Ep 1225 | The Savannah Bananas Player Bringing Jesus to Baseball | RobertAnthony Cruz (Coach RAC)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Ep 1225 | The Savannah Bananas Player Bringing Jesus to Baseball | Robert Anthony Cruz (Coach RAC)

Podcast Information:

• Title: Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
• Host: Allie Beth Stuckey
• Network: Blaze Podcast Network
• Episode: Ep 1225
• Release Date: August 1, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 1225 of Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey, host Allie Beth Stuckey engages in a heartfelt and inspiring conversation with Robert Anthony Cruz, popularly known as Coach Rack. As a player for the renowned Savannah Bananas baseball team and a prominent TikToker, Coach Rack shares his journey through professional baseball, his deep-rooted Christian faith, and his commitment to mentoring young athletes.

Early Life and Faith

Robert Anthony Cruz begins by recounting his upbringing in a Christian home. "Both my sister and I were raised in a Christian home with new believers for parents," he explains (02:38). His parents, initially non-believers, converted to Christianity after struggling to conceive, leading to the birth of his sister and himself. Homeschooling was a significant part of his childhood, where his mother homesteaded with chickens and a garden, creating a "granola" lifestyle that ingrained strong values from an early age (03:09).

Baseball Journey: From Youth to Pros

Coach Rack's passion for sports began surprisingly with gymnastics. "I did gymnastics from when I was, like, five until I was eight years old," he shares (03:32). However, the lack of men's gymnastics programs led him to switch to baseball at the age of eight, setting him on the path to becoming a professional player. His ambition was clear from his first game, aiming to play professionally despite the challenges of starting late compared to his peers.

His collegiate career took him from UC Riverside to Biola University, where he flourished as a baseball player. "At Biola University, I had an okay first year and then my next two years on the baseball field, at least I did well," he notes (12:32).

Facing Setbacks and Transition to Social Media

Robert's transition to professional baseball was both exhilarating and daunting. Signed by the Washington Nationals in 2021, he quickly faced the harsh reality of professional sports. "After only a year, I was released from the organization," he reveals (14:48). This unexpected setback led him to reassess his future, ultimately turning to social media to share his experiences and insights.

A viral TikTok video announcing his signing catapulted him to fame, amassing hundreds of thousands of followers. Despite the initial shock of his release, Robert leveraged his newfound platform to produce coaching videos, emphasizing the importance of identity beyond athletic performance. "I wanted the next generation of ballplayers to know that they don't have to have their identity wrapped up in how they perform on the field," he states (21:30).

Personal Life: Meeting His Wife

Robert's support system plays a crucial role in his journey. He met his wife during their adolescence through a homeschooling community. "We ended up starting dating that year in 2014 and were together all through high school, college, and then got married right before I went to play pro Ball," he shares (16:17). Their marriage provided stability during challenging times, especially after his release from the Nationals.

Savannah Bananas: A New Chapter

In a surprising twist, Robert joined the Savannah Bananas, a unique baseball team known for their entertaining and interactive games. "Savannah Bananas are a new adaptation of baseball where at its core it's still baseball, but with a lot of different rules that speed up the game and tailor it to a newer audience," explains Robert (31:37). This move reconnected him with his love for the game in a fresh and dynamic environment.

Faith in Sports and Teams

While the Savannah Bananas organization is not exclusively Christian, Robert highlights the presence of fellow believers within the team. "The players, many of them are believers, and that's been really cool to see," he notes (34:21). This shared faith fosters a supportive community, evident in their commitment to weekly Bible studies and dedicated prayer sessions. Robert emphasizes the importance of praying boldly and consistently for his teammates, believing that "true joy, true peace, true satisfaction comes through relationship with You" (36:33).

Baseball Camps and Community Engagement

Beyond playing, Robert is passionate about mentoring young athletes through his initiative, Not Your Average Baseball Camp (NYABC). "We want to create the most not average experience possible for these kids and treat them like royalty," he describes (38:44). Despite initial financial challenges, the camp has grown exponentially, now accommodating around a thousand kids with dedicated coaches and volunteers. The camps culminate in prayer, reinforcing the integration of faith and sportsmanship.

Messages to Athletes and Parents

Robert offers profound advice to young athletes and their parents, emphasizing the importance of balancing competitiveness with spiritual growth. "You'll never experience more joy and fulfillment than when you have a relationship with the Creator," he advises (40:39). He encourages athletes to strive for excellence while maintaining their identity rooted in something greater than their achievements. "Focus more on who you are becoming in the process, and realize that true satisfaction comes from a relationship with the Creator," he concludes (44:34).

Final Thoughts

Coach Rack's journey is a testament to resilience, faith, and the pursuit of authentic fulfillment. His transition from aspiring professional athlete to influential coach and mentor underscores the impact of integrating personal values with professional endeavors. Through his work with the Savannah Bananas and NYABC, Robert Anthony Cruz continues to inspire and guide the next generation of athletes to find balance, purpose, and identity beyond the playing field.

