Unless you have been living in a cave without internet for the last several years, you undoubtedly have heard of the organized entertainment/sports hybrid craziness that is Banana Ball, starting with its flagship team, the Savannah Bananas.
The Savannah Bananas are a Georgia-based baseball team that turns America’s pastime into a high-energy spectacle of dancing, comedy and wild on-field stunts. They play Banana Ball, a fast-paced version of baseball with rules like no bunting, a two-hour time limit and an out when a fan catches a foul ball. Think baseball meets a traveling circus, with plenty of yellow and a whole lot of showmanship and creative playing.
Head Coach for the Savannah Bananas, Tyler Gillum was kind enough to split his time with The AZ Insider for an exclusive interview. Before he helped turn baseball into a dancing, rule-bending spectacle, he was cutting grass before sunrise in Phoenix. It’s fair to say that Arizona gets a little credit for this banana-fueled madness.
The Savannah Bananas head coach returns to the Valley when his team faces the Party Animals at Chase Field on May 14-15, 2027. For Gillum, the stop brings a long-held ambition back to the city that helped build his career.
An Oklahoma native, Gillum saw Phoenix as baseball heaven: sunshine, spring training and opportunities to learn from people who lived the game. After earning his master’s degree, he emailed junior college coaches across the area, then drove 17 hours for interviews.
South Mountain Community College’s Todd Eastin offered responsibility, experience and a volunteer coaching position. The paycheck? Zero.And Gillum said yes.
“I owe so much to Todd Eastin at South Mountain for giving me an opportunity at 24 years old to be a volunteer assistant coach,” Gillum says.
To cover expenses, he took a $9-an-hour field maintenance job, working from 4:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. before coaching from 2 to 6 p.m. That is a serious commitment to the dream, one he’s had since he first smelled the leather of his first baseball fielding glove.
Going Bananas…
Over more than a decade at South Mountain, Gillum coached, taught and helped develop exercise science coursework. Summer coaching jobs expanded his network, eventually leading to the Bananas’ head coaching position in 2018.
He moved to Savannah in 2023 as the organization went all in on Banana Ball Championship League. But Phoenix remains a strong part of the story.
“I’ve had Chase Field circled on our Banana Ball board for five years,” he says. The Bananas have played Valley spring training venues before, but Chase Field represents a new stage for a coach whose Arizona chapter began with unpaid work and early morning alarms.
Expect entertainment with athletic teeth: a two-hour time limit, no bunting and foul balls caught by fans counting as outs. Gillum helped create the original Banana Ball rules after his first season.
For young coaches watching from Arizona, his journey shows how much can begin with one opportunity.
Phoenix helped sharpen the coach. Now he gets to bring the spectacle back.
Gillum finishes, “The fans that come to the games and what they say to me post-game as we’re signing autographs… ‘This is the most fun we’ve ever had at an event.’”
Insider Takeaways:
- Phoenix helped build the coach: Gillum spent more than a decade coaching and teaching at South Mountain Community College.
- Dream job. Zero paycheck: He accepted an unpaid coaching position at 24, betting on experience and opportunity.
- Before the spotlight, the lawn mower: His $9-an-hour field maintenance job started at 4:30 a.m., with coaching duties stretching until 6 p.m.
- He helped rewrite baseball: After his first Bananas season, Gillum helped create the original Banana Ball rules.
- Those boots have roots: His cowboy boots honor his bull-riding father; No. 66 salutes his grandparents’ Oklahoma ranch.
- Chase Field gets bananas: The Bananas face the Party Animals May 14-15, 2027, fulfilling Gillum’s five-year ambition to bring Banana Ball to the ballpark.
Visit bananaball.com for more information or to join the ticket interest list.
