Members of the Savannah Bananas make surprise appearance at TABA Regional World Series

TEXARKANA, AR (KTAL/KMSS) — The Texarkana Arkansas Baseball Association kicked off its Regional World Series with an opening ceremony with a surprise visit from a few members of the Savannah Bananas.

While Banana Ball has increased in popularity over the years, two members of the Bananas’ organization who call Texarkana home have deep roots of dancing on the diamond, going all the way back to their days playing and umping in the East Texas dirt.

“He was dancing when I was trying to pitch back then and missing some calls. He’s still doing the same thing now, but I still love him,” Texas High alum and Savannah Bananas pitcher Zack Phillips said.

Not much has changed for natives Phillips and Vince Chapman, otherwise known as The Dancing Umpire.

“Your job today is to dance and then play baseball. Your job is to dance and then call strikes or balls,” Phillips said. “I think it’s something that we’ve done since a young age and we just loved it and so like now it’s just second nature. I’d always get in trouble for trying to dance on the baseball field, but now it’s encouraged.”

Chapman went viral for dancing in between pitches and innings while umping youth games a few years ago, catching the attention of the Savannah Bananas. When Phillips was released from the Royals, Chapman called him up immediately.

“He’s always been a good kid. He’s always been a free spirit. He’s always been entertaining, but most importantly he’s a good person and that’s what our organization is about,” Chapman said. “You can be the best ballplayer in the world, but if you don’t love people and want to give back to people, then you’re not a fit for our organization.”

The Bananas are sweeping the country by storm, visiting 44 states this season. The two find comfort in each other while spending so much time so far from home.

“Being able to share this experience with someone close from home is very, very unique,” Phillips said. “Not not a lot of people get to do this, but being able to share with someone from and you know what we’re going to experience right now is probably one of the best joys we’ve ever had in life, and I think we both cherished it a lot.”

The life on the road doesn’t allow for much free time, Phillips was spending just a few hours at home. The two, along with some other members of the Bananas and Party Animals, devoted a good chunk of that to give back to the community.

“Coming back here in Texarkana, I don’t get to come home often, you know, I’m always traveling the Bananas. We’re always traveling, we’re always dancing, we’re always having a good time. But getting to come back here to Texarkana and spend, I think I’m home for 12 hours max, look at the kids around us getting to make their day is probably the best part of my job,” Phillips said.

The Bananas helped kicked off the TABA’s Regional World Series, with over 44 teams from across the south, including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The 6U, 7U, 9U, and 11U teams will be competing over the next few days at Ed Worrell Park.