Jesse Cole’s Savannah Bananas Show That Greatness Never Rests

When most people see the Savannah Bananas play on the field, they notice the bright yellow tuxedo, the elaborate stunts, and the frenzied crowds during the game. 

But if you look closer, you can see one of the greatest lessons in business playing out, too. 

Four years ago, I received a text from the Bananas founder Jesse Cole asking if I wanted to be part of the fun show. Jesse asked if I wanted to throw out the first pitch before a game. 

At the time, the Bananas were playing in a small 5,000-person stadium in Savannah, Georgia and while I wanted to throw the pitch, it just never worked out with our schedules. 

Until this past Saturday night. 

As it happened, the Bananas were in my hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, over the weekend. I bought a handful of tickets and brought friends and family with me for “the show!”

Then, about 20 minutes before the game, I got a text, this time from one of Jesse’s top assistants. “Come down to the field.” Before I knew it, I was part of the show. 

No longer was the assignment just an opening pitch as it had been years ago. It was much more. I was blindfolded. I had to get down on hands and knees and look for a golden banana that had been tossed in the infield grass. 

If I moved closer to the banana, the 67,000 fans in the stadium cheered. If I moved away from it, they booed. I crawled around more in those next few minutes than I had since I was 9 months old! But for as silly (and magical) as it all was, the lesson was right there in front of me. 

I saw it, blindfolded. 

Everything Jesse and the Bananas do is open for “up-leveling.” Everything – no matter how successful the moment or skit had been on one night – was there to be improved. Throwing out an opening pitch (even if it is a banana!) might be funny. Making a person crawl and have the crowd direct them is even more engaging.  

In business, it’s easy to get rid of the poor parts of an organization and replace them with something better. But it’s much harder to look at what works well enough and ask, “How can it be better?”

That’s exactly what Jesse and his Savannah Bananas do every day. 

Every chance the Bananas get, they want to up the ante of the fan experience. 

Truly, when I found the ceremonial banana, I was loudly cheered. But the moment wasn’t over—not by a long shot. I walked to the area of the pitcher’s mound and I continued my assignment. 

The first pitch. Of the banana. 

I was told to throw the fruit like a tomahawk. And as strange as it felt, it worked! I tossed the banana right down the middle of the plate. In fact, walking back toward the dugout, the catcher – Bananas legend Bill LeRoy – said it was the first strike he caught in a year. 

If you’re a fan of the game of baseball, chances are you’ve seen dozens of first pitches. By now, most likely blend together in one way or another. But not this one. 

This “pitch” was one I’ll never forget. It’s one more piece of how Jesse and his crew make the Savannah Banana experience memorable night after night.

Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to work with Jesse on his book, Banana Ball: The Unbelievable True Story of the Savannah Bananas. And during that time, Jesse and I walked through the history of his mad genius plan. 

One of the most important things I experienced during the writing was the organization’s regular late-night debrief sessions. After every game, everyone heads to a large room. There’s a nice spread of food and as people eat, they talk about what worked that night and what didn’t. They come up with new ideas for the next night. 

Even with hundreds of thousands of ticket buyers watching, Jesse knows there is always room to get better. Is that something we can say about our own organizations? Do we take the time to examine what doesn’t work and what does in order to improve the product?

It’s an essential question, for both growth and sustainability. After the game on Saturday, I had a moment to catch up with Jesse. I congratulated him on all the amazing things that were happening for the Bananas. 

And Jesse looked at me and said, “Thanks, but we’re just beginning.” 

From an old, tiny stadium in Savannah, Georgia, to a future where the CEO predicts some 3.5 million people will attend a Bananas game this year—better never rests. 

Jesse is living proof of that. 

One yellow tuxedo at a time. 

What a blast!