Savannah Bananas play for 42,000 fans at Nationals Park

WASHINGTON - The most outrageous team in baseball, the Savannah Bananas, packed Nationals Park Saturday with 42,000 fans as they make their way across the country for their 2024 world tour.

Former Washington National Gio González took the mound in Saturday’s game in a bright yellow uniform when he joined the Harlem Globetrotters-style team for a wacky version of the national pastime known as "Banana Ball."

The game was filled with trick plays and fun as they went on to defeat their opponents, the Firefighters, 4 to 3.

"Banana Ball" rules include a 2-hour time limit, no restrictions to on-field celebrations, and offbeat rules such as no walks, no bunting and outs being tallied when a fan catches a ball in the stands.

Savanah Bananas Dakota "Stilts" Albritton is called out at first base during the Bananas defeat of the Firefighters at Nationals Park in Washington, DC on July13, 2024. (Photo by John McDonnell/ for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The team was founded in 2016 as a member of Coastal Plains League, a summer circuit for college players, playing their home games in Savannah's historic Grayson Stadium. Soon after, owner Jesse Cole launched the professional barnstorming team that now plays in MLB and amateur stadiums across the country.

In a post to X on Sunday, owner of the Savannah Bananas, Jesse Cole wrote, "From selling only a handful of tickets in Savannah when we first started, to selling 42,000 tickets at DC. Banana Nation is strong and we are just getting started."

The Bananas return home for three games, then play three in Louisville, Kentucky before heading to Cleveland in August for a game at Progressive Field.

The Associated Press contributed to this report