OK, Savannah Bananas. You Win.
Resurrecting the Indianapolis Clowns May Get Me to Stop Hating on Them.
So let’s talk baseball for a second.
As a Mets fan, I’m happy that both the Yankees and the Phillies got eliminated from the 2025 MLB postseason in humiliating ways. That was incredibly fun for me. But you know what’s not fun? When people tell me that “baseball is boring.” With all the changes to the game to liven it up and with all my appeals to at least try coming to a game with me, there are just some people who think the diamond is a bit of a slog. Enter the Savannah Bananas.
The Bananas play a baseball-adjacent sport called “Banana Ball” that isn’t even baseball, but yet I’m told constantly by lapsed fans that this is how baseball should be played. Here’s a clip.
I hope you can see why I’ve been such a historic hater of whatever the F the Savannah Bananas stand for. It’s not so much baseball as much as Taco Bell isn’t authentic Mexican food. My stance softened a bit when I saw the National Baseball Museum had an exhibit on the team, but it was the news that broke this week that may change my mind for good.
This week, the Banana Ball merchants announced two more teams will join their (completely rad, tubular, and Xtreme!) league next season: The Loco Cocos and the Indianapolis Clowns. And well, if you know anything about the latter, you know why that was such a big deal.
The Clowns were an influential part of not only Negro League Baseball history but baseball history in general. They, like the Bananas before them, had sold out shows of people lining up to see their flash style of play. Allow me to be a hater when I say that the Clowns actually played baseball, no stilts needed. They were also famous for fielding some of the first women to EVER play professional baseball, regardless of gender, in Toni Stone, Connie Morgan, and my personal favorite Mamie “Peanut” Johnson. The story goes, she struck out the batter who claimed she was no bigger than a peanut when she was pitching on the mound.
Badass.
Now granted, it’s 2025 and so the Bananas gotta make sure they get their money. The Indianapolis Clown merch stand is already up and taking orders.
But the very idea of going back and reviving the Clowns is a pretty cool idea. Yes, there’s the whole “I guess the Bananas are trying to get invited to the cookout” thing, but there’s something a bit bigger than that. Even though the Clowns played “traditional” baseball, they really were about having fun. And as much as this ol’ grump dislikes the fact that when people tell me that a sport called Ba.Na.Na.Ball should be played instead of the real sport of which it’s based; some of my best memories at a ballpark didn’t even involve the game on the field. And if there’s a twinge of history, if someone asks, “What in the world is an Indianapolis Clown?,” well then I can’t get mad at it. Here’s Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum:
“The rebirth of the Indianapolis Clowns is an exciting and historically relevant tribute to the team that was at the forefront of combining baseball and entertainment,” said Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues. “Our partnership is a tremendous opportunity to not only entertain, but educate fans about the rich history of the Negro Leagues while paying homage to the team that helped influence Banana Ball.” - Bob Kendrick (h/t KMBC)
So mostly likely if I make it to a game (tickets are so in demand, there’s a lottery system that is pretty unforgiving), I’ll probably sit there and try to frown as hard as I can to keep up appearances. However, if the Clowns are there I just may allow myself to be a bit giddy at seeing living history.
By the way, I’m allergic to bananas.