The Northwestern High School grad will take the field on Friday and Saturday in front of two sold-out crowds in Cincinnati as part of the Savannah Bananas, a touring cultural phenomenon known for its unique brand of baseball.
He’s scheduled to throw the fourth and fifth innings during Saturday’s game against the Texas Tailgaters, the newest addition to the Banana Ball league that includes the Party Animals and the Firefighters.
“It’s amazing,” Voorhees said. “It’s humbling. I’m excited to play in the Great American Ball Park. It’s funny though I thought the dream growing up was always to do it the MLB way and now I get to do it in a more fun and more open and excited experience.”
The Bananas, who were founded in 2016, are known for their theatrics at the ballpark, including choreographed dances and run-scoring celebrations, dancing coaches and umpires, their ‘Man Nana” cheerleading squad and and “Banana Nana” grandma dance team.
Credit: Name Test
Credit: Name Test
The organization recently played in front of 150,000 people at the Carolina Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, using its Banana Ball format — games are played in under two hours and include several new rules such as batters stealing first and fans catching foul balls for an out.
“It’s been really fun and exciting. I’ve had the time of my life and I’ll tell you that it’s better than regular baseball,” Voorhees said. “It’s been a little challenging trying to do trick pitches, trick plays, dancing all while throwing a pitch. I’ve done it in the past, but now I’m on the absolute biggest stage that their possibly is. I took a little one-year break there when I moved back to Springfield, so I’m still trying to get back into it, but I think I’m kind of breaking through right now getting out of this little slump.”
Voorhees, a 25-year-old right-handed pitcher and former Champion City King, played with the Bananas for the summer in 2022, winning the Coastal Plain League title in the organization’s last season of summer collegiate baseball.
After returning home to Springfield where he served as the baseball coach at Northwestern, Voorhees got an offer to play for the Visitors, a developmental team in the Banana Ball league. After being out of baseball for a year-and-a-half, Voorhees started the Visitors first-ever game against the Party Animals last summer in Savannah.
Credit: Ashley Smithson
Credit: Ashley Smithson
A few months later, he signed with the Bananas, the global phenomenon who play in front of tens of thousands of people every weekend. They’re scheduled to play in several professional venues this season, including the famed Fenway Park in Boston and Yankee Stadium in New York City.
“As we keep going in playing in front of all of these people in these big, big stadiums, it’s becoming easier and easier,” Voorhees said.
On Friday and Saturday, the Bananas will host a pre-game party outside the stadium. The Pre-Game Plaza experience opens at 2 p.m. and their Before the Peel Show starts at 3 p.m. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and the show starts at 6:30 p.m.
Voorhees recommended getting to the game as early as possible to get the full Bananas experience.
Voorhees will fulfill a lifelong dream when steps atop the mound at Great American Ball Park on Saturday, calling his Banana Ball career “a blessing,” Voorhees said.
“I feel very amazed that some guy from little old Springfield, Ohio gets to be on this team traveling the world playing in front of millions of fans,” he said.
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