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Notable Quotes:

• On Christian Faith and Upbringing:

  • "Both my sister and I were raised in a Christian home with new believers for parents." (02:38)

• On Transitioning to Social Media:

  • "I want the next generation of ballplayers to know that they don't have to have their identity wrapped up in how they perform on the field." (21:30)

• On Joining Savannah Bananas:

  • "Savannah Bananas are a new adaptation of baseball where at its core it's still baseball, but with a lot of different rules that speed up the game and tailor it to a newer audience." (31:37)

• On Faith in Sports:

  • "The players, many of them are believers, and that's been really cool to see." (34:21)
  • "We want to pray bold prayers... I'm going to keep praying for them nonetheless because I truly believe that that is like, where the treasure of life is." (36:33)

• On Messages to Athletes:

  • "You'll never experience more joy and fulfillment than when you have a relationship with the Creator." (40:39)
  • "Focus more on who you are becoming in the process, and realize that true satisfaction comes from a relationship with the Creator." (44:34)

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Connect with Coach Rack:

• TikTok/Instagram/YouTube: @CoachRack
• Website: nyabaseball.com
• Savannah Bananas TikTok: SavannahBananas

For more insights and updates on Robert Anthony Cruz’s journey with the Savannah Bananas and his community initiatives, visit his YouTube channel and follow him on social media.

Transcript

[Ali Stuckey]

Coach Rack is an extremely popular tiktoker who teaches kids the basics of baseball and how to love the game in a way that also glorifies God. He is a player for the very famous Savannah Bananas banana ball team. I'm sure if you don't know who Coach Rock is, your son does. This is a super fun and encouraging conversation that you are going to love. It's brought to you by our friends at Good ranchers. Go to Good Ranchers ranchers.com use code ALI at checkout. That's goodranchers.com code ALI. Okay, y', all, before we get into that fun conversation with coach Rack, want to remind you to please subscribe to my YouTube channel. And I know those of you who have already subscribed, you're like, I already do that. Please don't ask me. But I have to ask, because a lot of people who listen and watch don't realize that they don't subscribe. But you subscribing on these various platforms. Spotify, Blaze TV, Apple, YouTube. It's what allows us to bring you this free content on a daily basis. It's a great way to support our show. A lot of you ask me, how can we help? How can we support that is how you can help. Just make sure that you are subscribing, especially on YouTube. Thank you so much. And now, without further ado, here's coach Rack.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Thank you.

[Ali Stuckey]

Coach Rack. Thanks so much for taking the time to join us.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Thanks for having me.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay, Coach Rack. Have you always been called Coach Rack?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

No, I have not.

[Ali Stuckey]

Did you come up with that name?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

I actually did, yeah.

[Ali Stuckey]

You did.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

I didn't come up with the rack part. It's my initials, kind of. My first name is Robert Anthony, and then Cruz is my last name. When I was with the Nationals, one of my coaches started calling me Rack, and that kind of stuck.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And I started making coaching videos in 2020 after getting released from the nationals. And so when I started making videos, I was like, okay. Robert Anthony Cruz as my username is kind of like, kind of a mouthful. You know, I wanted it to be like, if someone could watch one of my videos, they can tell their friends, oh, you know, I watched this on a Coach Rack video. So, yeah, I came up with the name Coach Rack and kind of just stuck.

[Ali Stuckey]

Mm. It is very catchy. Okay. I just wanted to talk about your story and hear about not just your baseball career, but obviously you're very strong in your Christian faith. So I want to hear your testimony and how you grew up so we can go all the way back to the beginning.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Sweet. All right, well, I don't know. How. How far back should we go? You know? Let's go. Let's go all the way back.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay, let's go all the way back.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Before I was born.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

My parents were not believers when they met. They got married, wanted to have kids for five years and couldn't, and they together came to know the Lord, and just a couple months later, were pregnant with my sister. So both my sister and I were raised in a. A Christian home with new believers for parents. And so we were both homeschooled. I. Yeah, we. My mom had a garden outside. We had chickens, and.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay, so y' all were crunchy before. Crunchy was cool. Yes, because it's cool to be crunchy now. But y' all were already homeschooling, homesteading back in the day.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah, yeah. My mom's a trailblazer in that sense. So, yeah, very much. We were very much granola, so. But, yeah, that was kind of my upbringing.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay, and you grew up playing baseball?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yes.

[Ali Stuckey]

And you always wanted to be a professional baseball player?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Just about when I was five or four years old, actually, I think the Olympics were on. I don't know which Olympics it was, but I was, like, watching people do gymnastics, and I was like, okay, I want to do that. So I did gymnastics for a couple years. My sister did it before me, so I did gymnastics from when I was, like, five until I was eight years old. And then it's just kind of hard to find a men's gymnastics program. So Once I was 8, my dad was like, hey, we might need to find something else. So then I started playing baseball. And then from that point on, it was, I want to be a professional baseball player.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay. And so tell me about that. Tell me about playing baseball growing up and at what moment you were like, okay, I'm good at this. And I could actually try my hand at going beyond high school.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah. I think it was a plan all along for me to play professionally. Even when I started playing, I was. Obviously wasn't very good when I started starting playing ball at 8, 9 years old. I mean, at that point in time, nowadays, kids have been playing for, like, four or five years already. Yeah. So I wasn't necessarily the greatest out the gate. I was pretty athletic, though, because of the gymnastics. But, yeah, in my head, I was like, oh, yeah, Like, I'll play professional baseball. And my parents totally were on the same page. They're like, oh, yeah, if you want to like you can do it. Like, yeah. So there wasn't too much like realism, I guess, from them, but they were very supportive of, of that dream. But yeah, I wanted to be a pro baseball player pretty much after my first game that I ever played.

