60 Minutes - 04/13/2025: Zelenskyy, Greenland, Banana Ball

Episode Date: April 14, 2025

Correspondent Scott Pelley interviews Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kryvyi Rih, his hometown, where last week nine children were killed on a playground in a missile attack. They discuss U.S. support for Ukraine, the state of the war, and the Oval Office dust up with the Trump administration.  Until President Donald Trump expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, the Danish-controlled territory had long been overlooked. Now, the world's largest island, home to a majority Indigenous Inuit population of 57,000 residents, has suddenly become a reluctant focal point in global geopolitics. Correspondent Jon Wertheim bundles up to explore the rich history and breathtaking landscapes of a bitingly cold region that has found itself at the center of a rapidly evolving hotspot. Something unusual is going on in Major League Baseball stadiums across the country this season, and it isn’t traditional baseball.  Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports from Savannah, Georgia on the dancing, back-flipping, lip-syncing almost-baseball team, the Savannah Bananas.  They’ve created a new twist on the sport, which they call Banana Ball.  Among its rules: a 2-hour time limit; no bunting, walks, or mound visits; and if a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out.  Stahl meets Banana Ball’s unorthodox, yellow-clad founder, Jesse Cole, and discovers the electric, circus-meets-sporting-event atmosphere that is selling out ballparks. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Thank you for coming. The president of Ukraine faces a critical moment in his alliance with the United States. Would you invite President Trump to Ukraine? With pleasure. Please. Come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead. Greenland, the world's largest island, is suddenly the bell of the geopolitical ball. President Trump has said he wants to acquire these snow-dusted mountains and blazing blue icebergs,

quote, one way or the other. Greenlanders have a warning. If you should try something in the Arctic, you should be very careful. I think we should say ice is slippery. It looks like baseball and feels like baseball, but then there's this. An umpire feeling the music? a batter on no stilts, gymnastics in the outfield, and on the way home.

Longtime baseball writer Tim Kirchhen came to a game and he said, this is the stupidest thing I have ever seen. I loved it. I'm Leslie Stahl. I'm Bill Whitaker. I'm Anderson Cooper. I'm Sharon Alfonsi. I'm John Wertheim.

I'm Cecilia Vega. I'm Scott Pelley. Those stories and more tonight on 60 Minutes. There are very few things that you can be certain of in life. But you can always be sure the sun will rise each morning. You can bet your bottom dollar that you'll always need air to breathe and water to drink. And, of course, you can rest assured that with Public Mobile's 5G subscription phone plans, you'll pay the same thing every month.

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Be loved. Shop in-store or online at pandora.net to discover new styles. Tonight, Scott Pelley in Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president faces a critical moment in his alliance with the United States. In an interview this past Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky invited President Trump here to Ukraine to see how Russia's unprovoked invasion three years ago continues to threaten the peace of the Western world. Zelensky is navigating a sharp turnabout in Washington. The United States had been leading NATO in arming Ukraine and isolating Russia, but since taking office, President Trump has praised the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin

and criticized Zelensky. This past Friday, a Trump official met Putin in Russia about the same time we sat down with Zelensky in his hometown. It had been a week since Russia killed nine children on a playground. You seem to have a real hatred of Vladimir Putin. Putin? 100% hatred. Not even 99.9%, Zelensky told us. Though this doesn't mean we shouldn't work to end the war as soon as possible and transition to diplomacy,

but how else can you see a person who came here and murdered our people, murdered children? We're inside a school bomb shelter right now, the bomb shelter of a school." The bomb shelter classrooms beneath the city of Krviri were silent. School 41 was mourning its students killed on April 4. Swing sets pierced by shrapnel stood where Zelensky laid his memorial to the nine children and ten others cut down by a Russian missile. He asked us to look at their faces and told us that while the great powers endlessly debate war and peace,

these children will never speak again. Mr. President, what does an atrocity like this tell you about the progress of the war? It means that we can't trust Russia. We can't trust negotiations with Russia. Russia strikes Ukrainian cities daily. 1,700 attacks on schools. 600 children dead. 780 hospitals and clinics attacked, 13,000 civilians killed, and up to 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers dead. All for Vladimir Putin's vanity war, to expand Russia to NATO's doorstep.

