Banana Ball Player Considering Firefighting After Career With The Firefighters

During every Banana Ball game, The Firefighters honor a firefighter or fire department for their service and sacrifice on the job. In many cities, players will be invited to local fire departments for a tour of the station and to hear stories from the firefighters.

This exposure to the fire service has sparked interest among players in pursuing firefighting careers after finishing Banana Ball. They have also gained firsthand perspective from head coach Valerie Perez, who served the Corpus Christi, TX, Fire Department for 10 years. Additionally, Mat Wolf, a former player on The Firefighters who now plays with the Indianapolis Clowns, is an Oklahoma City firefighter who has given players future career aspirations.

Among those inspired by real-life firefighters is pitcher Johnny Hummel, who joined The Firefighters in 2025 and has shown keen interest in pursuing a career in the fire service after his playing career.

“I don't think I can go sit in an office and just sit at a computer because I'm not helping really anybody,” Hummel said. “Being a firefighter, that's your job: to help others.”

Hummel's journey to Banana Ball began with five years of Division 2 baseball at Erskine College in South Carolina. He then transferred to the University of Kentucky as a closer. In 2023, Kentucky won the SEC and reached the College World Series. At that point, Hummel thought his baseball career was over.

“It was a big farewell ending for me, Hummel told Firehouse. “After that, I gave away almost all my cleats outside the stadium in Omaha. I was ready to settle back down in my hometown, Charlotte and get a job.”

Shortly after, as he was about to be hired as a project manager for a construction company, former Erskine teammate and current teammate on The Firefighters, Armando Becerra, called Hummel and asked if he wanted to play Banana Ball. Not thinking it would amount to much, Hummel said yes.

“I thought that Banana Ball was going to be more entertainment, like go have fun,” Hummel recalled. “Then, I realized that it's a lot more than that. It's very competitive.”

The experience became reality when Firefighters assistant coach Drew Yniesta, another Erskine teammate, called Hummel. Yniesta encouraged him to try out and asked if he wanted to join The Firefighters for the upcoming season.

Because Hummel was more introverted, joining the team was a stretch. He credits the personalities around him for helping him break out of his shell.

“I don't get awkward in social situations,” Hummel said. “I can stand up in the grocery store and just do a dance now. I'm so grateful for that. It's made me a better person.”

Hummel loves the team’s atmosphere. He said everyone works to help each other improve and succeed. He credits Perez for making sure the team understood what their jerseys represent.

“When we first had our team meeting, she said we represent a hell of a lot more than just Banana Ball,” Hummel recalled. “We represent the entire world. We represent everybody who helps others. We represent everybody who puts their lives on the line for someone else.”

That was at the beginning of 2025, and Hummel says it’s stayed true into this season.

“I tell people this all the time: we represent way more than any other teams represent, because we represent on a national level, we represent people that do God's work,” Hummel remarked. “We're all in on representing this brand at the highest level possible. That just trickles down to each one of us.”

As Hummel seamlessly integrated into The Firefighters and became hooked with the parallels between the team and the fire service, he credits Wolf with opening his eyes to a career as a firefighter after his playing career.

“I've had numerous conversations, typically on an individual basis, with guys coming up and asking me about progress, or what made me want to be a firefighter,” Wolf told Firehouse. “I always say the same thing: I love what I do.”

A driving force was maintaining a team environment, like that of a firehouse, and helping others. Wolf compares locker room talk to firehouse talk and shows how everyone is working towards a common goal.

“The most fulfillment we get, playing Banana Ball, is joy from others, because we provide so much for them and see how grateful they are for us,” Hummel said.  “That's why I am now in the mindset that this is probably what I want to do when I get done.”

“It'd be something that they would get a lot of satisfaction from,” Wolf said. “Knowing the little conversations that I have can touch people in a good way, especially towards wanting to be a firefighter, validates those small conversations.”

Perez and Hummel haven’t had many in-depth conversations about being a firefighter, but Perez said it’s a good path for him.

“I think Johnny would be an incredible firefighter,” Perez stated. “I think he'd love it because of the adrenaline rush and him being a closer. Firefighting is one of the closest things that he'll ever feel to that moment again. Whenever you're on a nozzle entering a fire, I think that will translate tremendously to him, his ability to have a slow heartbeat in those moments, make decisions and execute is something that he's going to have over a lot of other people, so I think it will translate incredibly well.”

Perez recalled a story about her players having dinner when they heard a call for help from the apartment above. They climbed the balcony, found an injured man, cleaned him up and managed the situation. Perez said this response is natural for her players.

“I was a firefighter for 10 years with a bunch of different types of personalities, and there's not one guy on my team that I can honestly say that I wouldn't trust with my life if it came down to it, and that's not even being trained,” Perez exclaimed.

Hummel was franchised by Perez for the 2026 season. He still sees himself playing Banana Ball for a few more years but is interested in the fire service afterward.

“When that time gets closer, I'd obviously sit down more with her [Perez] and figure out the best path, how to get there, and how you need to go about every single day when becoming a firefighter,” Hummel stated.

Perez is stoked that her players have so much interest in the fire service and are considering pursuing it after their Banana Ball days are over.

“It's exciting to me that these guys are showing interest, because they're learning about it,” Perez said. “There aren't a lot of opportunities that you get to learn this much about an occupation they have nothing to do with. It’s like a paid internship that pays very well. There's a lot they're learning. The more the merrier.

He’s on the right path and has so much passion for honoring those firefighters.

Hummel recalls his experience at Yankee Stadium on 9/11 when The Firefighters played. It’s a moment, for him, that will last a lifetime, and he doesn’t think anything is ever going to top that.

“Seeing these guys that come in and they're so appreciative of us, but we're actually way more appreciative of them than they are of us,” Hummel said. “You get to experience every week, and that just adds on to it.”