- 5 months ago
Frank The Tank
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00:00All right, you know, the man in the yellow tux, Jesse Cole, he has created something that nobody could have envisioned.
00:12He has created a new type of baseball, banana ball, and he is now barnstorming the country, selling out big stadiums, Yankee Stadium.
00:21Everywhere he goes, the Savannah Bananas are drawing record crowds, playing a unique brand of baseball called Banana Ball.
00:32Well, you know, I'm going to learn a little bit more about this as I walk with the man in the yellow tux.
00:36Of course, I got a strawberry banana, body armor, and of course, body armor hydrates this walk.
00:45Let's go for a walk.
00:46Frank walks. It's time for Frank walks. Frank talks while Frank walks. It's time for Frank walks.
00:56All right. Well, thanks for joining us, Jesse.
00:58You know, I got to say, your concept has blown up more than anyone could have ever imagined.
01:08I mean, there's wait lists for your tickets.
01:13Yes.
01:13You're not just going to minor league stadiums anymore. You're going to Yankee Stadium.
01:19That's not Citi Field, though.
01:20No, it's not. It's not Citi Field. I mean, Citi Field.
01:24Yankee Stadium is built for the CEO. Citi Field is built for the true fan.
01:28I hear you.
01:29I mean, the Yankees have this big moat. They have this steakhouse where fans can't just look in.
01:39And you have, like, the rich guys just looking down at the fans. It's like...
01:43But not this weekend with banana ball fans.
01:46It's going to be all fans going crazy.
01:49Yes. I mean, it's an incredible story.
01:54That basically, you built two minor league teams and turned their whole fortunes around.
02:02And then the Mets left Savannah.
02:05Yes, yes, they were.
02:06Left this historic stadium.
02:08The Savannah Sand Nets. The Mets affiliate.
02:10Yeah, it was. The Mets you failed. The Mets got rid of it.
02:13And then you just built this thing, and it just grew and grew and grew.
02:20Well, we failed first. I don't know if you know this.
02:21We only sold a handful of tickets. We failed miserably first.
02:24Because baseball always failed in Savannah. They never had attendance, ever.
02:27And we failed our first six months until finally fans saw the show.
02:31So it took a while. It's been nine years, Frank, to get here. Nine years.
02:35And you have, like, four teams now.
02:38Four and soon to be six. The league launches next year.
02:41The Banana Ball Championship League with six teams.
02:44I mean, you're barnstorming. You're selling out stadiums.
02:48Now, who do you have? You have firefighters?
02:50Yep.
02:51The party animals.
02:52Yep.
02:52And the tailgaters.
02:53The Texas tailgaters, yes.
02:54And who's coming after that?
02:56I can't tell. October 9th is the big reveal.
02:59Think we could get a team in Jersey?
03:01I was just thinking about it this morning. What would I do?
03:03I'd have the Jersey Boys.
03:08The Jersey Boys?
03:09Yes.
03:09What would that team do that's different?
03:11In Banana Ball, each team has to have their own live music, their own characters, their own point of view.
03:15What would they do?
03:16We'd have, like, a Sopranos type of thing.
03:19All right. I like that.
03:20Sopranos slash Jersey Shore type of thing.
03:23Their uniforms would either be the jumpsuits.
03:27Okay.
03:28Or they'd be the guinea tees.
03:32I like that.
03:33And then they'd go full suit sometime.
03:35Yeah.
03:35A full suit look efficient.
03:36Yes.
03:37All right.
03:37There's something there.
03:39I don't think it's going to happen, but there's something there.
03:42And you have different rules.
03:45Yes.
03:45My favorite one is the fans could catch a foul ball and it'd be an out.
03:50I didn't peg you for that one.
03:51I peg you for a different one.
03:53I peg you for the fan challenge.
03:54So, now, at any point in the game, like you, if there's a call that you hate more than anything,
04:00you can actually challenge the ruling on the field.
04:03I thought you'd love that one.
04:04I do like it.
04:05Because I can see you going crazy.
04:06The fan catching a foul ball is special.
04:07I do like it.
04:07But you challenging a ruling, going crazy, and getting it turned for your team, that'd be pretty good.
