Banana Ball, the rule-bending version of baseball that the Savannah Bananas have turned into a national touring show, has two dates on the boardwalk next summer. Its 2027 schedule puts the Firefighters against the Loco Beach Coconuts at Maimonides Park, the Brooklyn Cyclones' ballpark on Surf Avenue, on Friday, July 9, and Saturday, July 10, 2027. Game times have not been announced yet.

The deadline that matters now is much closer. Banana Ball sells its tickets through a lottery, and sign-ups for the 2027 season close on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.

How the lottery works

Fans join a single ticket lottery list for the season through the Banana Ball tickets page, which links to the organization's Fans First Tickets lottery site. Joining the list does not guarantee a ticket. Before each event, a random drawing picks who gets the chance to buy the seats that are available. Banana Ball has not published 2027 prices on its tickets page, and its help center handles ticket questions.

Anyone who wants Coney Island specifically should sign up before the deadline and then watch for the drawing ahead of the July games.

Who is playing

The Brooklyn games do not feature the Savannah Bananas themselves. They match two of the other teams in the Banana Ball Championship League. The Firefighters bill themselves as the hottest show in sports, and the Loco Beach Coconuts as the team that brings the beach to you, which on Surf Avenue will be a short walk. The league's other teams are the Savannah Bananas, the Party Animals, the Texas Tailgaters and the Indianapolis Clowns.

New Yorkers who want the Bananas will have a separate shot in the Bronx. The same schedule lists the Savannah Bananas against the Firefighters at Yankee Stadium on Friday, May 28, and Saturday, May 29, 2027.

What makes it different from a Cyclones game

Banana Ball keeps the bats, the bases and the field and changes nearly everything else. According to the league's published rules:

  • Each inning is worth one point to the team that scores more runs in it, and only in the final inning does every run count.
  • No new inning starts after two hours, and a game tied at that mark goes to a Showdown Tiebreaker.
  • There are no walks. Ball four turns into a sprint, and the hitter can take as many bases as the defense allows.
  • A batter may try to steal first base on any pitch.
  • A hitter who bunts is ejected, and a hitter who steps out of the box is charged a strike.
  • Coaches and players may not visit the mound.
  • A fan who cleanly catches a foul ball records an out for the fielding team.
  • Each team gets one challenge, and the crowd gets one challenge per game.

That last foul-ball rule means the seats behind the dugouts at Maimonides Park are, in a small way, part of the defense.

A bigger tour than ever

The 2027 Banana Ball Championship League schedule runs through Major League Baseball parks and minor league ballparks across the country, with stops in Canada and Mexico. Maimonides Park, which seats a minor league crowd steps from the boardwalk and the Coney Island amusement district, is one of the smaller rooms on the schedule, which tends to make the lottery odds tighter, not looser.

Getting there

Maimonides Park is at 1904 Surf Avenue. The D, F, N and Q trains end at Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue, a short walk west along Surf Avenue.

To enter, join the 2027 ticket lottery list on the Banana Ball tickets page before 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 31, then check the schedule page for game times as the July dates get closer.

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