Our people have paid the highest price possible, Zelensky told us. There is no higher price. We have given all our money, all we have in terms of finances, but most important, we gave the lives of our people. Those were the points Zelensky struggled to make in February as President Trump opened negotiations with Russia and initially excluded Ukraine. Then Trump rewrote history, saying falsely that Ukraine had started the war and calling the democratically elected Zelenskyy... A dictator without elections,

Zelenskyy better move fast or he's not going to have a country left. Got to move, got to move fast, because that war is going in the wrong direction. When President Trump called you a dictator and said that Ukraine started this war, what did you think? I believe, sadly, Russian narratives are prevailing in the U.S. How is it possible to witness our losses and our suffering, to understand what the Russians are doing, and to still believe that they are not the aggressors, that they did not start this war?

This speaks to the enormous influence of Russia's information policy on America, on U.S. politics and U.S. politicians. You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now. And Zelensky told us he heard Russia's narrative from Trump officials in that disastrous Oval Office meeting in February. You're gambling with World War III. Zelensky grew tense as President Trump said both sides were suffering, Ukraine's people

and the Russian invasion force. It's a shift in tone, a shift in reality, really, yes, a shift in reality. And I don't want to engage in the altered reality that is being presented to me. First and foremost, we did not launch an attack to start the war. It seems to me that the vice president is somehow justifying Putin's actions. I tried to explain. You can't look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor and we are the victim.

Vice President Vance suggested that Putin could be trusted, and it was Zelensky who was creating a false narrative. Have you ever been to Ukraine that you say what problems we have? I have been to… Come once. I've actually watched and seen the stories, and I know what happens is you bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour, Mr. President.

Would you invite President Trump to Ukraine? With pleasure. Please. This, Zelensky apparently wanted President Trump to hear in English. We want you to come and I think to come and to see. You think you understand what's going on here. Okay, we respect your position. You understand. But please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of formats of negotiations, come.

To see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead, come. Look and then let's move with the plan how to finish the war. You will understand with whom you have a deal. You will understand what Putin did. And we will not prepare anything. It will not be theater with preparing actors in the streets and etc. We don't do this. We don't need it. You can go exactly

where you want in any city which has been under attacks. What I said to them, just to come and to understand. With his invitation on its way, he switched to Ukrainian. Does the United States have your back? Even in this pause of mine, there's a problem, because I want to answer truthfully and quickly that the United States is our strategic, strong partner. But the pause is doubt. I don't doubt that the people of America are with us, but in a long war, many details are forgotten.

In Europe, everyone fears that the United States may drift away from Europe. Can you do without the United States? I think without the United States, we will suffer great losses, human and territorial. So I wouldn't like to consider that. But this is our destiny, our land, our life. One way or another, we will end this war. The U.S. has donated about $175 billion in aid. Roughly $100 billion of that was military, most of which was spent in the U.S.

on manufacturing American weapons. What would you say that the American people have gotten for that money? We have always believed that this is our shared struggle, that Ukraine is defending our shared struggle, that Ukraine is defending our shared values, that we are defending Europe as a whole. I can only thank the people of the United States of America

for their support, their strong support. But the people dying right now, with all due respect to the U.S. and Europe, the ones dying right now are Ukrainians. This is why I say that by giving us weapons, other countries are protecting their own people. But in the Trump administration, U.S. aid has all but stopped. Last month, the White House announced partial ceasefires, but they haven't happened. And now Trump says he is losing patience with Putin.

Putin can't be trusted. I told that to President Trump many times. So when you ask why the ceasefire isn't working, this is why. Putin never wanted an end to the war. Putin never wanted us to be independent. Putin wants to destroy us completely, our sovereignty and our people. Putin's troops occupy about 20% of Ukraine.

The 600-mile front is largely frozen. World War I trench warfare, plus drones. It's estimated that as many as 200,000 Russian troops have been killed. What does a just peace look like to you? To not lose our sovereignty or our independence. We no matter what will take back what is ours because we never lost it. The Russians took it from us, the temporarily occupied territories.