[Ali Stuckey]

And when would you say, I'm kind of zigzagging a little bit. But when would you say for you, you really became a Christian? I know that you were raised in a Christian home, but was there a moment for you that you were like, okay, this faith is mine, it's real?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah, I don't think there was a specific moment. And I think I've had this conversation with a lot of people and whenever I share my testimony, I never have this one moment to point to. I have always known that I am a sinner. I've always known that I need grace. Yeah, there's never been a point in time where that hasn't been the case. So that being said, I think that my life has been a lot of realizing the depth of the gospel and realizing that it is infinitely simple, but it's also infinitely complex. And. And I've realized that God is a personal God. And so I guess going throughout my life, yeah, there's not really one moment, but.

[Ali Stuckey]

And that's like such a beautiful testimony too, because all of us who are Christians, we want our kids to have that testimony. I think growing up, I remember like going to church camp and stuff because I was raised a Christian too. Very grateful for that. And people would go around and kind of share their testimonies and there was almost like this desire to have the craziest story or the most radical transformation, which of course is really beautiful too. I love hearing those testimonies, but there is a lot of beauty and being able to say, I never didn't know that I needed grace. It just was a growing understanding of the gospel. I think that's the desire of like every Christian parent. Yeah, to have that.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

No doubt.

[Ali Stuckey]

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[Robert Anthony Cruz]

I was turning 17 years old and I still never stepped foot in a classroom. I was homeschooled my whole life, and I was like, hey, mom, if I want to keep playing baseball, I probably should play, like, in high school or something. So I wound up taking a few classes at a local private Christian school, and I played baseball there my junior year, and then didn't really talk to any colleges till halfway through my senior year, but was playing really well and was in the right place at the right time. So it was like, later on in my senior year when I was 18, that I started talking to colleges for the first time and wound up going to UC Riverside, which was right up the street from my house.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay. Yeah. You grew up in California. We. We kind of missed that. Which I wonder if it was even more rare for your family to be how they were growing up in California, or is that typical for the area?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

I think that it. I feel like California has this, like, stereotype about it, but I'll say, like, growing up, there were a lot of other homeschool families in the area, and a lot of those friends that I had growing up, I'm still really good friends with now, which is really special. That's. I guess another thing that's worth mentioning is I did speech and debate. Part of a homeschool speech and debate league.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And so a lot of my friends and I. That's where I met a lot of my friends that I have now. We still, like, go on trips together, and we're, you know, groomsmen and. And. And each other's weddings and. But there is very much a strong Christian homeschool community.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yes.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

In California, even when I was growing up. So.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay. Speech and debate. Is that something you still enjoy? Like, do you like public speaking? Do you like debate now?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

I do, yeah. I don't like debate necessarily. I'm not opposed to it. I think it's very useful. I do like speaking, for sure, and it's cool. Being with the bananas now and doing stuff like this, I think I get to exercise that skill a little bit. But I feel very comfortable speaking, and I really do enjoy it, so. Especially with content, too. So much of what I do on social media requires me to be able to write, like, write out what I want to say. And. And so, yeah, to be able to develop those skills in high school, I'm really thankful that I did it.

[Ali Stuckey]

It really is a skill to be able to write how you would say something and not just write how someone would read it. And so it's interesting. I'm sure you never foresaw that God would use the skills that you are learning in homeschool debate to make content and to coach people in baseball. So, okay, before we get to there, you went to UC Riverside, right. And then you transferred and where did you transfer to?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

I transferred to Biola University.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yes, I've been to Biola before. And that is where you kind of started to thrive as a baseball player, right?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah, I'd say so. Yeah. At Biola University, I had an okay first year and then my, my next two years on the baseball field. At least I did well. So.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ali Stuckey]

And then how was the transition going from playing in college to professional? What was that like?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah, that, that was a difficult transition and something I didn't even really I had my entire life just had this goal of playing professional baseball. But once I finally did get signed, I was like, oh, oh, I actually did it. I can't believe I made it this far. Like, I didn't expect that. And so going out to play professional baseball for the first time in Florida, big time imposter syndrome. Like, okay, whoa. I'm like, I'm now surrounded by a lot of guys that have been around the game for a really long time, a lot older than me, people who are really high draft picks. And. And so immediately upon getting there, it was like, oh, okay. I don't know if I'm actually like good enough to be here. I don't know how I like weaseled my way into this. So there were definitely some of those feelings on the field, at least transitioning from college to pro ball.

[Ali Stuckey]

And I don't even know anything about that process of going to play professional. So can you like fill in those details for us? What does that look like? To be chosen and recruited to then go play across the country?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yes, to be signed to play professional baseball. There's different tiers in professional baseball. So there are certain independent leagues that are separate from major league baseball where they'll pay you normally not very much at all. And you'll play in these kind of minor league stadiums normally in some rural place in America. So that's one form of professional baseball. And you'll find a lot of really good players there, oftentimes better than college. Then there's affiliated baseball, which is one of the major league organizations has signed you. So that was my case. I was signed by the Washington Nationals. And when you're signed, it's normally about a four year process, give or take, to get to the big leagues. So the big leagues are the mlb. That's what you see on tv. That's you know, no one ever gets signed and goes straight to the big leagues. No one ever does it. You could be the first round draft pick, you get paid $8 million. You're still going to probably spend quite a few years in the minor leagues.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

So. So I was signed by the Nationals in 2021 and then was just in their affiliate system and hoping to work my way up. And after only a year, I was released from the organization. So, yeah, that was.

