Who owns the Savannah Bananas? All about the viral baseball team

The Savannah Bananas faced the Firefighters in an entertaining game of Banana Ball on Saturday, June 28, 2025.

The exhibition match, played at the Washington DC-based Nationals Park, was televised live via ESPN2. Since its launch in 2016, the baseball team has garnered plenty of mainstream media attention. With its on-field shenanigans and rather exciting spin baseball, the Savannah-based team has also amassed massive popularity in terms of social media and in-match attendance.

For those unaware, Savannah Bananas is owned by Jesse Cole, who is a former collegiate baseball player. Cole, who represented South Carolina-based Wofford College (Wofford Terriers), founded the viral Banana Ball team in October 2015, per his LinkedIn. He launched the Savannah team in early 2016, which initially played in the Coastal Plain League for seven seasons.

Apart from the Savannah Bananas, Jesse Cole also owns the Party Animals and Firefighters. He also co-founded Fans First Entertainment with his wife, Emily, with whom he shares three children. Cole is also credited as the creator of Banana Ball.

More about the viral exhibition baseball team, Savannah Bananas

Fans First Entertainment unveiled the name and logo of Jesse Cole’s first baseball team in February 2016. The firm had previously collaborated with the Savannah Morning News to host a “Help Name the Team Contest,” which Lynn Moses, a local resident, won for her suggestion of “Bananas.”

According to Jesse Cole, the team got “nearly 1000 suggestions." He added (via Coastalplain.com),

“[W]e felt that the name Bananas was one of the most unique names and unlike any other sports team name in the country. We feel Savannah is such a unique and special city, that the community deserves a unique brand that stands out.”

The team president, Jared Orton, was also quoted saying (via Coastalplain.com),

“Savannah Bananas fits our brand of making baseball fun for fans of all ages and our mission of Fans First, Entertain Always. In the years to come, we will be able to have a lot of fun with this brand and hope the community joins in and goes Bananas with us!”

As mentioned, the Savannah-based team competed in the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer baseball league, for seven seasons and won three Petitt Cup championships. While still contesting in CPL, the Bananas started transitioning into playing the Banana Ball format, a fast-paced alternative to Baseball with changed rules and more focus on entertainment.

Jesse Cole, who is the creator of the unorthodox baseball format, remarked on Banana Ball during a 60 Minutes interview in April 2025,

“There's almost 50 things that happen before the game starts. The idea is to have something entertaining for everyone, like this 6-year-old leading a crowd warm-up, to appeal to all ages, baseball fans or not.”

According to WKRG, the Savannah-based team launched its first Banana Ball world tour, “One City World Tour,” in 2021. The Bananas stopped competing in CPL after 2022 and have solely focused on exhibition games ever since. For those unaware, the team’s home venue is Grayson Stadium, which previously hosted the Savannah Sand Gnats, which competed in Minor League Baseball.

Trending

The Savannah Bananas also have a huge fan following on various social media platforms. The team boasts 3.5M and 3.6M followers on Instagram and Facebook, while it has more than 2.14 million subscribers on YouTube. On X (formerly Twitter), the Savannah Bananas’ official account has 219.1K followers. At the same time, the team was also a subject of ESPN+'s Bananaland.

As mentioned, their most recent game was against the Firefighters in Washington DC on Saturday, June 28. During the exhibition match, the Savannah Bananas also honored Comfort Cases, a nonprofit organization that provides foster kids with backpacks.

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