The Savannah Bananas may be based out of Savannah, Georgia but like any sports team at the pro or collegiate level, they are made up of athletes from diverse backgrounds and different cities.
In the case of infielder Ryan Cox and utilityman Danny Hosley, despite the former being from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania and the latter a native of Vienna, Virginia, the two have something in common – each spent part of their formative years in baseball playing in Western New York.
In a sense, the Bananas’ trip to Buffalo this weekend was a homecoming for both. Cox began his collegiate career playing at St. Bonaventure University (2013-14) before transferring to Kutztown University, and has fond memories of his time here.
“The ‘Bona bubble’ is something that everybody talks about. I've met so many people who went to St. Bonaventure and I still keep tabs on all those guys,” Cox said. “The atmosphere on campus during a basketball game or a baseball game is similar to what we're trying to provide here. Everybody's so close-knit, it feels like a family.
“That's what the ‘Bona bubble’ is all about, and it's good to be back in the area and see some familiar faces.”
Ditto that for Hosley. After graduating from George Mason University in 2022, he had a brief stint with the independent Jamestown Tarp Skunks before joining the Bananas.
“I loved playing in Jamestown. The people there are like salt of the earth-type of people and I've actually got a few of them coming out to watch us,” Hosley said. “I’m still good friends with my head coach there, and I've got my old trainer coming too.
“I've had people come up to me and say ‘You played with my cousin’ or with their friends, family and mutual friends along the way. It’s really been awesome – Buffalo’s one of my favorite stops on our tour, and for good reason.”
Both were signed by the Bananas in different ways, however.
“Our owner, Jesse Cole, saw a video of me doing defensive tricks on Tik Tok,” Cox said. “I played for him in summer ball in Gastonia, North Carolina, in 2017. He invited me to tryouts in February of 2022 and the rest is history.”
“I finished up my baseball career at George Mason in 2022 and wasn't drafted. So I started working as a grad assistant there and got started on getting my master's degree there,” Hosley said. “While I was doing that, my head coach at George Mason was contacted by an old teammate of his who’s actually one of the coaches for the Bananas right now. They were looking for utility guys and somebody who could fill a hole.
“Even though I wasn't playing anymore, it worked out because they were looking for guys who could play in the spring and current college guys couldn’t do that. I submitted some video and interviewed with them a few times, then I got on board with them last year and they liked me enough to bring me back this year.”
Both noted that while playing for the Bananas is far from a typical experience of playing professional baseball, they still loved it because of what they can provide for the fans who watch them play.
“I love seeing every stadium just completely packed and the kids are all ears to what you have to say,” Cox said. “It's a huge impact we can make on the game and more importantly on the fans and their experience, so to be able to provide that and then have baseball be the big bonus on top of that is great.
“So if I play well, that's great but if I don't play well, the fans are still happy that we entertained them. We get to have good conversations with and meet good people, so being able to give back is the biggest thing.”
Hosley agreed.
“There’s definitely a different goal in mind here. Our goal is to always cater to the fans – from day one, that's really what we try to focus on,” Hosley said. “There's still a lot of good baseball players here and a lot of good baseball that's being played here, for sure. When it comes to events like this, no matter how tired we are or how long the previous night was, we're right back at it the next day ready to greet these fans who have never seen us before.
“We have to keep that in mind – a lot of people have never seen us play before and it’s always someone’s first show, so we’ve got to put our best effort out there every day.”
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