04:13You ever think about doing the rookie of the year rule?
04:16What, like, tell me about Henry Roland Garner or what are you saying?
04:20Yeah, if a fan catches the ball, a home run, and throws the ball, and is able to reach the base before.
04:29So, it's a live ball.
04:31Yes.
04:31That would fire up.
04:33That would be tough on a hitter, man.
04:35So, a hitter hits the ball 440 feet, and then the ball's in play.
04:38Yeah, and the fan has to get it to the infield before he gets to home plate.
04:47It will become a live ball.
04:48So, now there's no, like, bat flips and, like, you've got to run hard.
04:52Yeah, you've got to run hard at the home run.
04:55Yeah, that would be my banana rule.
04:58All right.
04:59All right.
04:59I see what you're doing.
05:00But what about trick plays?
05:01Have you seen those?
05:02I've seen some of that, like the backflips and stuff.
05:05So, we're thinking about what if those actually counted in the game.
05:08So, for instance, what if whoever has the most trick plays, they can actually maybe even get a point.
05:13So, the trick plays can actually impact the game.
05:15So, that's something we're thinking about right now.
05:16Because there's so many trick plays, we're trying to think of how do you make the game better.
05:19Those are things we're looking at in the future years.
05:21I mean, it's incredible.
05:23And I think you're setting up for rescue baseball in 2027.
05:28There's a lot of rumors about the challenges for 2027.
05:30What do you think?
05:32What I think in 2027 is there's not going to be an MLB season.
05:35The whole season?
05:35You think they're going to lose the whole season?
05:37I think they're going to lose the whole season.
05:38That would be tough.
05:39I hope that does not happen.
05:42That would be a huge challenge for a lot of people.
05:43You'd have to find your new banana ball team.
05:45Yeah, I had to find my banana ball team.
05:47Who would be your team?
05:49Well, you've got to go for Savannah Bananas.
05:51Come on.
05:51Let's see if he picked.
05:53Well, then give me the jersey, boys.
05:56Yeah, I think you might actually.
05:57Now, you're a baseball historian, right?
05:58Yes.
05:59I think you'll be very intrigued on one of the teams that we're about to now.
06:02It's going to have a very historic feel.
06:04Oh, I like that tease.
06:07That's all I'm giving.
06:08It's going to be a very historic feel, but I think you'll like that one.
06:10I like that tease.
06:11But that's the goal.
06:11If everyone pulls for your team, different point of view, no matter what.
06:15And it's not just a location.
06:16These teams are national.
06:16So you can actually have – you don't need to be – there's Mets fans all over the country.
06:20Same thing with other teams.
06:22I mean, it's incredible that you're going to be at Yankee Stadium.
06:25And the season's getting ready to wrap up this year.
06:27Yes.
06:28I know you've got Seattle coming up.
06:31Yep, Seattle and Houston.
06:32And then we go into our playoffs and tour championship.
06:34So, yeah, it'll be our – finish at 17 major league stadiums and four football stadiums this year.
06:39I mean, next year – what are you doing next year?
06:42October 9th, my friend.
06:43No, we have to think about everywhere.
06:45So, like, I want to play all over the country.
06:47I want to go to every state.
06:48I want to – I mean, that's going to be impossible next year, but I want to go to as many states as possible.
06:51You think about the football stadium atmosphere.
06:53Clemson was electric.
06:5481,000 people.
06:55It was like a, you know, primetime college football game.
06:58So I want to do more football stadiums all over the country.
07:00I want to get that atmosphere of, you know, everyone chanting, going nuts, bringing in the football players, creating moments.
07:06So we'll do more of those next year.
07:07How about going up to Alaska and doing one at the midnight?
07:10Yes, that's a pretty good – you know, Alaska's not in the immediate future, but we've been asked about it a lot.
07:15So that's – we travel with 200-plus people, Frank.
07:19So when we come in, it's a full – I mean, it's – I mean, it's – it's – it's incredible.
07:22Yeah, so Alaska's a little harder.
07:25I mean, and one thing that Jenks would like – you know, Jenks doesn't believe in the old adage,
07:31I don't care if I never get back.