We will not recognize as Russia those territories that the Russians temporarily occupy. We will bring them back. When or how, I cannot say. But what we can't bring back are the human lives. There's only one thing that can be done — justice. We cannot let go the issue of justice. Those who killed must pay for the murders. Zelensky told us any true ceasefire must include a guarantee of Ukrainian security. He imagines an international peacekeeping force and would like the US to be part of it. This could mean a force protecting airspace and providing air defense, which may consist of airplanes rather than boots on the ground.

I will end the war in Ukraine immediately. I will get it done while I'm president-elect. During his presidential campaign, Trump boasted he would end the war before Inauguration Day. Instead, today, Palm Sunday, Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian city of Sumy. At least 32 civilians are dead, including another two children. In your view, what is at stake in this moment? Security. The security of the world is at stake. If we do not stand firm, he will advance further. It is not just idle speculation. The threat is real.

Putin's ultimate goal is to revive the Russian Empire and reclaim territories currently under NATO protection. And the United States, being part of NATO, means it will be involved in any potential conflict. Considering all of this, I believe it could escalate into a world war. A risk to the world? Yes, for the world. There won't be a safe place.

Not a safe place for anyone. You've got unlimited access to music. but time? Now that's limited. The PC Insider's World's Elite MasterCard gets you unlimited PC Optima points, free grocery delivery, and time back for what matters. Save time and earn $1,100 in average value each year. The PC Insider's World's Elite MasterCard. The card for living unlimited. Conditions apply to all benefits. Visit PCFinancial.ca for details. Value is for illustrative purposes only. The Hot Honey McCrispy is so back at McDonald's.

With juicy 100% Canadian raised seasoned chicken, shredded lettuce, crispy jalapenos, and that completely craveable hot honey sauce, it's a sweet heat repeat you don't want to miss. Get your Hot Honey McCrispy today. Available for a limited time only at McDonald's. With a landmass three times that of Texas, but with a population, just 57,000, able to fit comfortably inside an NFL stadium, Greenland has long been a forgotten outpost. No more.

The world's largest island is suddenly the bell of the geopolitical ball, with outsized consequences. President Trump offered to buy the territory from the Danish government that controls it. When his overtures were dismissed as absurd, Trump doubled down and now declines to rule out force, also vowing to acquire Greenland, quote, one way or the other. It makes for strange and scary times for the predominantly indigenous Inuit population. We bundled up and then trundled up to tour a bitingly cold place in what is suddenly a hot neighborhood. Who knows for how much longer, but for now, Greenland truly might be the last frontier. All snow-dusted mountains and icebergs, blazing blue and sometimes the size of cruise ships that come lazing down the fjords.

Greenland has been part of the Danish kingdom for 300 years, though the capital, Nuuk, sits closer to New York than it does to Copenhagen. And the towns and villages cling only to the coastline, with no roads connecting them. You're better off cross-country skiing the terrain, as does Melina Abelson, a former finance minister and a native Greenlander. The spotlight cast on her homeland is,

she says, overwhelming. This is new for us, and we probably have to get used to the attention. It's so much more intense at the moment. It's intense because why specifically? It's intense because the whole world order is changing. She's currently chairperson of the largest company in the territory, Royal Greenland, a leader in fishing, an industry that accounts for more than 90% of the territory's exports.

Doing business here, on top of the world, gives a whole new meaning to the phrase weather-dependent. So when people come to Greenland, they can get very frustrated when they say, oh, my flight was delayed with five hours. And I say five hours, that's not a delay. Five weeks is a delay. So you kind of have to adapt because otherwise you are not able to survive here in Greenland. The territory is lodged between North America and Europe. So massive, it encompasses three time zones, yet so sparse that in one of those time zones, the listed population is eight. But determined to explore, we headed south from Nuuk by plane. We were prepared for delays. Less so the annihilating cold on a boat ride across a fjord.

The temperature that balmy morning, minus 12 Fahrenheit. Our destination, the Plymouth Rock of Greenland. Greenland was settled by Eric the Red, so named as much for his fiery temper as his fiery beard. Banished from his native Norway, he headed west and ended up right around here in 982. He was a fearless and fearsome frontiersman. Eric the Red was also a slick marketer and salesman. This vast patch of ice, he named it Greenland in hopes of luring investors, farmers, and other settlers. A thousand years later...

