'Forrest Gump' and a self-described Forrest Gump, PLUS Pitchin' Whoopie Pies in Portland & Savannah Bananas attempt to rescue baseball (Part II)

Baseball's current status defined by alternative takes on the game

Baseball-playing snacks to the rescue

Baseball is my favorite sport to play, and I’ll enjoy any sport live, but I’ll choose football to watch on TV anytime. This has much to do with the way professional baseball treats its spectators. Rarely does a player or a team even acknowledge the fans, some of whom have paid top dollar to watch a three hour long game from 90 yards away. When rioting in Baltimore forced Camden Yards to be empty for a game a few years ago, and then throughout the COVID season, you wouldn’t have noticed any impact on the way the players on the field went through their motions. MLB and even Minor League Baseball has produced a very self-absorbed culture.

The lower end of the minor leagues have long tried to bridge the gap between the field and the stands. Smaller parks and smaller egos allow for more interaction, and ticket affordability skews the fan base younger. Wacky antics and games in between innings has become standard fair at A and AA games, but even there players seem to barely tolerate the frivolity; maybe they resent that the stadium staff has to keep fans engaged because their playing isn't?

The Double A Portland Sea Dogs play a game a year as the Whoopie Pies because Maine has claimed the treat as the official state snack. The nearby New Hampshire Fisher Cats will play as the Chicken Tenders in July thanks to Manchester being their birthplace. I look at these performances as olive branches to disillusioned fans, a recognition by Baseball that it's product alone no longer entertains Americans as it once did. Our culture demands constant action and interaction, especially when hard-earned money is at stake.

I met Jeremy Ebersole, several-time podcast collaborator and longtime whoopie pie enthusiast, at the soggy game a few weeks ago.

Enter the Savannah Bananas. The team formed as a college summer league club just a few years ago, replacing the defunct Savannah Sand Gnats (who Borat once visited). In just the last three years, thanks in part to social media clips, but mostly to the aforementioned fan-neglect found in pro baseball, the Bananas have built up a huge following and they are now a few stops into their second world tour. Last year saw them come to the Sea Dogs’ field in Portland. I saw them at a sold out Fenway Park.