07:34He wants to get back as soon as he can.
07:37So he would love –
07:38He's a banana ball guy, right?
07:39Yes, yes.
07:39I've never been able to go, but I love the Cliffs.
07:42Thank you so much, man.
07:43You're doing good work, man.
07:43Thank you, man.
07:44He would love Major League Baseball to adopt a two-hour rule.
07:49Yeah, it's so bad.
07:49In most of our games, we have games a lot under two hours.
07:51We've had games – the Clemson game was an hour and 43 minutes.
07:54Imagine that.
07:55So nine innings, 143.
07:56I mean, because you don't allow the mound visits.
08:03No mound visits.
08:03No bunting.
08:04No stepping out of the box.
08:06Well, you want fans to want more.
08:08You don't want fans at the end of the game.
08:09It's like, oh, it's still going.
08:10Now, the one I disagree with is the no bunting.
08:12No bunting.
08:12I like bunting.
08:13From baseball strategy, I get it.
08:15But our whole thing is swing the bat.
08:16No bunting.
08:17And we just – we want people coming up and swinging, you know, out of their shoes.
08:20Well, I love – I love the –
08:23It's graceful.
08:23It has the bunt, the play.
08:24Well, I love the drag bunt.
08:26The drag bunt's a good play.
08:27The suicide squeeze.
08:28I get it.
08:29But, you know, my dad, when I was a kid, he said, just swing hard in case you hit it.
08:32And that mindset of, like, come up and swing hard.
08:35Like, again, banana balls shouldn't be here right now.
08:37We were almost bankrupt.
08:38I mean, we had to sell our house, empty our savings.
08:39We shouldn't be playing at Major League Stadiums.
08:41And so that mindset of swing hard, that's kind of – that's the whole thing.
08:44I get it, though.
08:45I get it.
08:45It caught, like, fire.
08:47Like, I mean, after the pandemic and these videos that came out, these internet videos have created a phenomenon.
08:56Well, you just – you've got to put yourself in the fan's shoes.
08:58So we think about you, but we think of everyone else.
09:00We think about people that aren't baseball fans.
09:01We think about people that want to just come out and have fun and see things they've never seen before on a baseball field.
09:04Yeah, it is the most unique thing I've ever seen.
09:08And you haven't seen it live yet.
09:10No, I haven't seen it live.
09:11It's a completely different live.
09:12The show starts at 2 o'clock for a Major League Stadium, a game that starts at 7.
09:15So literally, there'll be 10,000, 15,000 people three, four hours before the game, and we're already putting on a show.
09:20You want to get them primed and ready so they're going nuts when the game time starts.
09:23Like, it's all part of how we kind of choreograph the show.
09:27And then – but we don't – the games are not scripted.
09:29Every game, you never know who's going to win.
09:31I mean, the party animals have more wins than the bananas.
09:33They also have more followers than every Major League Baseball team on TikTok, the party animals.
09:37So they've built a really big fan base as well.
09:39And so you're trying to just create fans all over the country.
09:41I mean, for years, the Globetrotters have had their experience.
09:45But you know it's going to happen.
09:46Yeah, it's the same show.
09:47It's the same show.
09:48It's the same.
09:49But they've gone 100 years.
09:50That's pretty successful.
09:51Yeah, 100 years this year.
09:52100 years is pretty impressive.
09:53I mean, and then you look at what you guys are doing.
09:56It's –
09:56We're just getting started.
09:57It's incredible.
09:58And I think it's going to grow, especially now that you're going to have six teams next year.
10:02Six teams competitively.
10:03And you're actually going to have –
10:04Different playoff stakes.
10:05We're going to try to create a league so people can care throughout the whole season.
10:08So, again, you just kind of – you do this.
10:10You put yourself in the fan's shoes.
10:11What would a fan want?
10:12And we have no red tape.
10:13There's no shareholders.
10:14There's no investors.
10:15There's no boards.
10:16There's no groups that tell us what we need to do.
10:19And I think that's the key.
10:21And I like how you bring in the old players.
10:25Some of them aren't that old.
