Sandlot Revival: Bananas worship outside stadium
The Bananas play Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but the night before they gather people to worship with a local church.
In the summer of 2024, some Savannah Bananas players began studying the Bible while the team toured the United States. That's how Sandlot Revival was born, worship nights open to anyone, according to Sports Spectrum.
From a coffee shop to a night in every city
The first meeting was tiny: five or six players in a coffee shop. Over time they grew to 40 or 50, gathered at someone's house. Later they organized three worship nights next to Grayson Stadium, in Savannah, led by left fielder RobertAnthony Cruz.
Cruz, better known as Coach RAC, wanted to take those nights from city to city. In the summer of 2026 he launched Sandlot Revival with his college friend Mehki Key. The project doesn't belong to the Bananas, although several teammates support it.
«Your field, your account and your job can also be a platform to serve»
The schedule plays in their favor: in almost every city the team competes Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The night before, worship is held in partnership with a local church. Key joins that church's band, a player shares his testimony and then Cruz preaches and presents the gospel. At the end, the players pray for whoever comes up to ask for it.
When a player prays for you
Easton Parrish, in his first year with the Bananas, says that moment of prayer is the strongest part of the night. He himself confesses that at first he didn't dare to pray for others because he felt he wasn't good at it. Today he says he receives more than he gives.
JT Sokolove, the youngest on the team at 23, has shared his testimony twice at Sandlot Revival. Since the Bananas usually play on Sundays, he says those nights work as his church service: seeing thousands of people worship in different cities alongside their brothers.
Cruz studied Christian ministry, with a specialization in biblical studies, at Biola University, in La Mirada, California. After college he had a brief stint in rookie ball with the Washington Nationals and today he serves as the Banana Ball chaplain.
What they do with fame
The Bananas fill stadiums: 102,000 people at Kyle Field on May 2 and 101,000 at Neyland Stadium. In 2026 they visited 21 cities, and the league's six teams played 64 games each.
Still, they lost the first Banana Bowl final 2-1 against the Texas Tailgaters, before 41,000 people at Nationals Park. The trophy didn't come, and the Bible study that started it all is still standing.
Some meet only with their team; others, with rival players when they coincide on tour. When everyone is in Savannah, the groups grow. Not because life is easy.
Cruz puts it this way: "God is on the throne and we are not the ones on the throne" (Sígueme translation). Meeting every week, he explains, helps them stay focused amid the ups and downs everyone goes through.
"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace" (1 Peter 4:10, ESV).
Sandlot Revival doesn't ask for fame. It asks for what those players already do: use what each one has to serve. Your field, your account and your job can also be a platform to serve. This week you can take a simple step: invite someone to your church or listen to their story without rushing them. What do you use your platform for?
