Anderson umpires Banana Ball series in Sioux Falls

SIOUX FALLS – Banana Ball has taken the country by storm over the past two years and  Brookings resident JaColby Anderson had the opportunity to umpire a pair of games in Sioux Falls at the end of August.

Banana Ball is a variation of baseball that was created by the exhibition barnstorming baseball team known as the Savannah Bananas. The Savannah Bananas were founded in 2016 and they competed in the Coastal Plains League as a collegiate summer baseball team. In 2018, the Bananas began to play exhibition games outside of the CPL in the Banana Ball format and then in 2023 they decided to move entirely to exhibition games and tour the country with the Banana Ball Championship League.

There are six teams in the Banana Ball Championship League and the Indianapolis Clowns and the Firefighters played a three-game series at the Bird Cage in Sioux Falls Aug. 27-29.

Anderson has umpired high school baseball games, legion games and also some amatuer games over the years. Anderson’s former college coach, Tim Huber at Augustana, told Andrew Bartman, who works with Banana Ball, that Anderson was an umpire and would be able to help out in Sioux Falls.

Anderson initially didn’t take Bartman’s call because he didn’t recognize his number, but Bartman left a voicemail letting him know that they needed help an umpire. Anderson agreed to ump two of the games, but he needed to go through the different rules in Banana Ball when he got to the stadium.

“When I got there the first night, I did a crash course with the other umpires,” Anderson said. “We talked about the specific rules. A lot of the rules are very similar to what you would see in Major League Baseball. The one that stood out was the fan catch rule and they explained the process there. A ball hit into foul territory, if a fan catches it cleanly, it’s an out. 

“The other rules, I didn’t really have to worry too much about because my main job was the fan catch rule and watching the outfield lines and hustling to certain spots when players were making their catches because there are trick plays involved. So, on a trick play they could easily bobble the ball and drop it. That was another big responsibility that I had.”

Anderson was placed on the left field foul line. He said there wasn’t any tough calls, but there were a few times where a trick play was completed.

“There wasn’t any tough calls to make. Everything was pretty clean for the most part. There were a couple trick plays where they would tip it off their glove and pass it to the teammate and he would make the catch and throw it in,” Anderson said.

In Banana Ball, there are choreographed dances and skits throughout the game and the players get the fans involved. Some people have compared the experience to the Harlem Globtrotters. Anderson said he wasn’t involved in any of that and was trying to figure stuff out in the first game umpired.

“The first night, I was just kind of rolling with the punches. I didn’t really know what to expect and they don’t tell you anything as far as what kind of songs they’re going to be playing or what kind of dances they’re going to do. … I got out there 30 minutes before the game started and they started their show. They had festivities and lot of the players were singing, doing certain acts and certain skits. … I wasn’t part of any of that. … I just wanted to make sure I didn’t get in the way,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he hadn’t watched a lot of Banana Ball before the experience. He’s been involved with traditional baseball his whole life, so this was a new experience for him, but he really enjoyed it because he was able to learn.

“It was a great experience for me,” Anderson said. “You know, I’ve watched a lot of traditional baseball, more or less the conventional way of how you play from start to finish. I’ve seen Banana Ball on TV, but never watched a whole lot of it. … I will say that getting a chance to meet the other umpires and getting to talk with them, because they do it all summer, just getting to talk with them [was great], because not every umpire’s pathway to the top is the same. You know, they all had different stories. 

“A lot of them worked at different levels and at different capacities. … Just getting to listen to their stories and how they got to where they are with Banana Baseball and the professional ranks. I think in the end, their goals are ultimately to get as high as they can because that’s just the passion they have.”

Anderson’s passion is there as well. He’s played amateur baseball for years and as his playing career is coming to an end, he said he’d like to keep umpiring so that he can continue to be involved in the game of baseball.

“As I’m finding I’m getting older, you know, my playing days are dwindling. … My kids play baseball and I’m able to stay involved there, but umpiring is just another avenue for me to stay involved because I love the game of baseball. I figure I might as well continue to umpire and still enjoy the game through that avenue. 

“I’ve been trying to find ways to get into the college ranks and I think this Banana Ball experience is good because it shows that I’ve worked at a bit of a higher level. But there’s no guarantees because as you climb the levels and ranks, it gets that much tougher because there’s a lot of good umpires out there who have just as much skill, if not more skill or more experience.”