Bryson Bloomer’s last two years at Murray State weren’t as enjoyable as he’d hoped.
Injuries plagued him, and his final days as a baseball player were looming as the 2022 season wrapped up — or so he thought. While at Murray State , the Lexington native began playing with the Savannah Bananas in the Coastal Plain League. He joined the team full time in 2023.
Not only does Bloomer get to keep playing baseball but he’s doing it in a way he’d never imagined. From in-game theatrics to viral dance videos, playing with the Bananas has helped Bloomer come into his own — on and off the field.
“The emphasis that they put on having fun and focusing on the fans makes baseball really an enjoyable game,” he said.
Bloomer will be close to home when the Bananas come to Louisville Aug. 1-3. All three games at Louisville Slugger Field are sold out.
“Early on in the year, I kind of circled this one on the calendar because I knew a lot of my friends and family were going to be able to go and see Banana Ball," said Bloomer, who is on the Party Animals team. "I'm really excited to have a bunch of family there and be back in Louisville. It'll be a great time.”
Bloomer performed his first surgery in February ... sort of.
During a midgame interview , Bloomer used one of the broadcasters to demonstrate the surgeries he’d had five months prior. First, surgery on his right labrum. Next, a bone-shaving surgery on the same side to repair a hip impingement.
“You’ve got five hard months of pain and suffering and hard work,” Bloomer said. “I hope you’re ready.”
Pain, suffering and hard work are all too familiar to Bloomer.
Bloomer didn’t have many looks coming out of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and took the junior college route by attending Lincoln Trail College in Illinois. He then transferred to Murray State and batted .429 in his first season. But the 2020 season was cut short after 17 games because of the pandemic. In the following seasons, Bloomer endured injuries, which affected his performance.
His batting average dipped to .297 in 2021 then .287 in 2022. Falling short of his personal expectations led to negative self-talk and doubt, putting Bloomer in a funk. Then, the Bananas came along.
Corey Pye, who coaches the Firefighters team within the Savannah Bananas organization, showed interest in Bloomer, offering him an opportunity to play with the team during the summer.
"I wanted Banana Ball to be like all the mistakes that I made in college and everything; I wanted to reset," Bloomer said. "So, it was a life journey, learning from my mistakes.”
Bloomer’s first summer went so well that he went back.
“We ended up winning two rings,” Bloomer said. “I had one more semester left at Murray, and I didn't really have any looks or professional experience. I never really reached out. I just decided that Banana Ball was going to be my little fun thing, and it honestly turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened.”
Bloomer’s approach to baseball was always to be serious and competitive.
But being serious and a Party Animal didn’t mix well. The longer Bloomer spent with the Party Animals, the more he took on the culture of the organization. He was still able to be a competitor but did it in a more fun way. Part of that process included becoming a better dancer, an unofficial requirement to celebrate home runs (or anything in the game, for that matter).
“It's been a learning process, and I'm still getting better at it,” Bloomer said, “but it is nice to be comfortable, let loose and just go out there and not really be concerned with what you look like or how you look doing it. Just trying to have fun with it.”
Bloomer’s celebratory dances and more can be found on his social media. During the offseason, the Savannah Bananas help players with content to grow their platforms. As an avid video gamer, Bloomer uses part of his platform to upload his streams to TikTok , where he has more than 15,000 followers and nearly 150,000 likes.
His most popular TikTok, though, is of a 5-year-old hitting a home run for the Party Animals. The heartfelt video from June 10 has more than 74,000 likes and 850,000 views. One commenter called the video “seriously one of the cutest thing(s) ever,” while another said it was “one of my favorite parts of every game.”
“The culture's so strong,” Bloomer said. “You could just show up every day, and everybody's got a smile on their face. No one's judging you or worried about what you have done or what you're going to do. Everybody just kind of exists in a happy space, and I think that carries over into our games and how we interact with fans.”
Bloomer will get to share that experience with his Kentucky family and friends in early August.
“I'm expecting it to be very special and just like a lot of passion and emotion in the games this weekend,” he said. “It's going to be one of the first times in a long time where I can get so many people who know and love me there to watch me on a big stage. I'm very excited.”
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Savannah Bananas' Louisville visit brings Lexington native back to Kentucky
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