We will make you rich and together. We will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before. A different kind of sales pitch. This to a joint session of Congress last month. And I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. We saw your faces at Congress, grinning about Greenland. Apuluk Linga, an elder Inuit statesman, once represented the Arctic population at

the United Nations. For him, Trump's Greenland fixation is more than troubling, it's offensive. When he mentioned Greenland, like it was a toy or something. You noticed that? We all noticed that in Greenland, all of us. And it was ugly. When President Trump first made eyes at Greenland in 2019, on the island it had the effect of fueling a spirit of independence, or reassessment of the relationship with Denmark, which pumps

in around $800 million a year, but also, historically, imposed its values on Inuit culture. The coupling of Denmark and Greenland, well, it's complicated. It's like a forced marriage, if you can say so. At least it was from the Greenlandic side, because we have never been asked if we want to be part of the Danish kingdom. Then we have a lover coming into the relationship, and that lover is pointing at one and saying, oh, I really, really like your wife there. And that's when you saw that there was

whole dynamic change between Denmark and Greenland. Should we keep going with that analogy? Are you attracted to the lover? I think that some people got a little attracted, and they thought, oh, that could be much better. That lover looks so rich and powerful. But we have also seen how our Inuit cousins live in Alaska and how they were treated. We definitely do not want to go down that road. In the city, such as it is, of Nuuk, population 20,000, locals turned out last month for a demonstration. A remarkable show of unity for a country so spread out and historically so measured. The rally included newly elected Prime Minister Jens Fredrik Nielsen. And it's all clear that we stand together.

No matter what political color you have, we stand together on this issue. Greenland is for Greenlanders, not for anybody else. The demonstration ended outside an old wooden cottage that serves as the American consulate. Per one recent poll, just 6% of the local population favored U.S. control. The loudest pro-American voice we encountered was an American, the founder of the Bikers

for Trump. My name's Chris Cox. I'm from the United States, and I've come here to try to make some friends. On his own dime and own time, Cox came to Greenland from his home in Charleston, South Carolina, a Trump evangelist on an unofficial mission. We're not looking at you like a tiger looks at a gazelle wanting to pounce on you. What have you learned about this place? I've learned that it's very unique people.

There are docile people. There are peaceful people. The U.S. has long been enthralled by Greenland. In the 1860s, the Gilded Age of Empire, when land masses were bought and sold like horses in buggies, talk first surfaced of America acquiring the territory. As Greenland is the best source of prediction for Europe's weather... During the Second World War, Americans were given control of Greenland.

They built 17 military bases. The most significant, Bluey West One in Narsasuak, in the south of the territory, was a crucial stop-off before D-Day. When the Americans shut the base down in the 50s, they didn't much clean up after themselves. These drums remain today. But so does a military museum celebrating America's presence here. On display, images of proud American airmen,

some of whom left a literal legacy. There's a strong, long relationship with the Americans. And as I am one of them, or what can you say, my grandmother had a child with the American soldier from Nassau-Soak. I am a product of that relationship. You're one quarter American, essentially. That's correct. After the war, President Truman tried to buy Greenland for $100 million in gold. Denmark declined, but the two countries did sign a 1951 treaty, it still stands today,

giving broad license for the U.S. military to operate in Greenland. Even in the icebound Arctic, America is making certain of her defenses. Today, Thule, now called P-2-F-X Space Base, figures critically in U.S. anti-missile defense and was the site of Vice President Vance's recent visit. Apparently I'm the first vice president to ever visit Greenland, so that's a pretty cool thing. A visit that triggered the firing of the base commander for, in the eyes of the Trump administration, not showing sufficient support for the U.S. agenda there. The administration maintains that acquiring Greenland is essential for world security. As ice caps melt and the Arctic trade routes and new sea lanes become more important,

U.S. control would thwart Russia and China's access. Trump has derided Denmark for not being up to the job. But why would the current administration seek to acquire a place where America has always been so welcome? In Copenhagen, political scientist Ole Weaver questions the entire premise of Trump's aggressive stance. Bottom line is the Americans are militarily on Greenland as much as they want. So if President Trump said, we want to do X in Greenland, outside of this realm of buying or annexing or seizing, we need to put up a base in Greenland. They wouldn't get a no.

