Savannah Bananas at Yankee Stadium was quite the party

The crowd at Yankee Stadium roared as the player wearing No. 99 took the field.

But it wasn’t Aaron Judge jogging out to right field.

Frankie Moscatiello made his way to the mound in the top of the fifth inning and his support section of nearly 100 friends and family members went bananas.

The 29-year-old Rocky Point native fulfilled his childhood dream of playing baseball professionally at the Stadium. He did it as a member of the Savannah Bananas, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’ve been looking forward to this since I was a little kid and once I joined the Bananas, this was one of the very special stadiums I was really looking forward to visiting,” Moscatiello told Newsday Friday afternoon.

The Bananas, an exhibition barnstorming baseball team, opened their two-game series with their rival Party Animals on Friday night. Originally scheduled for Saturday, the game was moved up a day to avoid inclement weather. Despite the change, fans created a sea of banana yellow throughout the Stadium. The Bananas won, 3-2, in a "showdown" — the Banana Ball equivalent of extra innings (Google it!)

After inducing a pop-out for the final out of the fifth, Moscatiello hopped off the mound and tipped his cap toward the direction where his family sat.

“I bought waterproof mascara,” said Moscatiello’s mother, Andrea. “I’ve been crying since I got here. Seeing his face plastered on the posters and screens when we walked in was so amazing.”

Moscatiello’s father, Frank, attended a game earlier in the season in Savannah, Georgia, but Friday was Andrea’s first Bananas game. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

“Banana Ball is something that you just can’t describe,” Moscatiello said. “You just have to experience it for yourself.”

The 5-7 righthander wasn’t exaggerating.

Umpires danced and performed backflips to call outs.

Players routinely caught fly balls behind their backs.

Bananas co-owner Jesse Cole led sing-alongs with the crowd in between innings.

Batters dramatically walked up to the plate while performing TikTok trends.

You name it, the Bananas and Party Animals did it.

After scoring a run in the top of the first, the entire Party Animals roster met up at home plate to perform a choreographed dance routine. Seconds later, four Party Animals danced on top of the third base dugout while Bananas pitcher Austin Drury induced a groundout.

Dakota “Stilts” Albritton, who stands 10-feet tall, took an at-bat in the sixth and lined a single to left field for the Bananas. And of course, when a fan caught a foul ball cleanly, it counted as an out.

It wasn’t completely unlike a traditional baseball game, though. Close calls were challenged. Former and current military service members were honored — only in Bananaland, players from both teams walked into the stands to shake their hands.

“The fan participation is great,” Frank Moscatiello said. “I love the way they get everybody into it and they do things in between innings to keep you engaged. This is a dream come true for us as parents, and for Frankie.”

Among the pregame ceremonies was a contest between Bananas captain Bill LeRoy and the Party Animals’ Tanner Thomas, in which they attempted to throw bananas from the 400 sections onto the field, where a fan representing each team was tasked with catching the bananas in their pants.

Carter Miceli, a 9-year-old from Commack, was excited for his second Bananas game. He saw the Bananas at Yankee Stadium last September.

“I remember all the amazing stuff they did and the special guests they brought,” Miceli said. “Eli Manning was the umpire last year, that was great. My favorite part about Banana Ball is everyone coming together and just having a really fun time.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Bananas players met with fans at Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx, signing autographs and taking photos for about 30 minutes. Then, fans gathered around the stage in the park for the “Before the Peel Show,” which featured singing and interactive dances with the crowd. Derek Klena, a former Broadway star and current Bananas player, hit foam balls into the crowd.

After the game, both teams remained on the field to sign more autographs and chat with fans, primarily children.

“Interacting with the fans and the children is my favorite part,” Moscatiello said. “We try to make kids fall in love with the game. We want every kid to leave the stadium saying, ‘That’s the most fun I’ve ever had.’”

Friday night was a blast for fans of all ages. The Bananas and Party Animals will look to one-up themselves when they take the field at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Said Moscatiello: “I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”