Throughout that season, Danny Hosley used the 1973 R&B song as his walk-up music for the Jamestown Tarp Skunks in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.

Two years later, Hosley’s walk-up songs are becoming must-see YouTube clips.

The 2022 George Mason University graduate signed with the Savannah Bananas in February of this year to become part of their touring exhibition baseball team for the 2023 season.

“Right after I’d finished school, I knew their college team was turning into a professional thing and they were looking for guys who were out of school … but I didn’t really think twice about it,” Hosley said Thursday about an email he had received from the Bananas last summer. “I didn’t really think it was a serious opportunity.

Former Jamestown Tarp Skunk Danny Hosley hopes to sign an extension on his current one-year deal with the Savannah Bananas. Hosley played in Jamestown during the 2021 season. Photo courtesy of Savannah Bananas

“A few months went by and I received a call to come down for their late-summer series, but I was taking in-person classes and didn’t really think I could take off for it,” Hosley continued. “We went our separate ways, but after a month or two working as a graduate assistant for George Mason I got another call asking if I wanted to do this seriously. … So I spliced together some videos of my college highlights, and some current video of my swing and pitching. … After three meetings over Zoom … I was offered a contract and signed it.”

The Bananas play in historic Grayson Stadium, affectionately known as Bananaland. When the South Atlantic League’s Savannah Sand Gnats relocated to Columbia, South Carolina, the Coastal Plains League announced Savannah as its newest team for the 2016 season.

Following the conclusion of the 2022 summer league season, the Bananas decided to fold their collegiate amateur team and focus solely on “Banana Ball.”

“I would definitely say there is a lot more baseball than I thought, which I’m very happy about,” Hosley said. ” … Just judging from the videos, they don’t really play baseball, but (in reality) it’s nine innings of full baseball with “Banana Ball” rules that speed it up and make it more entertaining.”

Hosley played for Tarp Skunks manager Jordan Basile at Patrick Henry Community College in Virginia and following his senior season at Norfolk State University — when he was named the MEAC Player of the Year and a finalist for the national John Olreud Two-Way Player of the Year award — Hosley decided to play for Basile in Jamestown.

Photo courtesy of Savannah Bananas

“I probably first heard of the Bananas during my summer in Jamestown,” Hosley said. “I knew of them more as a collegiate summer league team. I’d seen clips here and there, videos of them doing wacky stuff on and off the field.”

After a summer with the Tarp Skunks, Hosley used his final year of collegiate eligibility to play at George Mason University where he batted .269 with 14 doubles, two triples and five home runs.

But in Fairfax, Virginia, Hosley never celebrated a home run like he did with the Bananas earlier this summer. After crossing home plate, the entire team circled Hosley and one player slammed down the “big bat” after which the entire team fell to the ground like a bomb had gone off.

“One of the first things I heard with the Bananas was in West Palm Beach,” Hosley recalled about a talk ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian gave the team. “He showed up and told us straight up, this whole opportunity doesn’t really work without good baseball. It’s clean baseball, we throw strikes and hit the ball around the yard.”

Hosley’s only other home run with the Bananas thus far was memorable because a former Major League pitcher called the play on the team’s broadcast.

“In Montgomery, Alabama, Jake Peavy was playing with us, and if you go back and listen to the call, he’s in the booth,” Hosley said. “It’s a pretty cool moment because I was chit-chatting with him prior to the game and then he calls the home run and says ‘Danny Hosley goes yard. He’s a great kid. I was talking with him earlier in the outfield.'”

Run-scoring celebrations are just some of the entertainment Bananas players and their staff think up regularly.

“It’s a group of characters and big personalities. There are definitely things they tell us to play up more. We have entertainment meetings before each game … but they give us a lot of freedom and let us go on the baseball field,” Hosley said. ” … I could be in the middle of the game throwing a football with kids in the outfield, but I’m still handling my business out there.”

The Bananas play most of their games against the Party Animals, another team under the Savannah Bananas umbrella. Also thrown into Savannah’s schedule are “Challenger Games” around the country.

“We get spoiled on the road with the nice stadiums that we get to play at. My favorite stadium has been either Las Vegas or Indianapolis,” Hosley said. “Tampa was pretty cool at the spring training home of the Yankees. … There are some super-nice facilities on the road, the whole 9 yards.”

Hosley, who is working on his master’s degree in athletic training, is having the time of his life and hopes to sign an extension on his current one-year deal with the franchise.

“I definitely didn’t think I’d be here. … Every kid dreams of being a big leaguer, but once that college career comes to an end you continue on with life,” Hosley said. “I got a random opportunity. I can always finish school, but I couldn’t pass this up.

“It’s kind of right where I want to be. Hopefully I can get an extension and keep doing this for a while,” Hosley added. “If not, I’ll head back to school and finish that up, and say ‘It was cool while it lasted.'”