Gone Bananas

I was lucky enough to see Bananaball in Detroit last weekend. It's baseball played seriously but with added, I'll say, athleticism and sideshow. 

It's very entertaining. There was a lot going on, though. I found it difficult to watch the actual baseball game because there was almost always something happening in foul territory or in the stands. I'm going to be the old guy and say there were too many distractions. Arguably, it was too much of a good thing. But it was still fun.

They set a two hour limit on the game (though they do their best to play the traditional nine innings), play music all the time (a good mix of old and new), and bench players weave through the crowd for goodwill. In order to keep pace there are no mound visits, batters must stay in the batter's box, and I won't even try to explain all the other rules. Although, in an entertaining twist, if a spectator catches a foul ball it counts as an out. Cute.

It was pretty obvious there weren't major league  players on the field. Truthfully, though the competition was decent, it was less than professional baseball even at a low minor league level. Pitches were noticeably slow. At least three throws by my count bounced twice between the third baseman and first on routine grounders, and balls hit to the outfield tended towards shallow, although there was one home run and another to the warning track. But the play itself did not impress.

Still, for a style intended to engage the audience it was entertaining. On that level, Bananaball certainly works. I'd go again.