Savannah Bananas MLB connections from Johnny Bench to Barry Zito over the years

AI-assisted summary
• The Savannah Bananas will play at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on May 10.
• Numerous former MLB players, including Johnny Bench and Johnny Damon, have participated in Banana Ball games.

Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, two-time World Series champion and two-time All-Star Johnny Damon, six-time All-Star Jonathan Papelbon, World Series champ Jonny Gomes, Cy Young winner Jake Peavy and Gold Glove winner Josh Reddick are just a few former Major League Baseball players to appear in games as coaches or players for or against the Savannah Bananas over the years.

Banana Ball is coming back to Nashville on May 10, when the Bananas will face the Party Animals at 7 p.m. at Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans.

Nissan is the second of three NFL stadiums the Bananas will play in this season.

MLB players involved with Savannah Bananas include Johnny Bench

• Heath Bell: Former 69th-round draft pick and three-time All-Star pitched for 11 MLB seasons with the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays. Led the National League in saves in 2009 with 42.
• Johnny Bench: Hall of Fame catcher, 14-time All-Star, two-time MVP, two-time World Series champion, 10-time Gold Glove winner played 17 seasons for the Cincinnati Reds. Served as first-base coach during a Bananas game.
• Eric Byrnes: Outfielder played 11 MLB seasons with the Oakland A's, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners.
• Roger Clemens: Seven-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher, MVP, two-time World Series champion pitcher won 354 games over 24 MLB seasons with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.
• Johnny Damon: Two-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion outfielder played 18 MLB seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Oakland A's, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians.

• Dee Strange-Gordon: Two-time All-Star infielder/outfielder won the 2015 NL batting title, Silver Slugger Award and Gold Glove. Three times he led the league in stolen bases. Played 11 MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins and Seattle Mariners.
• Curtis Granderson: Three-time All-Star outfielder played 16 seasons in the big leagues for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers and Miami Marlins. Appeared in Bananas game as a manager.
• Jeremy Guthrie: Pitcher played 13 MLB seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals.
• Ryan Howard: Three-time All-Star, former NL MVP first baseman hit 382 home runs over 13 MLB seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies.
• Shawn Kelley: Austin Peay product pitched 11 MLB seasons with the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Oakland A's and Texas Rangers.
• George Kottaras: Catcher played seven MLB seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A's, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays.

• Bill "Spaceman" Lee: Former All-Star pitcher played 14 MLB seasons for the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos. Pitched in a game last season when he was 77 years old.
• Roy Oswalt: Three-time All-Star pitched 13 MLB seasons for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies.
• Jonathan Papelbon: Six-time All-Star, World Series champion relief pitcher played 12 MLB seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals.
• Jake Peavy: Cy Young winner, three-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion pitcher won two ERA titles during his 15-year MLB career with the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants.
• Josh Reddick: Gold Glove-winning outfielder played 13 MLB seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Oakland A's, Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks.
• Eric Sogard: Infielder played 11 seasons in MLB for the Oakland A's, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs.
• Barry Zito: Three-time All-Star, Cy Young winner, World Series champion played 15 MLB seasons with the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants. He appeared in a Bananas game in Nashville in 2023.

How can I get tickets for Savannah Bananas game at Nissan Stadium?

Tickets for the Savannah Bananas' May 10 game against the Party Animals are sold out. Resale sites such as Stubhub and Seatgeek are your best bet. But be ready to pay.

How can I watch the Savannah Bananas on TV?

The Savannah Bananas game against the Party Animals at Nissan Stadium on May 10 will be televised on ESPN2.

What time does the Savannah Bananas game at Nissan Stadium start?

The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. CT.

Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina. Follow his work here.