Former Phillies legends taking on new jobs with Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball

Since 2016, when Jesse Cole and his wife founded the Savannah Bananas, their coveted "Banana Ball" has taken the world by storm. Combining the theatrics of music, choreography and humor into America's pastime has livened it up, appealing to a broader audience more than Rob Manfred's pitch clock or enlarged bases did for Major League Baseball when trying to re-engage fans.

Recently, the Savannah Bananas announced that the Banana Ball league would continue to expand with two additional clubs, in addition to the four clubs it has already expanded to, per ESPN's Anthony Gharib. The announcement also included exciting news about former Phillies legends and 2008 World Series champions, and Bananas for a night, Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard.

Former Phillies Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino expanding involvement with Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball as primetime coaches

Victorino and Howard will be returning to the fold as "Primetime Coaches" for Banana Ball's two newest teams, the Loco Beach Coconuts and the Indianapolis Clowns.

Howard will be coaching for the Clowns. The team shares the name with its historic counterpart from the Negro Leagues, a move lauded by Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick, per Gharib. The Negro Leagues' Indianapolis Clowns are synonymous with Toni Stone, the only professional female player who replaced Hank Aaron at second base for the team in the 1950s.

Victorino will get to pay homage to his "Flyin' Hawaiian" roots as the manager of the Coconuts, after having success with the Bananas as a player in both 2024 and 2025.

Often compared to the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball, the Bananas have dazzled fans across the country with their barnstorming ways. After years of success touring around the country in various stadiums, the organization expanded in 2024. The Bananas and the additional teams that make up their league embarked on an MLB stadium tour that took these dancing ball players all around the country, including Citizens Bank Park, with major success.

They just concluded their second MLB park tour earlier this season, where both Victorino and Howard came in to pinch hit in the Bananas' iconic yellow uniform.

With the addition of primetime coaches and the way the Savannah Bananas have included so many MLB personalities in their stadium tour shows, it's clear that the team is invested in keeping the sport's legacy alive with the players who shaped the talent in the Banana pool, not just in making money.

Each year, it seems the Bananas continue to expand, from new in-game fan engagement tactics to revamping the rules of their sport to inviting former MLB talent to come and play Banana Ball for a night. This revamped approach to America's most beloved sport seems to introduce and engage an even younger demographic of fans.

It will be exciting to see both Victorino and The Big Piece transition from players to coaches, as they know how to play when the lights shine their brightest. Still, it remains to be seen if they can maintain the same rigor, even if their center fielder might be doing a flip before catching the ball or the umpire twerks before calling strike three.