INDIANAPOLIS — Fans will have to wait a little bit longer to catch "The Greatest Show in Sports" in Indianapolis.
The Savannah Bananas were set to bring their "Banana Ball World Tour" to Victory Field Thursday night, but strong storms knocked out power to much of the city — including the stadium, leading to a postponement.
Thursday's game will now be played on Saturday, July 1 at noon. Gates will open at 11 a.m.
Tickets for Thursday's game will be valid on Saturday. Fans who had printed tickets or were planning to use screenshotted digital tickets will still be able to scan those tickets at the gate Saturday. Digital tickets will be updated in fans' ticket accounts.
The Bananas are still scheduled to take the field against their rival, the Party Animals, on Friday, June 30 at Victory Field. Tickets for both Friday and Saturday's games are sold out.
Who are the Savannah Bananas?
The Bananas have built a massive following on social media, including more than 3.4 million TikTok followers, for the circus-like atmosphere at their games. On top of what you'd expect to find at a ballgame, the Savannah players often break out into dance moves and find ways to get the crowd directly involved in the game.
“The Savannah Bananas provide a fun, captivating and family-friendly baseball experience for fans of all ages,” said Indianapolis Indians president and general manager Randy Lewandowski in a release announcing the games in Indianapolis.
What is "Banana Ball"?
The Bananas created "Banana Ball" as an alternative way to play the game they've loved since childhood. Some of the unique rules include:
Time clock: Every game lasts a maximum of two hours. When the clock strikes :00, the game is over.
Scoring: Runs are scored in traditional baseball style, with a runner crossing home plate, but they only count for the inning in which they're scored. The team with the most runs in an inning gets one point.
Batter up: Batters must stay in the batter's box during their at bat, and they're not allowed to bunt.
No walks: If a batter draws ball four, they run — don't walk — to first base, and any additional base they can reach before every defender touches the baseball and can tag them out.
The tiebreaker: If a game ends in a tie, each team picks a hitter to face the opposing pitcher and one fielder (plus the catcher). Once the ball is hit, the hitter has to make it around to home plate to score a point before being put out.
Foul balls are fair game: If a fan catches a foul ball during an at bat, the hitter is out.
The Bananas and Party Animals were drafted from the same pool of players after tryouts and play one another throughout the tour, but the games are competitive, unlike the Harlem Globetrotters' regular routs of the outmatched Washington Generals.
The team's rise to fame and their first "world tour" was the subject of a series on ESPN+ this summer, appropriately titled "Bananaland."