[Ali Stuckey]

They just released you? They just say, we don't want you anymore?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Pretty much, yeah.

[Ali Stuckey]

They're like, what was that like?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Well, I didn't expect it to happen so quick. And normally they give you time in major league, in baseball right now, everyone. Everything's downsizing and. And so when I got. When I got released, I got released with several other people who they had also just signed. So it was. I was shocked. Normally they give you like two or three years and then. But a lot of different organizations were downsizing, so I was part of that. And, yeah, I'll never forget, I was just sitting there, get the tap on the shoulder, and the guy's like, hey, you know, come this way. And, you know, you kind of just know what that means. And so, yeah, at the time, I had just drove out across the country. My wife and I got married in the off season, and I had just drove across the country from California all the way to Florida in West Palm beach, and then got released two weeks later into spring training. And then I had just like unpacked my last thing into my hotel room that I was living out of and then. And then had to pack it all up. They were like, yeah, you gotta be out of here by 11am tomorrow.

[Ali Stuckey]

Out of the hotel room. Oh, my gosh. Whiplash.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

All right. So, yeah.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah. Okay. Since you mentioned your wife, we'll go back a little bit. I want to hear about how you met your wife.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yes, we met in, I guess, middle school age. Oh, she was in eighth grade. I was, I guess, ninth grade. But I was homeschooled. So, yeah, it didn't really matter. Didn't really matter. I was just. Yeah, I was like 15. And yeah, I was 15. She was 14. We met and she actually, we met through her cousin. Her cousin was homeschooled with my sister. Long story. We ended up. We kind of started dating that year in 2014. And yeah, so then we. We were together all through high school, college, and then got married right before I went to go play or. Right. I guess after I went to go play pro Ball.

[Ali Stuckey]

What was her reaction when you, I guess, came back to the hotel room and she was with you? Right. And you were like, I just got released.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Well, she was actually still at Cal Baptist University.

[Ali Stuckey]

Oh, okay.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

She was finishing up her last year of school.

[Ali Stuckey]

Gotcha.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

So she was gonna come join me right. When she finished up that spring semester. And so it was like kind of late March at the time. So she had, like, one month left of school.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

So she was about to come move across the country with me.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And, yeah, that was tough. I just. Yeah. Called her on the phone. I was like, hey, I'm on my way back, so.

[Ali Stuckey]

Oh, my goodness.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah. Moved back in with her parents initially and then moved in with my parents, and we were there kind of till the end of the year in 2022.

[Ali Stuckey]

It is such a blessing to have family that you can rely on.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah. Yeah. To be able to fall back on that was such a blessing. Especially this day and age, it's not exactly easy to support yourself right out of college.

[Ali Stuckey]

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[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Of Life look like for the next couple months? I wanted to still Play. And I had a couple opportunities in different countries, and so we're like, hey, do I want to go play in Mexico? Because I had some opportunities there, and basically every door that kept opening kept getting shut, and it was like six or seven different opportunities in a row. And I was like, all right, I'll take the hint. And I did have a desire to share some stuff on social media, and I guess something that's something that's worth noting. I guess this is kind of a big detail. I kind of forgot when. When I got signed in 2021, I didn't.

[Ali Stuckey]

For the Nationals.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

With the Nationals. Yes. I didn't expect to get signed. I was really hoping to get signed, but I hadn't spoken to a scout in months. I wasn't expecting it. I know. But I knew my dad was watching the draft tracker. I was watching the draft tracker, too, and. But when I got signed, I was like, okay, I want to tell my dad in a special way. My dad worked at Firestone, and he. He would always tell me batting practice after work. So he's an auto mechanic, did that his whole, whole life. And so I wanted to surprise him, tell him that I got signed. So I went to his work and told my mom, hey, you should record this. I think this would be cool.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And so my mom records this moment with my dad, and at this point, I had no desire to be on social media at all. My social media was being used for my photography page because I did wedding photography.

[Ali Stuckey]

Oh, you did?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And. But my mom records this video of me telling my dad that I got signed, and I posted it to TikTok without thinking about it. And. And from that video alone, like, that week, I was like ABC World News person of the week. I was NBC. Like, this video just blew up, like, mega viral.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And so I got a couple hundred thousand followers on TikTok from this, and I had no idea what to do with it. I didn't know how to make videos. I didn't.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Have anything to make, really. So. So I'm just sitting on a couple hundred thousand followers and didn't. A bunch of people were keeping up with my career. And then I get released, and I'm like, huh, okay. All these people followed me because they wanted to keep up with my professional baseball journey after this cool story with my dad. And now I'm just, you know, living with my parents, not playing anymore.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

