Savannah Bananas’ Newest Rival Is Set for Home Debut in Texas

Jonathan Luders never planned to combine his baseball and unicycle skills, but that’s what happened when he joined the Savannah Bananas’ newest rival—the Texas Tailgaters.

“Being part of the Tailgaters is awesome,” Luders told The Epoch Times. “True blessing. To be a part of banana ball is really cool, and especially a part of the new team.”

“We can create this brand … as unique as we want to be, and a lot of fun. The guys are great. Our coaching staff’s awesome so really fun there,” he added. “Hitting on a unicycle is definitely unique, and I like that banana ball is all about standing out and doing things differently.”

That’s been the theme for the Bananas since the team’s 2016 founding as a summer collegiate baseball club in Savannah, Georgia. Since then, the Bananas have grown into a national entertainment organization with its own brand of baseball, known as banana ball, with a mix of competition and entertainment.

The Bananas have been playing in packed MLB and NFL stadiums amid growing popularity. In addition, the Bananas have their own rivals—the Party Animals and Firefighters—in lieu of the Coastal Plain League teams, which the Bananas left behind in 2022.

While the Bananas’ earliest rivals have been based in Savannah, the Tailgaters call Texas home. The Tailgaters have just been on the road all season since May until this weekend’s games in Frisco, Texas.

Then, the team will play in San Antonio Sept. 12-13, Round Rock on Sept. 19-20, and Houston on Sept. 26-27. That final series will be against the Bananas themselves. A Massachusetts native, Luders said his teammates from Texas display a lot of state pride, and he anticipates the same from the fans.  

“And I think they’re gonna embrace us really well, because all the things we’re doing is kind of around tailgating in Texas—all the line dancing and all the tailgating, and that’s right up their alley,” Luders said. “So I think they’re gonna eat it up.”

That could get literal with the tailgater theme. Luders said they’ve thrown hamburgers and hot dogs to the fans for home run celebrations.

When Luders comes to the plate, he’s riding his unicycle. He started riding a unicycle around the same time he got into Little League baseball, ironically.

“So, I had an amazing gym teacher in fourth grade, Miss Robertson, who taught myself, my fellow classmates in a before-school unicycle club,” Luders said. “And kind of like riding a bike, you always know how to do it since, and it wasn’t until this past summer, though, until I picked it back up.”

Luders admitted that it took some work to idle or stay in place on the unicycle when he bats. It’s similar to other unique acts around banana ball such as the Bananas’ Dakota Albritton, who plays on stilts.

“When you’re playing minor league ball or major league baseball, whatever it is, or any other sport for that matter, you’re playing the game for the sake of the game itself,” Luders said. “In banana ball, sure, you’re playing a game you’re trying to win, but the game is for the fans. Afterwards, the show, [and] before the game is a lot of signing for the players. So it’s bigger than just the game itself.”

A former Seton Hall standout, Luders had dreams of making it to the major leagues, as was the case for many of the banana ball players among the four teams. Now, Luders wants to help set the Tailgaters apart.

“I don’t think we’re in the shadows [of the Bananas] at all. I think we’re establishing our own brand, and I think we’re getting a lot of fans at all the different stadiums we go to, and the fact that we get to represent the state of Texas, we’re super excited to go there,” Luders said.