. “Savannah has embraced and supported this team like nothing I’ve ever seen.

“It’s just blown us away, and made us determined to deliver an even better fan experience next year.”

Indeed, 2017 season tickets are already sold out and there is a waiting list of Savannah families hoping to play host to a Bananas player next summer.

Host families, who provide the players with a bedroom and bath facilities, are needed because NCAA rules prohibit the organization from paying its players.

But, more often than not, the players become “second sons” to the families rather than boarders.

Ann Marie and Danny Swindler hosted Bananas outfielder Jameson Hannah.

“The one and only downside to hosting a Savannah Banana is that he has to leave,” Ann Marie said.

“We miss him already.”

More to come

Just because the Bananas have gone home, don’t expect Grayson Stadium to go dark anytime soon.

“We already have events scheduled for every weekend until November,” Cole said, adding that the teams raised $41,000 for local nonprofits during the course of the season.

“We’re looking at hiring a full-time events director. We’re close to booking a concert and there is also the potential for festivals in the spring.

“We’ve hired more full-time team members and we ended up adding more than 50 game-day employees to the 70 we hired at the beginning of the season,” he said.

“The last thing we want to do is rest on our laurels,” Cole said. “We want to continue getting better for the fans.

“But, as far as this year has gone, we couldn’t have written a better script.”

Editor’s note: In the interest of full disclosure, Ann Marie Swindler is the sister of reporter Mary Carr Mayle.

BANANAS BY THE NUMBERS

17 – games sold out of the 22 home games played. One playoff game was also sold out.

3,660 – average attendance

4,000 – cut-off number for ticket sales

91,004 – total home game attendance, including home playoff games

12 – full-time employees

125 – additional game-day employees

$41,000 – raised for local nonprofits during the season