Savannah Bananas' MLB ballpark debut had everything, from the Rocket to breakdancing

HOUSTON -- Jason and Brady Johnston’s day on Saturday started in Aledo, Texas.

The father and son jumped in their car at around 8 a.m. and began their trek towards Houston, which would be the first stop of their Spring Break trip.

After the four-plus-hour journey, including a stop for lunch in College Station, the duo arrived at Minute Maid Park around 4:15 p.m. to attend the Savannah Bananas' first game in a Major League stadium.

“We’re very excited,” Jason said. “It looks like a great show. Just seeing the dances, the crazy plays and flips and all of that.”

Wearing an all-yellow Savannah Bananas jersey, Brady couldn’t stop smiling.

“He surprised us for Christmas,” Brady said about how his father told him about the tickets. “[I was] very excited.”

As Brady walked towards the gates, he was most looking forward to seeing a fan catch a foul ball -- Banana Ball Rule No. 8 is if a fan catches a ball, it’s an out -- which ended up happening twice. Unfortunately for Brady, it was in favor of the Party Animals and against his beloved Bananas.

After experiencing the Bananas game, Jason and Brady planned to start the next leg of their Spring Break trip by heading to Florida and eventually Walt Disney World.

When asked if Brady was more excited about the Bananas or Disney World?

“I don’t know,” he said with a laugh as he couldn’t decide.

Jason and Brady were part of a sellout crowd of 41,000-plus to fill Minute Maid Park on Saturday night. A historic crowd for the Savannah Bananas.

“It’s been very emotional,” founder of Fans First Entertainment and Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole said. “You see fans lining up at 9 a.m., fans flying in from every state, 30,000 fans from outside the area here for this game. It’s unbelievable [seeing] Banana Nation and the support from all over the world and now to see it come together.

"It's going to be electric. The energy. We can already feel it. We feel it coming out of our hotel, we felt it for the last two days."

Minute Maid Park is the first of six Major League stadiums that Banana Ball will travel to this year. They will also travel to historic Fenway Park along with stops at the homes of the Nationals, Guardians, Phillies and Marlins.

The gates of Minute Maid Park opened around 4:45 p.m. and fans, wearing Savannah Bananas T-shirts, jerseys of their favorite players, full banana costumes and banana hats, streamed into the ballpark to grab seats as close to the action as they could.

From the moment they got settled into their seats, it was non-stop entertainment -- from the Dad Bod Cheerleading Squad, to a princess singing, to players going into the stands for autograph sessions, to a 6-year-old fan getting to hit a home run off a tee while the Party Animals booted and overthrew the ball around the diamond as she raced around the bases.

And that all happened just in the pregame festivities.

With the fans on their feet, the Savannah Bananas introduced their players and then proceeded to perform a dance routine to The Greatest Showman. The Party Animals entered from the visitors' bullpen with handheld fireworks.

Finally, it was game time. Cole -- in his trademark all-yellow tuxedo with a matching top hat -- came out of the dugout and got all in attendance to yell “Play Ball,” and Banana Ball was officially underway for the first time in a Major League stadium.

“It’s a dream come true for so many of us,” Cole said. “A lot of these players had dreams of playing Major League Baseball and many of them [were] drafted and they didn’t quite get there.

“And now to play in front of a sold-out crowd is pretty special.”

The two-hour timer started. The music never stopped, nor did the dancing.

Every time a Party Animal, decked out in their all-pink uniforms -- or Savannah Banana, of course in all yellow -- walked up and after a run would score a, choreographed dance routine ensued. In between each pitch, a different hit song would play.

At the same time, an actual baseball game was being played.

Behind-the-back trick fielding plays. A “Fan Challenge” from the stands on a bang-bang play at third base. A dancing umpire. A baby race on the infield. A backflip onto home plate after a home run. The game had everything.

The never-ending music cut to "Dawn," which properly introduced one of the many special guests for the night. The song is famous for being wrestler Ric Flair’s entrance song, and former Astro Josh Reddick had used Flair's signature yell of "Woooo!" for years instead of traditional walk-up music.

Reddick, who was a part of the 2017 World Series championship team, emerged from the dugout in the first inning. Donning a championship belt with the Astros logo in the middle, a Ric Flair-style wrestling robe and mimicking Flair’s wrestling entrance, he made his way to home plate for an at-bat for the Savannah Bananas.

And they weren’t done.

With “Rocket” and the No. 22 on the back of his jersey, seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens and, later, Astros Hall of Famer and three-time All-Star Roy Oswalt emerged from the dugout as special guest pitchers for the Bananas and each pitched a frame.

There was never a dull moment.

Kyle Luigs, who came in to pitch for the Bananas, donned his gold cowboy hat in front of the sold-out crowd back in his hometown state.

“It’s awesome. I was born in Texas. I was born in Arlington, so it’s really cool,” Luigs said before the game. “I have a bunch of family coming out to the game tonight. For the past couple of years, it felt like we were working up towards this moment.

“It’s definitely going to be louder than anything we’ve heard.”

For a solid two hours, fans got treated to a show. Players coming out with a guitar and smashing it, throwing money after recording a base hit, T-shirt cannons, trick pitches, a breakdancing base coach and yes, more dancing.

In a stadium normally decorated in Astros orange and blue, for this night, it was turned Banana yellow. And Banana Ball partied on.

Oh, and the Bananas walked it off to defeat the Animals, 5-4, sending the sold-out crowd into a frenzy and the Banana-faithful home happy.