They wouldn't get a no? No. So what's going on here? That's a good question. And everyone is scratching their heads in Copenhagen and Nuuk as well. For all the head-scratching, the consequences could be severe. To invade and annex a part of another member country, then it would be necessary in the next NATO meeting to say by everyone else that this is a violation of everything we know.

This would blow NATO to pieces. It would. It is just a violation that is just one bridge further than anything we have seen so far. Weaver also joins the chorus of those worrying that if the US annexes Greenland, it would rewrite the rules for international relations. We're still!

Ukraine invaded by Russia, or China potentially taking over Taiwan, incursions like these play differently if we're now in a might-makes-right world. Apart from geostrategy, the U.S. does offer another reason for acquiring Greenland. It's that time-honored justification for empire building. Riches. Lots of riches. There are minerals in Greenland, but getting to them, like getting anything and anywhere here, is a mission in itself. We join Elder Olofsson, CEO of Amarok Minerals, which operates one of the two active mines in Greenland. I think there are mines in this world that are easier to get to.

Certainly, yes. The Trump inner circle portrays Greenland as a bonanza, a cookie jar of commodities and natural resources. Gold, zinc, copper, and rare earth minerals seen as essential for the future world economy. We noticed this mine, which was still in production then. Mines across Greenland have come and gone over the centuries, essential for the future world economy. We noticed this mine, which was still in production then. Mines across Greenland have come and gone over the centuries, largely because of the logistical challenges.

But with gold prices at all-time highs, Olofsson estimates that with prudent planning and patience, there is $150 million a year to be made from this mine. So we're going into the mountain now. Yeah, so we're going into and up, which is quite rare in today's mining world. Not for the claustrophobic, it's a bumpy 30-minute ride through sinuous tunnels. You just haphazardly picked up this shard, but I can see with the naked eye, you can see all the gold there. Yes. How much gold is in this gold belt?

We can't say for certain because we would have to drill it all out. This is completely untested. So dozens of millions of ounces of potential for sure. Millions of ounces of gold here in Greenland potentially. Yeah. There may be gold in them there hills, but geologists we consulted were deeply skeptical of the promise of any natural resource jackpot in Greenland. Plenty of other countries, America included,

have just as many, if not a lot more, untapped minerals. Regardless of who ultimately controls Greenland, foreign investment into sectors like mining is, and always has been, welcome. Consistent with a catchphrase we heard repeatedly, we're not for sale, but we are open for business. Still, this vast land has been thrown vastly off balance. Is there any sense that this is just about

the ambition to expand and plant a flag, and this isn't about bases and resources? That's what concerns me. We're talking about people who lives here. It's disrespectful. Akbuluk Lunge has a more defiant message still. If you should try something in the Arctic, you should be very careful. I think we should say, ice is slippery. when the in-laws decide that, actually, they will stay for dinner. Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer.

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lovingly named the Savannah Bananas, with an unorthodox owner who dreamed of making America's pastime livelier and more fun, with dancing players, trick plays, and non-stop entertainment for the fans. Think Harlem Globetrotters, only more so. Take a look. Now Dan Ober. That one chopped up the middle. It looks like baseball. As D.R. takes off for second. And feels like baseball. But then, there's this.

An umpire feeling the music. A batter on, no, stilts. Gymnastics in the outfield, Catches the ball, are you kidding me? And on the way home. The Bananas have won the inning! Banana Ball is the creation of Jesse Cole, who dresses in banana yellow daily.

Grab those hands, here we go! He's the owner and ringmaster of this circus. It's not baseball, Or is it baseball? Obviously it started from the idea of baseball. But now let's just turn it up a little bit. Turning it up a little bit, Savannah Banana style, means the show starts hours before the game, with fans and players dancing outside before the doors open.

Then on the field, gymnasts. The Banana Splits. A dance team made up of grandmas, the Banana Nanas. And instead of cheerleaders, these guys, the Man Nanas. It's all intentional, so this is the script. You have a script? There's almost 50 things that happen before the game starts. The idea is to have something entertaining for everyone,

like the six-year-old leading a crowd warm-up, to appeal to all ages, baseball fans or not. How long in the car? Ten hours. You drove here for ten hours? The game itself, between the Bananas and their main banana ball rivals, the Party Animals, also owned by Cole, is a real baseball competition with some rule twists.

