| Party Animals | |
| League: | Banana Ball Championship League |
| Location: | Savannah, Georgia |
| Stadium: | Grayson Stadium |
| Founded: | 2020 |
| Colors: | Pink, green, and black |
| Mascot: | Pharty the Party Animal |
| Owner: | Fans First Entertainment (Jesse & Emily Cole) |
| Coach: | Tyler Gillum and Adam Virant |
| Manager: | Mike Vavasis |
The Party Animals, formerly the Savannah Party Animals are an exhibition barnstorming baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. The team was founded in 2020 and has played at Grayson Stadium since its inaugural season. The Party Animals play the Savannah Bananas in the "Banana Ball" format, along with their rivals the Firefighters, and the Texas Tailgaters, similar to the decades-long format of basketball's Harlem Globetrotters and their partner touring team, the Washington Generals.[1] The team has been featured by ESPN, The Wall Street Journal, CNN 10, and Sports Illustrated because of its on-field hijinks and viral videos.[2]
During the 2020 shortened Bananas CPL season, the organization debuted its second team, the Savannah Party Animals. Previously, the test Banana Ball games were played as scrimmage games of the CPL Bananas pre-season. The creation of the team gave the Bananas a true home or away opponent in its exhibition gamedays during most of the season.
In March 2021, the season kicked off at Grayson Stadium with the Bananas winning 5–2. Later that year, the Bananas would play in a "world tour" in Mobile, Alabama, and sold out both nights at Hank Aaron Stadium, with a combined crowd of over 7,000 fans.[3]
At the 2024 Banana Ball "world tour" draft, it was announced that the Party Animals would have their own "world tour". The "world tour" kicked off at Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia on June 13 and ended a month later in Greenville, South Carolina.[4] On February 23, 2024, the Party Animals played their 100th game in Banana Ball. On June 8, the Party Animals beat the Bananas at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, 4–1. Before the world tour kicked off, they announced that they would have a mascot named "Pharty the Party Animal".[5] On their "world tour" they played the Firefighters in Las Vegas and The Visitors at Grayson Stadium. On September 21, the Party Animals beat the Bananas at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 3–2.
The Party Animals are slated to return in 2025 as part of the four-team Banana Ball Championship League (BBCL), along with the Bananas, the Firefighters, and the Texas Tailgaters, the newest and first non Savannah, Georgia based team, which will mainly play in Texas and in Southeastern college towns.[6]