Savannah Bananas players draw raves from fans for second sold-out Chicago game

Ruby Kellogg nearly broke into a sprint when the gates opened at a pregame celebration Saturday for the Savannah Bananas in parking lot B at Rate Field.

The 14-year-old Minnesotan was among the first in line to get autographs from some of the Georgia-based baseball players, whose dancing, flips and tricks have won them comparisons to basketball's Harlem Globetrotters.

After several “man-nana” male cheerleaders cut a yellow ribbon at the entrance, Ruby was laser-focused, telling herself, “Walk really fast, but don’t fall down.”

“I do a lot of sports, and sometimes they get a little boring, so, when I can go home and watch the Savannah Bananas, it gets my mood a little happier,” Ruby said of the athletes, who have become stars in part thanks to social media. “It’s just fun to watch.”

The festivities preceded the Bananas’ game — their second in two days as they marked their Chicago debut — against the Firefighters,

Chance the Rapper ands former White Sox players A.J. Pierzynski and Mark Buehrle were guests.

The Banana Ball’s sold-out tour of major league ballparks, NFL stadiums and other venues will draw more than 2 million fans. On Saturday, passionate fans came dressed in yellow, including jerseys and tutus, though not as many banana costumes as you might expect. They talked about how much they love the performances, the two-hour run time for the games and the players’ good looks in trying to explain why Banana Ball has become such a phenomenon.

“Baseball can be really long, so the fact they've got a time limit and they try to do entertaining things every inning is really a draw,” said Emily Pustelnik, 24, of Tinley Park, who bought her $60 tickets through a lottery. “Everyone wants to be here. So the fact that we got tickets was super-exciting.”

A family of four from Elmwood Park who couldn't get tickets in the lottery bought them via resale for a whopping $800.

“We’ve seen them on TV,” said 42-year-old Wendy Arellano, who was there with her husband, 10-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. “It's super-fun. We're enjoying a nice Saturday afternoon before it’s back to school.” 

Serena Gilham, 42, came to the game from Hobart, Indiana. 

“Regular baseball is boring,” she said. “Don't get me wrong, I love going to a baseball game, but I love to dance, and I love to be active. I have ADHD, and I like to move, and they give you that opportunity without other people looking at me."

Gilham got an autograph from left-fielder Robert Anthony Cruz, the Bananas player who drew the longest line of fans at the pre-game event.

“I don't know all the players, but apparently this is the coolest guy or something,” Gilham said.

“Banana Ball fans are excited about everything,” said Cruz, 26, of Riverside, Calif. “We had a baby race [Friday] night where we had a line of babies crawling to the finish line, and they probably got louder for that than anything that happened on the ballfield.”

Cruz said playing at Rate Field was "electric."

“I grew up a Dodgers fan, but a close second was the White Sox for me,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to come to the stadium, and [Friday] night it was completely packed to the brim, which was really cool to see.”

While he has the baseball part down, he said the dancing has been a "learning curve" for him and some of the players.

“I feel like we're all getting a little bit better over time,” he said. “I think people just like the effort.”

Pitcher and first baseman Correlle Prime said he tries to master a level of coolness with his dance moves and aesthetic.

“I’m 6-6, I’ve got dreads, and I try to have the ‘drip,’ like the kids say,” said Prime, 31, of Bradenton, Fla. “I just go with the flow. If there's a song on that I like, I groove to it. I try to tap in with the youth. The main base of our fans is children. So I ask them what they would like to see, and I just try to bring it to life at the show.”

The show is a combination of Broadway, sketch comedy, high-level baseball and constant music, says Savannah Bananas manager Adam Virant. And it requires skilled athletes, effective entertainers and good people who care about the audience, he said.

Virant compared Banana Ball's fans to those who follow a rock band from city to city.

“They are locked in," he said. "They know our trick plays, our walk-ups and all of our in-game promos and celebrations. They're just very passionate and very loyal."