There's a two-hour time limit, no mound visits, no walks or bunts, and if a fan catches a foul ball, it's an out. What a snap by that guy! Trick plays like between-the-leg throws to make an out and backflip catches are encouraged. And a few times a game, players go to bat with lip-synced, choreographed productions like this one featuring infielder Jackson Olsen.

Longtime baseball writer Tim Kirchhen came to a game and he said, this is the stupidest thing I have ever seen. I loved it. So grateful he finished with the I love it. Exactly, right. But, you know, there are people who would be offended that you're changing baseball. I believe if you're not getting criticized, you're playing it too safe. Safe isn't Jesse Cole's style. His early dreams of playing for his hometown Red Sox ended with a shoulder injury in college that sent him into coaching and a discovery he wasn't expecting.

I'm sitting in the dugout and I realized something. I'm bored out of my mind. And if I'm bored, there's got to be other people that are probably bored with baseball as well. He got a job managing a failing college summer league team in Gastonia, North Carolina, called the Grizzlies, where he started shaking things up with dancing and silliness. The first time I saw Jesse, he's the general manager of the team, keep in mind. Emily McDonald was working for a minor league team in Augusta at the time. He is on the field teaching his players how to do the thriller dance. So you got to get the arms into it. You got to get the head. You said, oh, that guy's for me.

But we nailed that dance, we nailed that dance. Emily joined the Grizzlies, and three years later... Will you make me the luckiest guy in the world? Will you marry me, Emily? ...joined Jesse, permanently. And yes, he was already wearing that yellow tux, inspired by his idols, showmen P.T. Barnum and Walt Disney. It's something I believe in. It's standing out. It's being different. And if your owner

is dressed up in a yellow tuxedo, I mean, I think that gives permission to everyone else to not take themselves too seriously, to have fun. Were you able to turn the Grizzlies around? Yeah, from the team that was probably worst in the country in attendance. We climbed up to be fourth in the country in attendance. But what about playing? Oh, we won championships. When you have fun, you play better. In 2015, the newlyweds launched the Bananas as a new college summer league team in Savannah,

building fans with all-you-can-eat food and always upping the fun. They won titles, but something kept gnawing at Jesse. Some fans were leaving the stadium before the game was over. Even with everything going on? It was eating me up inside, but then I realized that means there's a fundamental problem with the actual game. He began videotaping the crowd and studying.

When are fans looking at their phones? When are they not paying attention to the game? Mound visits, batters stepping out, taking forever. All right, if you step out. Oh, I hate that. Yes. And they play with their gloves. And so we said, what are all the normal rules of a baseball game?

What would be the exact opposite? He started dreaming up ideas for a faster, more exciting game. Think about this. In a baseball game, there's a play called a walk. It's unathletic. It's called a walk. So we said, what would be the exact opposite? A sprint.

And so was born the ball four sprint, where the batter takes off and can't be tagged out until every fielder has touched the ball. He's going to be rewarded with two bases. So now a walk, because one of the most exciting plays in sports. Bang, bang. And then what about bunting? Now I know this is controversial, but if you bunt in banana ball, you're because one of the most exciting plays in sports. Bang, bang. And then what about bunting? Now I know this is controversial, but if you bunt in banana ball, you're thrown out of

the game. What's wrong with bunting? There's no bunting. I like bunting. Some traditionalists do. When I came up to the plate the first time as a five-year-old, my dad said, Jess, swing hard in case you hit. And I believe in baseball, banana ball, come up and swing the bat, try to create something

really special instead of the bunt. So that first tryout... Coaches Tyler Gillum and Adam Virent helped create the new game and recruit players to try it out. You were looking for really strong baseball players. Exclusively. I was pushing a wheelbarrow full of concrete and my phone went off and it was my mama. Dakota Allbritton had played high school baseball in his Georgia hometown, then got a job in construction. She said, hey, we got a baseball tryout this weekend. I said, why'd you do that? You know, I ain't played ball in two years. She said, well, I told him you could walk on stilts. And with me not having any knowledge on what the bananas was, I asked her again, well, why'd you do that? I hadn't done that in 10 years. You hadn't walked on stilts in 10 years?

