Former CSU baseball player playing for the Savannah Bananas entertaining baseball team

September 6, 2022

You might say 2022 Columbus State University Turner College of Business graduate
David (DR) Meadows is always “crazy” above baseball. Not only does the former CSU third baseman play for fun Savanna bananasbut a recent off-field diving catch caught the attention of baseball fans around the world.

Meadows wasn’t supposed to start playing for the Bananas until the fall for the Banana Ball World Series, but Berry Aldridge, the Bananas’ baseball operations coordinator, called Meadows for the second half of the College Professional season. Team League during the summer.

Meadows enjoys playing with the Bananas due to the team’s ever-growing fan base and general entertaining atmosphere that is present at every game in Savannah.

“My favorite part of playing with the Bananas is definitely their fan base and the ability to be myself as a player,” Meadows said. “We have a lot of different players from across the country that are unique and we play well together as a group, but the fans that show up every day are awesome. It’s great to do a kid’s day because I was once that kid watching.

Unlike NCAA baseball, the Bananas are not considered a “typical” baseball team because fans primarily go to its games for comedy, silliness, and amusement. Known as “The Greatest Show in Sports” nationwide, the Bananas are different from other teams because, as their team motto states, they “take risks, toe the line, test the rules and challenge the way things are meant to be”. ”

“The big difference between playing with the Bananas and CSU is adapting to the banana ball rules and create this family bond with guys I’ve never met before,” Meadows said. “At CSU, we were all brothers who played with each other every year, and those bonds were already established.”

Bananas was recently featured on ESPN+ during a game with the Party Animals. Meadows started this game in center field and unknowingly was spotlighted on ESPN with an incredible diving catch in the first inning. Unbound by the decorum typical of competitive baseball, Banana Ball’s rules allowed the team to storm the field in celebration of Meadows. The catch was so exciting that ESPN’s tweet had over 219,000 views.

“Being on ESPN was like a dream come true for me and getting a really good take made it even better,” he recalled. “Even though I was roasted in the comments for the ‘griddy’, it’s still great to have this moment forever.”

Bananas have shared numerous social media posts featuring Meadows, whether diving sockets, “tobogganing” in the grandstand, double game, hit walk-offs, steal second base and dapper the other teamWhere do a backflip into home plate.

Even though Meadows had fun with the Bananas, he still remembers the success the Cougars enjoyed throughout his career, as well as the friendships he made during his time in Columbus.

“The group we had at CSU was a special group during my years there because I met some of my best friends in life,” he said. “Win the conference championship with the team was my favorite memory and just bonding with the pool guys was fun. Also, my coaches at CSU were my favorite coaches I played for in my baseball years and I can’t wait to see those guys again.

CSU baseball head coach Greg Appleton thinks the opportunity to play for the Bananas is perfect for Meadows.

“David always loved playing baseball and competing – it was just fun for him,” Appleton commented. “Now with the Bananas he can play ball, have fun and show off at the same time. It’s a perfect world for him.

The Vidalia, Ga., native played three seasons for the Cougars, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing in May 2022. Meadows played in 121 total games for CSU and helped the team make two deep runs in the NCAA DII National Tournament. He posted a .326 overall batting average, .407 slugging percentage and .421 on-base percentage while totaling 157 hits. He hit 24 doubles and three triples to go along with three home runs, 79 RBIs and 122 runs scored. The former CSU starting third baseman recorded an impressive .939 fielding percentage throughout his career and was known as one of the best defensemen in the nation.

After the fall series with the Bananas, Meadows plans to have the opportunity to play for the team next year and go on tour with them. If not, he mentioned that he would look for a baseball-related job so he could pass on his knowledge to young athletes.