So for a couple, like, months there, I was like, okay, I don't. Like, I feel like I want to share some things. On social media. I want the next generation of ballplayers to know that they don't have to have their identity wrapped up in how they perform on the field, but they should have their identity in something greater. It takes so much pressure off of you when you're playing. I felt like I had a lot of lessons I wanted to share but then I was like, okay, but it's uncomfortable for me to post on social media given like the last people have heard or like does I'm that I'm playing professional baseball still. So all that being said, after a couple months of trying different avenues of playing again, I decided to start making videos. So I made a video and was like, hey, this is what happened guys. I got released. I'm done playing. In the meantime, I'm just gonna, you know, see what's next. And I, I started making coaching videos. I made two, two videos after, after that one, just basic baseball coaching instruction stuff on like the mental game. And it, those videos were received really well. And again my wife and I are living like at my parents house at this point and I'm like, okay, look, I told Gigi, I was like, I really feel like I got something here.

[Ali Stuckey]

That's your wife?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yes, yes. I was like, I feel like I have something here. I feel like I really have a lot of things I want to share and I feel like there's not that much information online about this. And so I was like, for the next three months I'm going to make a video every single day. I'm going to post it to TikTok and post Instagram, everything else and we'll just see where it goes. If doesn't go anywhere, like I'll figure something out. Probably just book a bunch of weddings and go back to doing photography.

[Ali Stuckey]

And, and so you're writing, filming and editing these all by yourself. Did you have anyone who's helping you?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

No.

[Ali Stuckey]

And that takes some time. People don't realize it's not just like two minutes setting up your camera. You're really having to like plan it out.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah, yeah. Figuring out the microphones. I already had the camera equipment which was nice.

[Ali Stuckey]

Oh yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

But then yeah, figuring out how to use Adobe Premiere Pro and like watching tutorials, it was a big learning process. So made a video though every, every day that summer. And by the end of the summer I had grown a few hundred thousand followers across platforms and I was like, okay, this, this seems to be like, seems to be picking up traction and like still wasn't making any money from it but, but Definitely felt like it was what I was supposed to be doing and I loved doing it.

[Ali Stuckey]

And, and it was mostly about the actual game and skills or were you weaving in your faith and the mental game and all of that?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah, I think the, the faith naturally shines through with a lot of the, A lot of the mental game stuff that I talk about. Because so much of what is so much of my mission as far as baseball, I want to be the most impactful voice in youth sports. And I think there's. Youth sports is such a valuable tool for parents to connect with their kids. So much of the time that parents spend with their kids is revolving around sports, especially these days. And so much of the time that parents will spend with their kids happens between the ages of when they're born, till they're 18, after that, like, that's what, like after they are 18 and they, they are out of the house. Like, you've already spent the majority of the time that you're going to spend with them. So those moments that you spend with your kids on the ball field or by the basketball court, like, those moments are so tremendously valuable. And I saw growing up, so many people have very complicated, difficult, unhealthy relationships. Players had unhealthy relationships with sports and parents had unhealthy relationships with their kids. And so, so much of what my message is on social media is to enjoy the sport, sport for what it is and see it as an opportunity to grow. And at the same time, don't have your whole identity wrapped up in how you perform on the field. And if you're a parent, don't have your whole identity wrapped up in how your kids perform on the field. Don't try to live vicariously through them. Don't put unnecessary pressure on them. They want to win, they want to succeed. That's naturally built into all of us. You don't have to harp on that too much. So I think so much of when I say these things in videos. A lot of times, naturally, like faith comes through, shines through that, right? Because if I'm saying have your identity in something greater, then I have to point to something like, if you believe that your creator made you for a purpose, and then because you are made in the image of God, that is where you get your value from. Then you don't have to find value in what other people say about you. You don't have to find your value in how good you are on the field. And so that really shines through in a lot of my content. Initially I didn't. There wasn't any prayer scripture type, you know, churchy stuff that would shine through in content that's been. I think it made its way into my content a lot more recently.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And I think the only reason that is it's not that I have some sort of agenda. It's. I feel like I have, like, been really experiencing the grace of God and his goodness in my life. And when that happens, a lot of times I can't help but share that with other people. So. And it's so cool seeing what he's doing with my teammates and stuff now. So a lot of my content now is sharing about that kind of stuff that's happening. But I don't think that I have some sort of like, Christian agenda with my page, though. I just. I feel like I have experienced such a beautiful good thing and I want other people to experience that as well.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah. What has the response been as you've been more over and sharing your faith?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Overwhelmingly positive. I don't. Yeah, I mean there's. There's obviously going to be some people who rubs them the wrong way and I. I really feel for those people because I think a lot of times that it stems from having been having been hurt.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

By someone in the church or they latch these attributes onto God that are actually just attributes of sinful people. But, yeah, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. It's really encouraging. Just a few weeks ago, this was at. We have these things called fans first chats with this fan of bananas where after a game we will just give shout outs to things that we saw happen that weekend. And the owner, Emily Cole, kind of gave a shout out that was really special. There was just a mom who had. Her daughter was just in surgery and I guess she found great, like, kind of peace and comfort, I guess in some of the. In one of my videos that was just a prayer and the prayer itself was just a prayer over this, over the stadium and. And a prayer for the game we were about to have. But she was able to draw some sort of peace and comfort from it. So it's really encouraging seeing the impact that it's having and when kids come up to me and, and you know, ask me, hey, what's your favorite Bible verse? Or what do you think about this? Or it's cool seeing the, the impact that's. That's being had.

