The inaugural Banana Ball player draft kicked off with a shocking selection Thursday when the Indianapolis Clowns selected World Series champion Jackie Bradley Jr. The selection marked the first time a former Major League Baseball star committed to participating full time in Banana Ball, a new league created by the Savannah Bananas.
Bradley is a former Boston Red Sox outfielder. He was an All-Star in 2016, American League Championship Series MVP in 2018, a World Series champ and a Gold Glove winner in 2019. Bradley last played in the majors in 2023 on the Kansas City Royals.
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He told ESPN that his decision to play in the Banana Ball league came together “days ago.” In July, he took part in a Savannah Bananas game at Fenway Park, which prompted Jesse Cole, founder of Banana Ball, to reach out to Bradley about joining the league.
The Indianapolis Clowns
Bradley will be joining a team with a rich history in the Negro Leagues. Launching in 1935, the Indianapolis Clowns became the first baseball team to include trick plays and skits during games. They served as baseball’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters and even signed future Hall of Fame players like Hank Aaron and Satchel Paige.
The team has been inactive since 1989, but will return during the inaugural Banana Ball Championship League season in 2026.
Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, said the partnership between the new league and the museum is “a tremendous opportunity to not only entertain, but educate fans about the rich history of the Negro Leagues while paying homage to the team that helped influence Banana Ball.”
Bradley considers the team a perfect fit. He said he wants to help grow the game and hopes he can tie being a part of the club to his legacy.
“I feel like this was another opportunity to not only the league, but to be able to help the people behind me to … hopefully, catapult other African American ballplayers to want to play the game,” Bradley told ESPN.
The Banana Ball Championship League
The Savannah Bananas announced the Banana Ball Championship League earlier this year, saying it would include six teams playing 60 games each. Teams will play across the country at MLB, minor league and college football stadiums.
Other teams in the league include the Savannah Bananas, the Party Animals, the Firefighters, the Texas Tailgaters and the Loco Beach Coconuts.
Cole noted Bradley’s participation could mark a new era of Banana Ball. He told ESPN that Bradley is “a trendsetter, and I think he’s going to set the tone for maybe giving some other [MLB] players at the end of their careers another option.”
“If there’s players at the end of their career that want to just go and maybe play 60 games instead of 160 and play at sold-out stadiums and really just have a lot of fun while doing it, I think this could be something that would be a viable option,” Cole said.
