This past weekend, 30,000 fans from all over the country flooded into Sloan Park to witness the magic that was the Opening Weekend of the 2025 Banana Ball World Tour. Here’s a glimpse of what happened this past weekend in Mesa, Arizona.

Be Our Guest! 

The Bananas opened up Game 1 with their very own rendition of “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast. What better way to start a Banana Ball game than with song, dance and 30,000 of your closest friends? 

Even the Party Animals loved the moment, especially after their lead-off hitter, Reece Hampton, smashed the first pitch of the game to right-center field. 

The Boys in Yellow were clearly not expecting Hampton’s plate success, as it took a few seconds for the Bananas’ outfielders to break from the final pose and chase down the ball. When Reese Alexiades finally got a hand on it, Hampton was rounding third. Ultimately, he crossed home plate without breaking a sweat. The in-the-park home run marked the start of what would ultimately be an offensive outburst from the Party Animals in Game 1 of Opening Weekend.

Mesa’s Got Tricks

Every season in Bananaland, fans watch as athletes push the envelope on what is possible when performing a trick play. If Opening Weekend provided any insight into what fans can expect from the rest of the season, 2025 is sure to be absolutely insane. 

For starters, let’s take a look at RobertAnthony Cruz’s performance. RAC went on a trick play spree, grabbing three on the very first night of the season. Have you ever seen someone cut a backflip and aerial at the same time while sprinting at full speed? Yeah, it was that awesome.

RAC wasn’t the only one to dish up some craziness throughout the weekend, though. 

Noah Fisher solidified a point for the Party Animals after making an incredible diving grab on a ball popped up by Chase Achuff. Chase was looking for a trick play and thanks to Fisher’s quick reaction time, that’s exactly what he got.

Or what about when Noah Niznik executed just the right amount of flare on the bump for the Bananas on Opening Night?  Before sending the ball to Fisher and ultimately striking him out, Niznik bounced the ball on the rubber. It was the first ever  trick pitch strikeout to count as a trick play.

The Party Animals also took a bit of inspiration from Trading Places, as Sean Fluke and Achuff switched positions in the middle of Eric Jones Jr.’s at-bat. Achuff, the standout shortstop for the Party Animals, took Fluke’s place on the bump. Thankfully, though, all Fluke had to do while he filled in for his counterpart was work on his infield ready position. 

Achuff got to work quickly, and believe it or not, he was the one that was ultimately responsible for getting the strikeout. 

If you look up multi-faceted in the dictionary, you’ll find a clip of this play. 

NASCAR Legend Notches Historical Lap Time 

Now, would it really be a Banana Ball game if there wasn’t a guest appearance? Didn’t think so. 

Kurt Busch made his Banana Ball debut as a designated runner in game two of Opening Weekend. The NASCAR Cup Series Champion had a pretty easy outing, especially considering that RAC went to the plate and smashed a home run just seconds after Busch had been announced to the crowd. In total, Busch spent no more than five minutes out on the field. RAC won the inning for the Bananas and fans got to witness the speed of a NASCAR legend, outside of his car. 

Greatness like that just can’t be scripted.  

Banana Ball’s Bombshell

It would be wrong to talk about Banana Ball in Mesa without talking about the Party Animal’s rookie catcher, Andy Cosgrove. This guy can ball. 

He was pushed into the starting role soon after his arrival in Bananaland due to unforeseen circumstances. With just days to go until the start of the season, his teammate and second-year catcher, Bronson Balholm, broke his finger in a scrimmage. 

Balholm is expected to make a full recovery and will be back in no time. 

With Balholm’s absence, however, Andy will be spending a ton of time behind the dish for the Party Animals this season. His performance in Opening Weekend, which included two doubles, six RBI and catching Flash on the run to second, has solidified his role as a dependable backstop, even after Balholm makes his return. 

It was obvious in Mesa that Andy and Banana Ball go together pretty seamlessly, kind of like peanut butter and jelly, if you’re into that.

From walk-ups to “Dancing Through Life,” to toga parties at the plate, to multiple fan-caught foul balls, it seems that Opening Weekend of the 2025 Banana Ball World Tour was a smashing success. Neither team is on top, yet, though, after splitting the weekend 1-1. 

Banana Ball will hang out in the Grand Canyon State for one more weekend, as the Bananas and Party Animals gear up to face off at Camelback Ranch in Glendale. The three-game series will decide who takes the state of Arizona. 

Fans at home can tune in from the comfort of their couch, as all Banana Ball games are streamed live, for free, on Youtube. The three-day series will begin on Feb. 6.