[Ali Stuckey]

Totally.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah. It's really encouraging.

[Ali Stuckey]

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[Robert Anthony Cruz]

I was two years out of playing and I had no desire to play again. I think part of it was like, I had some. I always had the dream of playing in these big stadiums and like, being a professional baseball player. And then a lot of that was, you know, ended up just not being God's will. And. And so I think I was like, done playing and I really didn't want to play. I had some, I think, emotions there that I was like, I don't, I don't want to, like, reopen this. I don't want to go back to playing. I don't want to go back to competing necessarily. And. But at the end of 2023, a friend of mine was like, hey, the Savannah Bananas got a tryout in your area. This is in Southern California. And I was like, I'm good. Like, appreciate it. Like, I really don't want to. And. And he was like, you know, they just released their schedule. They're gonna be playing in like six major league stadiums next year. I really think you should at least like, try out. Just see what happens.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Finally, like, initially, I didn't want to, and then I really thought about it for a while and talked with Gigi about it and prayed about it. And I was like, all right, like, I kind of. I'll go to the tryout and see what happens. So I did that and did really well at the tryout. And again, I mentioned earlier, I did gymnastics, you know, growing up. And so, like, I was able to incorporate a lot of the acrobatic stuff that I did growing up and. And then as far as social media goes, like, the bananas are big on, you know, having a social media presence. And I already had that. And so in so many ways it seemed like such a great fit. And so Gigi and I kind of packed up our stuff and moved out to Savannah, Georgia right at the beginning of, of last year, 2024.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay. Some people have no idea what we're even talking about. Savannah Bananas. So how would you describe like in a couple sentences what it is?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Savannah Bananas are a new adaptation of baseball where at its core it's still baseball. You still have a pitcher, you still have a hitter. It's the same, you know, four bases, all that. However, there are a lot of different rules that kind of speed up the game and tailor it to a newer audience. So we are still competing, we're trying to win. There are standings, there are stats, but if a fan catches a foul ball, it's an out. If a pitcher walks a guy instead of a ball four, just walk to first base. It's called a ball four sprint. Every single defender needs to touch the ball before they can tag the runner out. So it turns into a much more exciting play. There are, I want to say, 10 different rules that have been added to the game of baseball to make it more exciting. Speed up the game a little bit. We're on a time clock. It's a two hour game, so it's not like a three, four hour baseball game that you'd be used to. So all the while when we do score a run and we have pre planned celebrations that we will do. So sometimes we don't score and we don't get to do any of these. But in case we do score, we'll have these pre planned celebrations. We have hit or walk ups. You know, normally in baseball you have a hit or have a walk up song that'll just play as they walk up to home plate and then they go about their business. But like we'll do a whole walk up production, you know, where we're doing a whole choreographed dance to one direction or whatever. And so yeah. Savannah Bananas. Have you ever been to a game?

[Ali Stuckey]

I've never been to a game, no. I've only seen the videos online.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

It's so interactive for any of you watching, like I. I couldn't recommend it highly enough. You could be sitting in the third deck in a stadium with 80,000 people in it and you'll probably come into contact with either one of the players or One of the cast members.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

As they call it, Jesse Cole's brilliant. But I'm telling you, it is such a, like, intimate experience as a fan.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And it's a. It takes a lot of work to put on this production, but. Yeah. I don't even know how to describe it. You just have to go to a game.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yes. I mean, at first I remember seeing the videos, and I was like, what is going on? Because it just looks so different. And obviously, like, the uniforms are different, a little more casual, sometimes goofy and so. But my nephews who live in Georgia, they just, like, love it so much. And then I started to see a faith aspect. Aspect. It seems like in a lot of the content that's produced, not that it's like an exclusively Christian team, but it seems like there are other teammates that, you know, are very public about their faith. And it seems to be kind of an unapologetic part about your games with, like, the pre game prayers and things like that. Is that the case?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah, the. The organization is not a Christian organization. The players, many of them are.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And that's been really cool to see. Last year, at the beginning of the season, we started. We committed to every single week we're gonna have a Bible study. We'll just, you know, because a lot of times on Sundays we're playing or we're on the road, and so we really just need a community. I. When I was with the Nationals, I really realized that too. Like, I really need community. That's something that's been, like, a recurring theme for me, is like, I need to be connected to the body. And so that being said, when I first got to the bananas, connected with a couple other players who were believers, and we're like, okay, let's meet every single week, at least once every week for the rest of the year. And we did that last year, which was really cool, and got to see some fruit of that. This year we were like, okay, let's do the same thing, but let's dedicate ourselves to praying a little bit more. I had just. Just read a book. It's called Praying Like Monks Living Like Fools. And I felt really convicted after reading it because I realized that so many of the prayers that I pray are. I'm like, hedging for God in a lot of ways. I'm like, I don't want to pray for this person necessarily too much because I don't want to be disappointed when I feel like God hasn't worked on their life or like, it's, you know, What I mean, so finally I was like, no, like, I'm experiencing such a beautiful thing in relationship with God. I feel like I have the craziest schedule and yet I have this like, deep rooted peace and rest. And I want other people to have that. So regardless, like, what I, what I learned from this book is like, I need to pray bold prayers. And not like, if I pray for someone for 20 years and they still don't know the name of Jesus and, and still don't have a relationship with him, I'm going to keep praying for them nonetheless because I truly believe that that is like, where the treasure of life is. And so we kind of committed to praying to for teammates by name. Like, okay, we're going to write it down who we're praying for, and we're going to pray for them by name. We're going to pray that we have a conversation with them at practice this week specifically. And we started praying like very specific targeted prayers. And it feels like one by one, like God's just working on different people's hearts in the organization.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And so we've gotten to see our, our little small Bible study grow tremendously. And just a couple weeks ago, we hosted our first. It was the first time we've done this, but we, we hosted our first, like, public worship night. And so that's awesome. We, yeah, we're able to set up right outside the stadium and invited the public to come on out. And we had our first worship night.

