These stories are Bananas: The Savannah Bananas books offering more than a game

In 2022, Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole, donning his trademark banana yellow tuxedo, announced the opening of what was being billed as “The World’s Smallest Bookstore” at the team’s home ballpark, Grayson Stadium.

The storage room turned literary showcase – truly, a former closet stuffed with cleaning supplies – became the pitch point for Fans First: Change the Game, Break the Rules, & Create an Unforgettable Experience. The book, penned by Cole, is a “behind-the-peel” look at how the Bananas came to be, and the mantra – Fans First – that is at the heart of the team, the game, and everything the team aspires to become.

But The World’s Smallest Bookstore, which opened under the grandstands along the first base side and had a maximum occupancy of one, has since received some other stories to line the shelves – all sharing more of the Bananas lore:

Fans First focuses on offering hard-earned lessons that will let the reader learn “how to stand out in your marketplace, drive explosive growth, and inspire fanatical loyalty.” The book’s promotion on Amazon and other retail sites highlights that “normal leader read normal books,” recognizing that the story of business transformation and growth penned by a non-fiction man in yellow “all sounds bananas,” but readers, critics, and others have heralded the book as a guide to the “future of marketing,” that is full of practical lessons that show how the Bananas are “delivering moments and experiences” more than just a game or a product.

Released in 2017 – before the Savannah Bananas were on ESPN or taking to the road for the world tour – Jesse Cole penned Find Your Yellow Tux: How to Be Successful by Standing Out. While the book’s title may harken comparisons to Richard N. Bolles’ What Color Is Your Parachute, which offered readers a guide to a lifetime of meaningful work and career success, Cole’s story adds the imagination of Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! to that narrative. Called “a roadmap to happiness and success,” the book offers readers ways to reignite passions, encourages readers to discover how to “find joy and success in everything you do,” and the recipe for standing out – “take whatever you think is normal, and do the exact opposite.”

Released earlier this year, the story of Banana Ball tells the story of “the movement” wrapped in yellow. The Banana Ball book is promoted as “part Moneyball, part Field of Dreams, part The Greatest Showman” all woven in the person, creative story of Jesse Cole. The personal stories of Cole are interwoven with stories of players, coaches, fans, baseball, and love. “For the first time in this book, Jesse reveals the ideas and experiences that allowed him to reimagine America’s oldest sport by creating a phenomenon that is helping fans fall in love with the game all over again.”