10:26Some are.
10:27Trevor Hoffman just came out Hall of Famer in San Diego.
10:30Place went nuts to hell's bells.
10:31I mean, it was unbelievable.
10:33Mark Burley in Chicago.
10:35I saw that.
10:36Perfect game.
10:36He was great.
10:36But, yeah, I mean, and a lot of these guys, you want to give them the moment.
10:39You know, some of these guys you watch, they dedicate their whole career,
10:41and then they just walk off the field that last time, and no one even says anything.
10:44You don't get the Derek Jeter farewell tour.
10:46And so we want to give those guys that big moment, that big final moment,
10:49which is pretty cool, in front of their families to get standing ovations.
10:54It's cool.
10:55That's what we think about.
10:56So, you know, we're going to continue to do that.
10:57Who would be your favorite Mets?
10:59If we could have any Mets.
11:00If, say, we play at Citi Field in a couple years, who would be you'd want to come out and play?
11:04Mike Piazza, of course.
11:06Oh, 51st round draft pick, right?
11:0961st.
11:0961st.
11:10Oh, yeah.
11:10Yes.
11:11They had more than 60.
11:12He just kept going.
11:12Yes.
11:13All right.
11:14Piazza would be great.
11:15Who else?
11:16You know what?
11:17What about Santana?
11:18You think he can still throw?
11:20I'll find out Saturday.
11:21I think he's coming to the Mets are having an old-timers day on Saturday.
11:24All right.
11:24Who else?
11:25What about Cologne?
11:26Big sexy?
11:26Oh, yeah.
11:28I already did a walk with him.
11:29All right.
11:29He was still throwing a couple years ago.
11:31Oh, he was?
11:31He was throwing like 80.
11:32I mean, he was still.
11:33Anyone else?
11:34Who would be your...
11:35I got Piazza number one.
11:36If you had any other Mets that come out and play that you would get fired up to see, who
11:39would it be?
11:40Dwight Gooden, of course.
11:42Oh, the Doc.
11:43All right.
11:44All right.
11:44I love it.
11:45I mean, anyone from the 86 team, now it's 40 years.
11:52Yeah.
11:52Gary Carter, Mookie Wilson.
11:54Sadly, you know Gary Carter.
11:55What's that?
11:56Sadly, you know Gary Carter.
11:58Hey, they beat my Red Sox in 86.
12:01Now, I was only two years old, but I saw all the clips.
12:04But you got to know the game.
12:05And I think, you know, back then when the game was, you know, there wasn't social media.
12:09Everyone was watching.
12:10The players, they were looked up to.
12:11Everyone watched.
12:12The kids wanted to be them.
12:12And I think about that with our players.
12:14How can kids see our players every day on social and see their celebrations and see their trick plays?
12:19Like, those are the things we try to think about.
12:21And most of the players you get are like collegiate players.
12:23A lot of pros.
12:23We have first rounders, second rounders, third rounders, fourth rounders.
12:26I mean, we've got a lot of real talent.
12:28They just didn't make it.
12:28You know, they didn't get their chance.
12:30And now they came here and they still got a lot of talent.
12:32Yes, or college guys that didn't get drafted but a really high level college.
12:35These guys are all throwing 90 miles an hour plus.
12:37And, you know, they can hit.
12:39They can run.
12:39And they can do trick plays and things people haven't seen.
12:41And so the level of talent, we want to continue to rise up to get better.
12:45I mean, it's incredible.
12:48I mean, some might say it's even bananas the amount of success you've had.
12:52Well, we failed a lot, Frank, to get here.
12:55That's what I realized.
12:56But you're here now and you're selling everything out.
12:58And I think it's amazing and great.
13:00Yes.
13:00And thank you for joining us.
13:02And I know everyone loves it.
13:05It's fun.
13:06It changes the game and gives a whole unique experience.
13:11And who knows, maybe one day I'll be able to participate in something.
13:14Well, you've got to challenge the play on the field or catch a foul ball to win a game.
13:19That would be great.
13:19I love it.
13:20Thanks, Frank.
13:20Thanks.
13:21Appreciate it, man.
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