[Ali Stuckey]

So that is awesome. Okay, we have a video clip of you praying before the game. This is Thought 4.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Tonight, the Savannah Bananas will play on ESPN at Fenway Park. You guys know the drill. Let's pray. God, tonight my friends and I are going to be playing in front of a lot of people. Not just here in person, but even on tv. Lord, I pray that you would use tonight in some way to bring real value to the people that are watching. Not just some escape at the ballpark for a night, not just something fun to watch on tv. But I pray that at the very least seeds would be planted that people watching my friends and I would be able to see that our hope is in something greater, something so much more meaningful than just being seen by a lot of people. My friends and I have experienced firsthand this year that true joy, true peace, true satisfaction doesn't come through accomplishment, doesn't come through success. It comes through relationship with you, relationship with each other. It's through love. Lord, somehow, some way use this game that we are playing to help us share that love that you've already shown to us. Pray that the people sitting in these seats would see our joy, see our peace, even performing on a big stage, and that it would make them curious. Lord, I truly believe that we have found a good thing. And I just want to share it. Thank you so much for this opportunity. This has always been a dream of mine. In Jesus name, amen. We'll see you guys tonight.

[Ali Stuckey]

So I'm guessing the response from your teammates who might not identify as Christian, like, it. It seems like it's pretty positive. Like it's a Christian positive atmosphere.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Absolutely. The, the fruits of the spirit are a beautiful thing. And regardless of what you believe, to be in a clubhouse environment where we are all like, serving each other and loving each other and having fun, like, it's, it's, it's the best. Like, we have so much fun. Yeah, our clubhouse dynamic is the best. Like, I genuinely look forward to showing up to the field every day. This camp we're about to do here in Dallas, bringing a bunch of teammates with. We've got like 30 guys and like, I just can't wait to go hang out with them. So.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ali Stuckey]

Okay, tell me about the camp.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Okay, so my in at the end of 2022, this is when I'm doing content and I'm like, okay, I'm not making any money doing this, but I'm like, but I kind of need to because Gigi and I are still living at my parents house. I was like, okay, maybe like I could do baseball camps. Maybe I could do lessons, you know, I don't know. And, and so that's initially like kind of how it started. And we ended up doing this, this first camp called it not yout Average Baseball Camp. And we were like, you know what, we're going to go above and beyond over the top with these kids. Like a lot of the. At this point in time, I'd already built a following on social media and I was like, okay, a lot of these kids are already gonna know who we are. Me and some of my friends who also make videos. And so we're like, okay, these kids are already gonna know who we are. What are, what are some things that they would really enjoy? Oh, they'd probably love being in a video with us. Okay, well, right when they walk in, let's interview them and like make videos for social media that they might. They could be part of, like, you know, our pages. So that's kind of what it started as was, let's make the most, like, not average experience possible for these kids and then just. Just treat them like royalty. And so we did that. We did this first camp, and we lost $10,000. We were like. And. But it was amazing. It was the best experience. And so many of the coaches that we had, we had them out from all over the country, and we had just the time of our lives, and the kids had the time of their lives, and we're like, okay, we got to keep doing this in some capacity. So fast forward. We've now had four of these camps. This will be our fifth one. And yeah, our first camp, we had, like, 60 kids, and. And we had, like, 12 coaches. This. This camp coming up. We've got, like, 30 lead coaches, and we've got about 70 helpers helping the 30 coaches, and we're going to have about a thousand kids over the next week. So it's going to be very fun.

[Ali Stuckey]

That is awesome. Is there a faith component to the camp or not really.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

You know, we finished the. Every camp with prayer. It's not specifically a Christian camp.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

It really does naturally shine through, though. It kind of can't help but do so.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah. That is awesome. Okay. You kind of already gave this message earlier when you were talking about the kind of content that you post on TikTok. But for parents of athletes out there and for kids who are athletes or maybe young adults, too, like, what is the message that you have for them? How did they balance being competitive, wanting to be excellent, and the best at what they do, Steward their gifts well, while also ensuring that it doesn't become an idol and doesn't become their identity?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

