The Savannah Bananas are coming to the Valley

• They'll play three games at Peoria Sports Complex on Feb. 15-17 and three more at Mesa's Sloan Park April 25-27.

Zoom in: The Savannah Bananas and their circus-like atmosphere are baseball's answer to the Harlem Globetrotters.

• Players and even umpires take part in zany dance routines on the field.
• They've got outfielders catching balls while doing backflips, batters trying to hit while doing the splits and the "world's tallest pitcher and hitter" throwing from the mound on batting stilts.

Details: This isn't regular baseball, and Bananas don't play by the same rules you'll see at a Diamondbacks game. For example:

• Batters are automatically called out if they bunt and get a strike if they step outside the box, but they can steal first at any time, regardless of the pitch count.
• If a fan catches a foul ball, the batter's out.
• Whichever team scores the most runs in an inning gets a point, and there's a two-hour time limit on the game.

Be smart: The Bananas are a hot ticket, so if you want to see them play in the Valley next year, sign up for their ticket lottery list.

• You have until Dec. 1, and drawings are held about two months before the games.