Savannah Bananas Make Surprise Visit to The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields

FAIRFIELD, OH (June 14, 2025)— The Savannah Bananas put on one of the greatest shows in all of sports; but this visit was more than a show.

On their 2025 World Tour stop to Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, players and coaches from the Savannah Bananas and the Texas Tailgaters made a surprise visit to the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields, where they spent the morning having fun and playing baseball with the league’s youth and adult all-stars. The visit was kept a secret until players and families were surprised about 15 minutes before the teams arrived to the inclusive baseball facility in Fairfield.

“Next to our Opening Day back in 2012, this is probably the biggest moment in our history at the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields,” said Kim Nuxhall, President and Board Chairman of The Nuxhall Foundation. “When we built this place, we didn’t just want to build a ballpark; we wanted to build experiences. And what an experience this was. We are absolutely blown away that the Bananas and Tailgaters would spend some time making our all-stars and families feel so loved.”

LISTEN: Kim Nuxhall & Tyler Bradshaw with Lance McAlister Reliving the Savannah Bananas Visit

Nearly 30 Bananas and Tailgaters players and coaches pitched to more than 150 youth and adult league athletes from the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields throughout the morning. Athletes with physical and developmental disabilities of all ages play baseball weekly at the safe and inclusive facility in suburban Cincinnati, and they were shocked to see the famous yellow jerseys disembark from the bus as surprise guests for a Saturday morning event.

Nuxhall welcomed the players on the bus, which arrived to the fields via a police escort provided by the Fairfield Police Department and Chief of Police Stephen Maynard. Nuxhall then told them about the story of his dad, The Ole Lefthander Joe Nuxhall, who inspired the creation of the facility.

“My Dad would have loved every single thing about this day,” said Nuxhall. “Dad was a ‘fans first’ pitcher and broadcaster, and I know he’s got a big smile on his face watching down over this one. And knowing Dad, he would have definitely accepted an offer to be the oldest pitcher in Bananas history by making an appearance on the mound if he were here!”

The joy that followed was a storybook example of how to make people feel loved, valued, and appreciated—a true exhibition on how to entertain, but more importantly how to change lives by being totally present and engaged in the moment.

“It was so nice to immediately walk out of the bus and it’s just pure excitement, pure joy,” said Zack Blankenship, a player for the Texas Tailgaters in an interview with WEBN before the Saturday night contest at Great American Ballpark. “Everyone was so genuinely happy, and being there was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had because you get to watch these special needs adults and children go out there and have a great time together. It was an event about them. It was an event for them.”

And once the at-bats started, it was non-stop fun and excitement thanks to the energy of all the players and coaches who made the trip. Bananas outfielder Reese Alexiades pitched to players in a superhero cape. Jonathan Luders of the Texas Tailgaters pitched and played on a unicycle, while asking all-stars from the Nuxhall Miracle League to autograph his wheel cover. Bananas Manager Tyler Gillum and Coach Adam Virant celebrated players with every hit, talked with them, hugged them, and handed out high-fives like they were made of them. And it wouldn’t be Bananaball without a group dance to Hey, Baby! Players from the Bananas and Tailgaters led the way as children and adults in wheelchairs and walkers danced alongside them, radiating joy with every move.

The refrain from all-stars and families was heard over and over again: “This has been the absolute best day of our lives.”

“That’s what the Bananas and Tailgaters do best,” said Tyler Bradshaw, Executive Director for The Nuxhall Foundation and The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields. “They spread serious joy and create magical moments in a way that is truly mind-blowing.”

The Nuxhall Foundation established a friendship with the Savannah Bananas when members of the Board of Directors travelled to Savannah in 2023 for a leadership retreat with the organization, while also taking in a game of Bananaball at Grayson Stadium where the Bananas won in a walk-off showdown. That trip to Savannah sparked an ongoing dialogue between the two organizations, which helped bring Bananaland to Fairfield for this visit of a lifetime.

“The Bananas have a Fans First philosophy that guides everything they do; but it’s more than a tagline,” said Bradshaw. “To see them live out that mission by being fully and completely present with our players and families, deeply engaged in every single moment—it’s like watching a masterclass in how to treat people with love and kindness. We know the demands on their time when they visit any town must be so great. The fact that the Bananas and Tailgaters made our players a priority on this stop of their World Tour? It’s a really good feeling.”

On their trip to Cincinnati, the Bananas played two nights in front of sold-out crowds of more than 84,000 raving fans. But it was the interactions out at the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields that left people all across Reds Country truly going Bananas. And the players and coaches from the Bananas and Tailgaters were impacted just as much as the all-stars they celebrated. So much so that Texas Tailgaters player Indy Stanley traded in his team hat for a red Nuxhall Miracle League cap that he wore during the Saturday evening game (the first the Tailgaters had ever played in a major league stadium).

And as they boarded the bus to return to Great American Ballpark, the Bananas and Tailgaters were showered in love and thank you’s as they made their way through a tunnel up the ramps lined with Nuxhall Miracle League all-stars and their families whose lives had been changed by the visit.

One Bananas player summed it up best with a remark to his teammate as they high-fived and boarded the bus: “We needed this.”

The Nuxhall Foundation would like to thank Bananas President Jared Orton, Manager Tyler Gillum, Coach Adam Virant, Aidan Matthews, and Sam Bauman of the Savannah Bananas, who were instrumental in helping to bring the Bananas and Tailgaters to the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields, along with all of the players and coaches who made the trip. In addition, Jungle Jim Bonaminio, owner of Jungle Jim’s International Market in Fairfield, was on hand in full wizard regalia passing out free bananas to the players and all-stars. The Nuxhall Foundation would like to also thank more than 40 volunteers who helped to make the visit such a success—and helped to keep the secret!

A full photo gallery with photos of the visit captured by Matt Grimes is available at: https://photos.grimesvisuals.com/gallery/27673875/

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The Nuxhall Foundation is the legacy foundation for former Major League Baseball pitcher and longtime Cincinnati Reds broadcaster, Joe Nuxhall. A central project of The Nuxhall Foundation is The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields—an entirely accessible baseball and recreational facility where every player with every challenge gets every chance to play. More than 300 players between ages 4 to 80 participate in programs at the Miracle League Fields. For more information, visit http://www.nuxhallmiracleleague.org.

For all media inquiries or to schedule an appearance, please contact:

Tyler Bradshaw

(513) 839-6164

tyler@nuxhallmiracleleague.org 

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