You'll never experience more joy, fulfillment. You'll never experience more joy and fulfillment than you will when you have relationship with one who created you and when you're in community with other believers. Like, I truly believe that in so many moments, I guess my message would be to those athletes, like, really think through what it is that you want. A lot of times you want to be in the spotlight. A lot of times you want to be successful. You want to have that big moment. And coming from someone who has met numerous people who have had those big moments, I myself, now, I've had those big moments. I've hit home runs in stadiums with, you know, 70,000 people in them.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And. And the day after the big moment that you've been looking forward to your entire life, you wake up and you feel totally normal again. That same emptiness that you have in you before, you have it in you still. And then you go do dishes and life is still the same. And so much of our lives are spent chasing that big high, that next thing. And it's a lie that. It's a lie that we believe that that's where true satisfaction, that's where true contentment comes from. It's the original sin, right? Like, no. Like, what God's given you isn't enough. You need this.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And so my encouragement would be this, what you. This romanticized vision of what it will be like if you make it. Even if you do make it.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

It's not gonna be what you think it is. And maybe it does satisfy you for a little bit. Maybe you're the best player that ever lived and that satisfies you until you're 50, 60 years old, and then you're done playing. And then now what? One way or another, who you are, your identity, who you become in the process is what is so important. Because who you become in the process will determine what fruit you're left with at the end of it. And if you spend your time only focused on me, even if you're becoming excellent at what you do, you're not going to have good fruit in your life at the end of your career. And when I say good fruit, I mean love, joy, peace, patience.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

And so my encouragement to kids would be like, work hard and be excellent and be the best that you can be. Like, to this day, I feel more motivated now to be the best that I can possibly be than ever before. And it's not because I feel like I have to earn anything. It's not because I feel like I'll be loved more if I am more superior. It's just like, it's naturally, like, built in me, you know, Like, I want to be excellent and, and sometimes, sometimes I'm lazy and, you know, I have to, like, force it, you know, but. But like, my encouragement to athletes would be like, be the best that you can be. Like, why wouldn't you? Like, it is your life is a gift. Like, every breath that you have is a gift. Like, be excellent and then at the same time realize that that deep satisfaction that you crave in your soul cannot be met by anything that you achieve. So it's a balance. But the where my head's at now is like, okay. Anytime I have a tough day at the field, my mentality is like, okay, this is a character building day for me. I get to, I get to, I get to strengthen my patience. I get to serve other people and not make it about me. Oh, I went over four, three strikeouts. Okay. But my teammate went two for three with a double. He had a good day at the plate. I'm going to celebrate his wins and not be so focused on me.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

It's an opportunity to grow your character every single day and so focus more about who you are becoming in the process. Don't focus so much on the future down the road and don't miss those moments, like I mentioned earlier, that so much of the time that parents spend with their kids is on the ball field. Don't miss those moments. If you are playing 12U baseball right now, then enjoy 12U baseball and like, look forward to that. Look forward to today. Don't worry about tomorrow. Look forward to today. So many times in my career I was looking forward to the future. I can't wait to go play pro ball. I can't wait to go play college ball. And then I look back and some of my favorite times playing were when I was 12 years old with my travel team.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

So don't miss the moments in the present. Focus on who you're becoming in the process and realize that in the long term, the. The things that truly satisfy your soul. The only thing that I found is a relationship with one who's created me.

[Ali Stuckey]

That's so good. That's such a good word. Okay. If you want to follow you. How can they do that and find out about Savannah Bananas and your camp, all that good stuff.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah, Coach Rack. It's at Coach Rack on like Tick tock Instagram, on YouTube. It's just coach rack. I make longer videos on YouTube. Those are more like 30, 40 minutes. I have this whole, like YouTube series going this year that's really fun. That kind of showing off every stadium that we're going to and the experience. And I'm miked up for at bats and so, so really good stuff. So you want a deep dive, go on YouTube. If you want the little like snippets, then go TikTok Instagram. But yeah, Coach Rack is where you can find it. And obviously Savannah Bananas, they got like 10 million followers on TikTok, but you all have probably seen them. But if not.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah, yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Savannah Banana at the Savannah Bananas, I think on TikTok.

[Ali Stuckey]

And they can find like their schedule and everything there.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah, yeah. If you just. Yeah, look it up on Google or whatever you use, it'll come up. It'll. It'll show up.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah. Okay. And if they're interested in sending their kids to your camp, I guess, would they have to wait till next year to do that?

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Yeah, probably wait till next year. Year. And this one filled up really quick. We had a total of a thousand spots and. And we were able to sell it out really quick, so that's awesome.

[Ali Stuckey]

We.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

We want to upscale. We're. We're kind of conflicted because we want to upscale, but then so much of the value that we had last time was having like this, this really good.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah, yeah.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Coach to player ratio. So we don't really know what to do with that.

[Ali Stuckey]

But yeah, it's a good problem to have though.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

No doubt. Yeah, I guess. If. If you want to check out nyabaseball.com that's our website and we have this community we try to meet every Tuesday where we'll just hop on a zoom call with kids and answer their questions about baseball and whatnot. It's turned into more of like a once a month thing because both Ange and I, who run nyabc, not your average baseball camp, like, we're pretty busy, so we hop on when we can, but. Nyabaseball.com.

[Ali Stuckey]

Yeah. Okay. That's awesome. Well, Coach Rock, thanks so much for taking the time to join us. I really appreciate it.

[Robert Anthony Cruz]

Thank you.

[Ali Stuckey]

Sam.