Banana Ball terms A to Z
Jump to a letter: B · C · D · E · F · G · I · J · L · M · N · P · S · T · W
B
- Ball-four sprint
- Banana Ball's replacement for the walk. On ball four the hitter takes off running and may keep advancing while every defensive player must touch the ball before it becomes live. Often worth two or three bases. Read more →
- Banana Baby
- A pregame tradition in which a baby is presented to the crowd Lion King style, usually accompanied by the appropriate music. One of the Bananas' longest-running bits.
- Banana Ball
- The fast-paced baseball variant created by the Savannah Bananas, played under a two-hour time limit with points-per-inning scoring, no bunting, no walks, fan-catch outs, and a Showdown tiebreaker. First played in 2020 at Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia. Read more →
- Banana Ball Championship League (BBCL)
- The six-team league launched for the 2026 season, with a regular-season table, playoffs, and the Banana Bowl championship. Teams: Savannah Bananas, Party Animals, Firefighters, Texas Tailgaters, Indianapolis Clowns, and Loco Beach Coconuts. Read more →
- Banana Ball Open
- The April preseason tournament whose champion earns an automatic BBCL playoff berth. The Texas Tailgaters won the 2026 Open.
- Banana Bowl
- The BBCL championship game. The first Banana Bowl is Saturday, October 10, 2026, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., streaming on Disney+ and the Banana Ball YouTube channel.
- Banana Nation
- The collective name for Banana Ball's fan base, used by the league across its broadcasts, social channels, and ticketing.
C
- Challenge rule
- Each team gets one video challenge per game, initiated by tossing a physical challenge prop before the next pitch. A successful challenge is retained; a failed one is lost. Read more →
- Clock
- The two-hour game clock that starts at first pitch. No new inning can begin after it reaches 2:00. Read more →
D
- Dancing first base coach
- A Banana Ball fixture: the first base coach performs choreographed dance routines between pitches and innings rather than standing still. Maceo Harrison made the role famous with the Savannah Bananas.
- Designated fielder
- A 2026 rule allowing a bench player to enter the field at any position once per game without the usual substitution penalty. Read more →
- Designated hitter / extra hitter
- Two of the ten batting spots in a Banana Ball lineup are filled by hitters who do not take the field. Read more →
- Designated runner
- A player who may run for a teammate once per cycle through the lineup without the hitter leaving the game. Read more →
E
- Equalizer point
- A bonus point awarded to the visiting team before the ninth inning if it has more successful trick plays than the home team through eight innings. Introduced for the 2025 playoffs and permanent from 2026. Read more →
- Every inning counts
- The foundational scoring rule: the team that scores more runs in an inning earns one point for that inning. Read more →
- Every run counts
- The final-inning rule. In the last inning of a game — the ninth or the inning in progress when the clock expires — each run is worth a point instead of the inning being worth one. Read more →
F
- Fan catch
- If a spectator catches a foul ball cleanly on the fly — no bobbles, no juggling — the batter is out. Read more →
- Fan challenge
- One fan chosen before each game gets a single official challenge, signaled with confetti and a challenge sign and reviewed by the broadcast crew. Read more →
- Fans First
- The Savannah Bananas' founding philosophy — "Fans First. Entertain Always." — and the name of the company, Fans First Entertainment, that owns the teams. Also the brand on the ticket lottery.
- Firefighters
- One of the six BBCL teams, formed for the 2024 tour. Upset the Savannah Bananas in a Showdown to reach the 2025 championship. Read more →
G
- Golden batter
- Once per game, a team may send any hitter in its lineup to bat in any spot in the order. Read more →
- Grayson Stadium
- The historic ballpark in Savannah, Georgia, that is home to the Savannah Bananas and where the first Banana Ball game was played in 2020.
I
- Indianapolis Clowns
- A 2026 BBCL expansion team that revives the name of the famous Negro Leagues barnstorming club. Read more →
J
- Jesse Cole
- Founder and owner of the Savannah Bananas and inventor of Banana Ball, famous for his yellow tuxedo. He co-owns the organization with his wife, Emily Cole.
L
- Loco Beach Coconuts
- A 2026 BBCL expansion team with a beach-party identity. Read more →
M
- Mound visit
- Banned in Banana Ball. No coach, catcher, or other player may visit the pitcher on the mound at any time. Read more →
N
- No bunting
- Bunting is prohibited; a hitter who bunts is ejected from the game. Read more →
- No stepping out
- A hitter who steps out of the batter's box is charged with a strike. Read more →
P
- Party Animals
- The Savannah Bananas' original rival, created in 2022 as the league's villains and now a full BBCL team. Read more →
- Points (PF / PA)
- The unit of scoring in Banana Ball. Points for and points against appear in the standings in place of runs, and point differential is the third BBCL tiebreaker. Read more →
- Pregame show
- The on-field entertainment that begins roughly 30 minutes before first pitch, featuring player dances, the Banana Baby, and crowd bits. Not part of the two-hour clock.
S
- Savannah Bananas
- The team that created Banana Ball. Founded in 2016 as a college summer-league club in Savannah, Georgia, they went full-time Banana Ball in 2023 and anchor the BBCL. Read more →
- Showdown
- Banana Ball's tiebreaker: one hitter against a pitcher, catcher, and one fielder in round one, pitcher and catcher in round two, then bases loaded until someone wins. A home run over the fence is an instant walk-off. Read more →
- Stealing first
- A hitter may attempt to steal first base on any pitch that gets away from the catcher, such as a wild pitch or passed ball. Read more →
T
- Texas Tailgaters
- A BBCL team that joined the tour in 2025 and won the April 2026 Banana Ball Open, earning the automatic playoff berth. Read more →
- Ticket lottery
- Banana Ball sells most tickets through a lottery run by Fans First Tickets rather than first-come, first-served sales. Entries for the Banana Bowl closed August 23, 2026.
- Tiebreakers (standings)
- When BBCL teams are tied on winning percentage: head-to-head record, total trick plays, point differential, then head-to-head trick plays. Read more →
- Trick pitch
- A pitch delivered with a flourish, such as behind the back or between the legs. Counts as a trick play when it results in an out.
- Trick play
- A defensive play completed with a flourish — behind the back, between the legs, in the hat, with a backflip — that results in an out. Tracked as an official statistic and used for the Equalizer point and standings tiebreakers. Read more →
- Two-hour time limit
- No new inning can be started after two hours of play. The inning in progress is completed as the final inning. Read more →
W
- Walk-off home run (Showdown)
- In the Showdown, any ball hit over the outfield wall ends the game immediately in favor of the hitting team.
- World Tour
- The name for the Bananas' touring seasons before the BBCL — the 2023, 2024, and 2025 schedules that took Banana Ball to MLB and college stadiums across the country.
Using this glossary
Every term above has its own anchor, so you can link straight to a definition (for example /rules/glossary/#showdown). The definitions are deliberately short; the full explanations live on the Banana Ball rules hub and its spoke pages on scoring, the Showdown, the golden batter, trick plays, and game length. For the teams themselves see the teams page, and for the race to the Banana Bowl see the standings. Banana Ball Reminder is an unofficial fan site; the official rulebook is at bananaball.com.