Diego Chevere stood in Dedham on Thursday as Savannah Bananas Gillette weekend approached. “It’s crazy I get to meet professional baseball players,” he said after the free meet-and-greet at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Dedham.
The stop gave fans a chance to meet members of the Savannah Bananas and the Loco Beach Coconuts, get autographs, take photos, and buy Banana Ball merchandise before the team’s first games at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on Friday and Saturday nights. Harry Barnette, a Banana Ball fan, said, “I am really excited. Gillette is a special space. Anybody in the area knows that anything you can go to at Gillette is a great experience.”
Dedham before Gillette Stadium
The free event was a practical warmup for the Bananas’ two-game visit, and it put players in front of fans before the lights came on at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. The team’s games are part of Banana Ball, a traveling format that keeps attention on the whole show as much as the result, with choregraphed dances, unique uniforms, scoring celebrations, walk-up song performances, breakdancing coaches, and more.
That setup matters for a weekend like this one because the crowd is not just buying a ticket to watch innings; it is buying access to the people who turn the event into a live performance. A meet-and-greet turns that into something immediate, especially when it comes the day before the first pitch.
Bryce Grizzaffi on Gillette turf
Bryce Grizzaffi said Gillette Stadium brings one adjustment the Bananas do not always face elsewhere. “It’s a thicker turf than what we are normally used to playing on. I guess that’s that football turf,” he said.
He also pointed to the field geometry. “We heard right field is usually shorter, so you’ll probably see some guys try to go the opposite way, some righties. But I think for the most part for guys, it’s the same game,” Grizzaffi said. That kind of small tactical shift can change how a lineup approaches at-bats without changing the larger Banana Ball rhythm.
Friday and Saturday nights
JD Urso said the Loco Beach Coconuts are led by Shane Victorino, who played for the Boston Red Sox, won a world championship there, and is a Hawaii native. “Our head coach is Shane Victorino, who played for the Boston Red Sox, won a world championship here, and he’s a Hawaii native so he kind of designed the team around that,” Urso said.
Gillette Stadium said parking lots for both games will open at 1 p.m., gates will open at 4 p.m., and the games are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Grizzaffi said, “Every show is a new show, so there’s going to be something different every Banana Ball game,” which is the clearest read on the weekend: the Dedham stop handled the meet-and-greet, but the field in Foxboro will decide how the show plays.
