Written by Biko Skalla:
Another historic week in Bananaland is in the books. We had pitchers throw the three fastest innings of all-time in three straight nights. Stilts hit, pinch-ran, and pitched. We had a six and a half minute wedding in the middle of a game and still finished with 19 seconds to spare on our two-hour time limit. The Bananas wore kilts twice, were the away team for only the second time in Banana Ball history, and ceded the 2023 battle for Texas to the red hot Party Animals. But before I get to all of that, we’ve got some clean up from last week to take care of…
Stilts Finally Meets His Match
Dakota “Stilts” Albritton has been the tallest man in sports since he debuted for the Bananas on the One City World Tour back in 2021. He finally faced someone at least close to his size back on Friday, March 10th…
@thesavbananas A tall pitcher needs a tall hitter 😉 #savannahbananas #baseballboys #baseballlife #stilts #fypシ #viral #trending #mlb #prank #reels
Shoutout Bret Helton, the real MVP here as he played the oh so important role of Chase Achuff’s legs.
Kilts are Back and Better Than Ever
On Monday in Bananaland we celebrated St. Patty’s day four days early. For the occasion, Jared Donalson and Joe Lytle combined talents for only the second 3-2-2 pitch put in play on the tour…
@thesavbananas Kilts made a comeback tonight 🫣 #savannahbananas #baseballboys #baseball #dance #mlb #fypシ #baseballife #viral #trending #playerscoileray #dancechallenge
Mat Wolf with Next Level Trickery at Second Base
Our resident rodeo clown, Mat Wolf the Fifth, normally wows the crowd with his circus pitches but he showed his versatility on Thursday night as he performed my favorite trick play from an infielder in Banana Ball history…
Okay but has your second baseman ever done a cartwheel while fielding a ground ball?
Perks of having a rodeo clown on the team🤠 pic.twitter.com/RxbgP5D7T3
— Savannah Bananas (@TheSavBananas) March 17, 2023
I vote for more of this, please.
Nine Innings and a Wedding
The hit sequel to Four Weddings and a Funeral played out in real time on Friday night. Let’s take a look at the ceremony from Jackson Olson’s vantage point..
@jacksonolson_ Nothing can get in the way of love… not even a baseball game 💍 #wedding #baseball
What a scene! And congratulations to Jackson on becoming the first Bananas player to reach one million followers on his personal Tik Tok account!
Jake Skole is a Problem
The former first-round draft pick is pacing all hitters on the tour in AVG, OBP, SLG, runs scored, RBI’s, ball-four-sprints, hits, and home runs. Spoiler alert: he did not cool down in Texas…
Jake Skole is punishing baseballs at an alarming rate right now.
He leads the tour in AVG, OBP, SLG, runs scored, RBI’s, ball-four-sprints, hits, and home runs.
Here's some of the carnage from this past week. pic.twitter.com/SmCqolZhjQ
— Biko Skalla (@BikoRicoSuave) March 20, 2023
Dan Oberst Hits a Ball a Mile
After hopping on the broadcast with me for an inning and proclaiming that he’s heating up, Dan hit a pinch hit double approximately 174mph off the bat and followed it up with maybe the farthest hit ball I’ve ever seen in person…
Last night Dan Oberst hit one of the furthest home runs I've ever seen in my life pic.twitter.com/x0BzSwYByf
— Biko Skalla (@BikoRicoSuave) March 19, 2023
A Close Encounter of the Third Kind
Try as they may, the Party Animals could not save Dustin Baber from a mid-game alien abduction. In a surprising turn of events though the extra terrestrial could actually swing the bat quite well!
@thesavannahpartyanimals Houston we have a uhhh… problem 👽 #partyanimals #savannahbananas #baseballlife #baseball #fypシ #viral #trending #alien #alieninflable
Is it a Bird? A Plane? No, it’s Noah Bridges!
If Noah can reach a ball with a full-extension dive, that ball is being caught…
Fact: We've never seen Noah Bridges and Superman at the same time pic.twitter.com/SAPvslnTkP
— Biko Skalla (@BikoRicoSuave) March 20, 2023
Next Man Up Mentality
Here’s the first ever full-team substitution in Banana Ball history…
The hockey-baseball hybrid we didn’t know we needed. 😂
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 19, 2023
Ivan Runs: A Trilogy
Before you see our Director of Creative Content, Ivan Traczuk, race against Malachi, FlashThaKid, Mitchell, a history lesson is in order. The world has long been asking for behind the scene peaks at our miraculously fast and stable camera man. Once in a blue moon we succumb to the immense demand and throw the people a bone. Here’s Ivan tracking a fully sprinting Christian Dearman last year in Kansas City…
@thesavbananas Video boy strikes again #savannahbananas #bananaball #ijustwanttotakesomepictures #videography #fy #viral #dahmer #photography #mlb
Then last week there were no shoes necessary for Tracksuit when it came to capturing this video that has more than 20 million views on Tik Tok…
@thesavbananas Replying to @taylizbeth CAMERA MAN REVEAL 📸🏃💨 #savannahbananas #baseballboys #baseball #ceilings #ceilingslizzymcalpine #musicvideo #trending #reels #fypシ #parody #videographer
Now the stage is set for you to witness Ivan’s battle with the fastest man in Bananaland…
A battle of titans. Ivan Traczuk vs Malachi Mitchell. It did not disappoint! pic.twitter.com/T0qtQoQ0Lf
— Biko Skalla (@BikoRicoSuave) March 20, 2023
I legitimately thought Ivan had seriously injured himself. Classic bit right there, I’ve been fooled again on it!
Stilts is the Ultimate Utility Man
Dakota "Stilts" Albritton hits, pinch runs, and pitches across Friday and Saturday's games! pic.twitter.com/PLpAcdyJ3e
— Biko Skalla (@BikoRicoSuave) March 20, 2023
He may not have found success at the plate or on the basepaths this past weekend, but he continues to dominate on the mound!
The Lone Star State is Officially Pink
One down, nineteen more states are still up for grabs. I can’t wait to see the colors on this map when all is said and done…
The Party Animals won the battle for Texas!
The other 19 states on the tour are still up for grabs.
The next game where a state will be on the line is April 1st in Peoria, Arizona… pic.twitter.com/WqaXNES8g1
— Biko Skalla (@BikoRicoSuave) March 20, 2023
We also had the Minutes Per Inning record broken Thursday night as Bret Helton got through the bottom of the 8th inning in one minute and 21 seconds. Then on Friday night, Christian Dearman got through the bottom of the 4th inning in just a minute and 13 seconds, dethroning Helton. DJ “The Invader” flirted with history Saturday night too, as he threw the top of the 8th inning in just one minute and 23 seconds, tying Garett Delano for the third-fastest inning of all-time.
The guys now get as long a break as they’ll ever have on the 2023 tour: five days off. After that we’ll be rocking and rolling in Montgomery, Alabama, next Friday night! The pregame show on the Bananas YouTube page will kick off at 6:30pm CENTRAL TIME on Friday, with first pitch coming a half an hour later.
Thank you for taking another multimedia journey through a week in Bananaland with me! I hope you had half as much fun reliving this all as I did throwing it together.