Casper couple bets big on bringing Banana Ball to Wyoming

Two years ago, on a summer night in Arizona, two diehard Wyoming baseball fans named Kristi and Paul Hack found themselves sitting through a baseball game that was unlike anything they’d ever experienced. The players were decked in neon-colored uniforms, periodically breaking into song and dance. Banana Ball was pioneered by the Savannah Bananas, often called the “Harlem Globetrotters of Baseball.”

Before the game was even half over, the Hacks, who own the Casper Spuds Collegiate Team, knew they wanted to bring this new, rule-busting brand of baseball to Wyoming. They have since mounted an all-out campaign, complete with traveling T-shirts and social-media ad campaigns inspired by their chats with Banana Ball players.

Banana Ball’s foundation is baseball, but it chucks any rule that slows the game down. It’s billed as fan-first entertainment, with nine rules that dramatically speed things up. Every inning counts for something; the team that gets the most home runs in a given inning wins a point. Once one team has racked up enough runs to beat the other’s tally, that inning is over. There’s a two-hour time limit on the overall game. Walks are eliminated—on the fourth ball, the hitter takes off for first base while the catcher must throw the ball to every player position before it becomes live.

“It’s nonstop excitement,” said Jesse Cole, the yellow-suited showman who invented Banana Ball. “It’s faster than any baseball game anyone’s ever seen.”

The Hacks believe Casper has a few things going for it. Cole has already committed to hosting games in all 50 states, and Wyoming is one of just five states that didn’t host a game this year. Mike Lansing Field can seat up to 3,800 people, and Casper’s central location is about four hours from most places in the state. Kristi ran into Cole last year in New York City, and he said they could look at 2027. “They’ll get to experience Wyoming,” Kristi said. “This is a great place to start.”