I had not walked on stilts in 10 years. They'd been a Christmas present when he was 10. As a matter of fact, on the way to tryouts, I realized that the straps that held them on my legs were dry-rodded, and we stopped by Tractor Supply and got dog collars. They were held on my legs by dog collars. Are you serious? He had played high school baseball, not the highest level, and he probably wasn't going to make the team.

He said, I brought my stilts. Do you want me to wear them? And I said, nah, unless you can hit in them. I said, heck yeah, I can. I got up there. You had no idea. I had no idea I could do it, but I wasn't going back down from a challenge. And the entire tryout stops.

I wonder why. It's dead quiet. Did you hit the ball? I did. I surprised myself just as much as I surprised everybody else. The coaches were still going to cut him till Jesse intervened. Jesse says, guys, you don't see the vision. The vision is things being done on a baseball field nobody has ever seen. Other players, like Robert Anthony Cruz, Rack for short, joined the Bananas with stronger credentials. He'd been signed by the Washington Nationals.

This video of him sharing the news with his dad... Oh, my God. Congratulations, son. ...went viral. But as with so many players... One year later, I got released by the Nationals, and my wife and I moved back in with my parents. Bananas players told us they'd all dreamed of playing in the major leagues. Raise your hand.

Yeah. When baseball didn't work, did you all think you were done? Yeah, 100%. They say banana ball is a second life. They're still practicing that old game, plus one-upping each other on cool tricks and smooth moves. That elaborate batter walk-up routine, also part of afternoon practice.

Like literally, like four hours before we get there. Oh, my god. Yes! Swim! So in the middle of the afternoon, they are learning a dance for that night for the first time. I mean, players, the talent level, they learn a tremendous amount of steps

for about 20 minutes, 30 minutes of rehearsal. And then they're doing it in front of a self-doubt crowd. And sometimes practicing in front of the crowd. I remember looking at you and you were doing the dance too. You were trying to learn it. Like we're all trying to learn this stuff during the game. Keep it fresh. Banana ball players have full year contracts and are paid significantly more than most

minor leaguers. Their salaries have risen every year, as has their fan base. This was the home stadium of the Philadelphia Phillies on a Saturday night in September. A completely sold-out, standing-room-only crowd of 45,000. It was one of six Major League Baseball stadiums the Bananas sold out last season, including Fenway Park. With clips of dances like this going viral, the Bananas now have more TikTok followers than all 12 of last year's MLB playoff teams combined. As in Savannah, crowds gather hours early.

Banana Ball is now a multi-million dollar private business. Jesse turns away investors. To build fans, he reinvests. He keeps ticket prices low, $60 max, and broadcasts all games free on YouTube. What's up, guys? Playing in an MLB stadium, players told us, is thrilling, even for someone already 10 feet tall. Just this section right here is as big as my whole entire hometown. Stiltz told us he'd be pitching this game.

Do you really throw strikes? Oh, absolutely. It coming straight down like that, they gotta hit it just perfect or they're gonna ground out or pop up. And sure enough, the world's tallest pitcher! In the top of the sixth,

facing the party animal's version of a switch hitter. Show off his switch hitting skills. There was one of those strikes. Now a 3-2 count. With the pressure on. Bouncer grabs, 3-6, the Olsen bounces it to first. He got the third out.

Stiltz continues to shine. Then in the bottom of the seventh, with the runner on first and the Bananas down by one, Jackson Olsen took off on a ball-four sprint. Ball-four sprint, yeah! Then, with men on the corners, the former National signee, Rack, was up. Uh-oh, Robert Anthony Cruz! See you later!

A three-run homer. As far as we could see, nobody left early. This season, Banana Ball has officially become a league with two more teams. And they'll play not just at 17 MLB stadiums, but at three NFL football stadiums as well. Will you fill those stadiums? They're sold out. Already? It's crazy.

All of it's crazy. Some might even say... bananas. Now, the last minute of 60 Minutes. Next week on 60 Minutes, we take you to the mountains of Mexico to witness one of nature's great migrations. You can actually hear the sound of butterfly wings. Yeah. Let's just be quiet for a second.

I'm Anderson Cooper. That story and more next week on another edition of 60 Minutes.