JOHN YANG: Millions are going bananas over a new take on baseball called banana ball.

To show us what it's all about, our Deema Zein took in a banana ball game between the Savannah Bananas and the Firefighters.

DEEMA ZEIN: If a fan catches a foul ball, it's an out.

A pitch in the dirt, the batter steals first.

And if you draw a walk, you better run as fast as you can.

This is anything but traditional baseball.

They're called the Savannah Bananas, and they're playing what they call banana ball.

It's a fast-paced take on baseball with 11 rules you wouldn't see at a Major League game filled with constant entertainment.

JESSE COLE, CEO, Savannah Bananas: Hey, hey, baby.

Oh, I want to know.

DEEMA ZEIN: It was all started in 2016 by Savannah Bananas CEO Jesse Cole, who had a vision of a fans-first approach to baseball.

JESSE COLE: Bring energy, bring fun and lift people up.

DEEMA ZEIN: It was a tradition-busting idea.

JESSE COLE: I realized that there's a fundamental problem with a game if you leave the game in the middle of the game.

And so we said, all right, well, what if we made our own rules?

DEEMA ZEIN: With new rules in the game also came new antics on the field, including a twerking umpire, acrobatic trick plays, a batter on stilts, trending choreographed dances and much more.

HOLLY DANIEL, Fan: It feels like a party, like a baseball party and not a game.

LILY GUILFOIL, Fan: Circus meets the Olympics.

Like, it's just amazing.

DEEMA ZEIN: And Cole himself is the circus' ringleader, rocking a signature banana yellow suit and top hat.

JESSE COLE: It gives permission to not -- to people to have fun, to not take themselves too seriously.

When your owner is running around throwing out Dolce & Banana underwear into the crowd and having fun, I think it says, you know what, we can loosen up.

DEEMA ZEIN: Banana ball's popularity has grown exponentially in the past few years, racking up more than 30 million followers on social media and outpacing some Major League Baseball teams.

And with a growing social media presence came an expanding Banana Ball League that welcomed the Party Animals and, in 2024, the Firefighters and Texas Tailgaters, with more teams on the horizon, according to Cole.

When the Bananas and Firefighters went head to head in Washington, D.C., recently, the excitement was palpable.

MARISSA BARTHE, Fan: We're new fans, but now forever fans.

DWIGHT QUARLES JR., Fan: They are the best baseball show on earth that's not a playoff game.

WENDELL BELEW, Fan: Yes, they're awesome athletes and it's a different game.

They're different rules, but it's close, and it's a lot of fun.

DEEMA ZEIN: Who are we rooting for, the Firefighters or the Savannah Bananas?

CHILDREN: Savannah Bananas!

DEEMA ZEIN: But things weren't always a home run for Cole and the bananas.

JESSE COLE: We were just hoping, glad to sell a few tickets when we first started.

I was sleeping on the air bed and grocery shop with just $30 a week.

That's where we were nine years ago.

At first, no one wanted to play for us.

And now every week we're hearing from numerous players, from guys that played professional baseball, from people that are literally foregoing their college eligibility just to join us and be a part of this journey.

DEEMA ZEIN: The Bananas Robert Anthony Cruz first played professionally with the Washington Nationals.

ROBERT ANTHONY CRUZ, Savannah Bananas Player: It was my dream to be a professional baseball player.

It was a lot of pressure, though.

Showing up to the ballpark every day with the Nationals was pretty nerve-racking showing up to the ballpark here with the Bananas, it's exciting.

DEEMA ZEIN: Kyle "K.J."

Jackson and Christian Dearman also found playing for the league an opportunity to give their baseball careers new life.

KYLE "K.J."

JACKSON, Savannah Bananas Player: I thought this is the best way for me to continue to play the game I love and pursue my goal of being an entertainer.

CHRISTIAN "MR. ELECTRIC" DEARMAN, Savannah Bananas Player: I saw how much it revived my love for the game and just made me want to be a part of it forever.

DEEMA ZEIN: The Savannah Bananas bring in tens of thousands of fans, selling out games across the nation.

And a ticket lottery system is the main way to be a part of the action.

TIM NADDY, Vice President of Finance, Savannah Bananas: We are the Taylor Swift of baseball.

DEEMA ZEIN: Tim Naddy is the Savannah Bananas' vice president of finance.

TIM NADDY: It pains us that we can't get everybody in the door, but we are trying the best we can in order to deliver the product to them if they can't come and be in our home venue for a night or two.

DEEMA ZEIN: And it's big business when banana ball comes to town, hitting 40 cities and 25 states this year, playing at 18 Major League stadiums and three NFL football stadiums across the nation.

NINA ALBERT, D.C. Deputy Mayor For Planning and Economic Development: Last year, what we saw was that 25 percent of the ticket holders that came to see Savannah Bananas were from outside of the region.

DEEMA ZEIN: Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development for the District of Columbia Nina Albert says games with nationwide appeal always bring in the big bucks.

NINA ALBERT: What an out-of-town visitor does for the District of Columbia, it includes staying in a hotel.

It includes eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

DEEMA ZEIN: And, for dessert, perhaps a banana split.

JESSE COLE: The world's hungry for fun, and so we're grateful that we get to deliver it every night.

DEEMA ZEIN: For PBS News, I'm Deema Zein catching a story that's just bananas.