WATCH: Fan Holds Onto Foul Ball To Manage Insane Out In Collegiate Baseball Game For The Savannah Bananas

With Opening Day so close that you can almost taste it, baseball action is well back. And with the fans’ return to the ballpark, the Savannah Bananas thought of putting it to good use. With a new rule instituted in the game, a batter could be ruled out if a foul ball was caught by a fan. And sure enough, the rule was exercised at least once across the game. With a foul ball flying high and into the stands; a fan was enthused enough to hold on to it to deliver the final out of the innings.

The Savannah Bananas are a team that comprises a part of the Coastal Plain League and were founded in 2016. They have since gained national notoriety for their marketing and sales tactics. In fact, this led to them having 17 of 22 games completely sold out in their ballpark in their inaugural season. And perhaps what draws more fans to the stadium, are moves like these that bring out more fan engagement.

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Fan catches foul all to make freak ‘out’

The Savannah Bananas made a minor rule change that changed the fan experience a great deal for anyone in the ballpark on Sunday. The game saw all the hitters taking home plate scared not just for a fly ball, but even a foul hit; because this time, if a fan caught a foul ball, it would still be an out. And strange enough, a foul ball to the audience did lead to an out.

In a first of its kind out, a foul ball flew behind the catcher and saw a fan snag onto the hit. With a hitter seen at the top of the 7th, and the score still tied at 0-0; a pitch flew back into the crowd as a member of the audience caught it. The fan managed not only to latch onto it the first time but also to hold on to make the out.

The hitter Zak Whalin had the dubious honor of being the first hitter recorded out by having a ball caught in the audience. And while the game still remained in the balance; this was certainly a great moment to be recorded in it. The triumphant fan even made his way to the diamond to raucous applause with the ball in hand.

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But what do you think of the move? Do you think the promotion gimmicks are hurting the game or increasing the fans that are coming to it? How do you see the game moving forward from here?