PHOTOS: Savannah Bananas Sell Out Wrigley Field With Help From Cubs Legends

WRIGLEY FIELD — The world-famous Savannah Bananas returned to Chicago this weekend and played to massive crowds with the help of some Wrigley Field legends.

The barnstorming Savanah Bananas took over Wrigley Field this weekend, playing a three-game series Friday-Sunday. Like last year’s Bananas’ games at Rate Field, the Wrigley Field series also sold out and featured ecstatic crowds.

At Friday’s game, athletes performed a dance routine to Kanye West’s “Homecoming,” two people dressed as the Blues Brothers sang on the field and the night’s pinnacle was reached during the 7th inning.

That’s when former Cub and World Series champion Ben Zobrist made a nostalgic return to his old confines — even riding around in from the center field bleachers on a bicycle just like his Lakeview commutes years ago.

The crowd chanted “MVP! MVP!” as Zobrist walked up to home plate to pinch hit, when he reached first base on a fielder’s choice. Zobrist, who was the World Series MVP in 2016, then played defense for the Bananas at multiple positions in the bottom of the seventh.

Cubs legend Kerry Wood took to the Wrigley Field mound once again and former Cubs catcher and manager David Ross got an at-bat for the Bananas at Saturday’s game.

Jesse Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas and founder of Fans First Entertainment, called the team’s fanbase in Chicago “unbelievable.”

“Three nights, over 120,000 fans, sold out in minutes,” told Block Club Chicago after Friday night’s game. “At a traditional, iconic ballpark like this, to bring Banana Ball, it’s meaningful.”

Cole noted he hopes to continue to bring more Banana games to Chicago. Now having played at Rate Field and Wrigley Field, he mentioned the possibility of coming to Soldier Field in the future. The Bananas have played multiple football stadiums during this summer’s Banana Ball World Tour.

“There’s a lot of opportunities,” Cole said.

Aside from last year’s series at Sox Park, Chicago is no stranger to the Savannah Bananas. Tristan Peters, a former Banana, now plays center field for the White Sox and was recently named to the American League All-Star team.

“He’s a guy that plays the game hard, but also when he was with us in Banana Land, he had fun,” Cole said. “It’s great to see that now at the highest level.”

The crowd was engaged and immersed Friday evening. Kids flocked to get signatures instead of staring at their phones, songs blasted the whole time, players danced and flipped throughout the game to the roar of cheering fans. The packed crowd successfully completed the wave more than once toward the end of the game.

The Bananas fell 1-4 to the Firefighters in the first of three games played at the Friendly Confines over the weekend.

See more photos from the first Savannah Bananas game at Wrigley Field: