The LoCo Beach Coconuts hosted the Party Animals at ESPN’s Disney Wide World of Sports on Friday and Saturday nights in a Banana Ball Championship League game.
At first glance a fan might see players performing trick plays during a baseball game such as behind the back catches, throwing through their legs, and catching a ball as they do a backwards flip. In the middle of the game the players might be singing Disney tunes, dancing, or just heading into the stands to hang out with fans. Speaking of fans, if a fan catches a foul ball the batter is out, which actually happened for the first out of the Friday night game. The fan was brought onto the field to celebrate the out.
Banana’s owner and president Jesse Cole said the fans are going to have a fun experience at the games.
“Fans first is a way of life,” Cole said. “It’s when you experience as a kid, certain moments that stand out, and people make you feel like you matter.
“We believe in bringing people together. We believe in fun. We believe in happiness.”
Cole remembers playing in this stadium as a 14-year-old in 1997 at the AAU National Championship.
“I came in and pitched and there may have been 100 or 200 fans,” Cole said. “But I felt like this was the Big Leagues. This was a major league stadium. I was pitching at Disney.”
Cole said Walt Disney’s vision of seeing something other people didn’t see has inspired him as he develops the fanfriendly Banana Ball.
Some hard-core fans watching this version of baseball might question whether this is quality baseball or just a Harlem Globetrotters production on a diamond. Those fans would be surprised that the Banana Ball teams could likely compete at the AA or AAA level in pro baseball’s minor league system.
“Our players are unbelievably talented,” Cole said. “We have top draft picks on our roster, and they’re not only performing at a high level, throwing 95 miles per hour and hitting home runs, but also doing trick plays and celebrations, and performing all in the middle of a show.”
Several players agreed with their owner’s perceptions of their play.
“We’re putting on an awesome show with a lot of entertainment, and we’re really talented on the baseball field,” Party Animal star Tanner Thomas said. “But at the same time, we are also competing. We’re trying to win and do whatever we can to do so.
Joseph Urso (University of Tampa) and Dalton Mauldin (Trevecca Nazarene University) each played in the NCAA Division II World Series, with Urso winning it last season. They both noted the talent on the Coconuts is much better than their World Series teams.
“I think this team is better,” Mauldin, a singer songwriter, said. “We have guys that played all levels of baseball. We have a lot of good team chemistry.”
Added Urso, who said his da is currently coaching in the Division II World Series this week: “The Coconuts have some of the best players I’ve played with. The talent is definitely a couple of steps up. And then you add the extra element of entertaining. There is some of the best human beings you can imagine [in our dugout].”
Party Animal Mike Ballard, who played at Lake Mary High School and whose uniform number 407 pays homage to the Orlando area code, played in the Frontier League after playing Division I college baseball at Louisiana Tech. He tried out for Banana Ball and was drafted by the Coconuts. Like others, he spoke of having fun but being competitive on the field.
Yes, they keep score and the two teams split this weekend.
But in reality, everyone at the stadium won as between baseball, singing, dancing, and other contests, the fans all left the stadium with a memorable moment.
“We have been trying to get tickets for two years and got picked in the lottery,” Champion Gate resident Kendall Baia said of her first-time experience. “This is insane and way more than I thought it would be. It’s a lot, but it fantastic.
Cole named his company Fans First Entertainment to assure fans like Baia have a special experience. They serve more than 3,000,000 fans inperson annually and countless others on ESPN and YouTube that watch the games.
“I think about that fan that’s out in the berm. I think about that fan that’s in the upper deck. I think about that fan that’s been waiting four years to get tickets,” Cole said. “I think about that single mom that her and her daughter have been watching all the games, hoping for a chance to come that first time and meet the players.
“And when you think about those moments, what do you do to make sure that it truly matters? That’s an unforgettable moment. It’s a core memory for those.”
Core memories for life. Just like Cole and Disney planned.
