29: Savannah Bananas' Coach RAC | Should You Miss Church for Travel Baseball?

Show Notes

Your son's team plays tournaments on Sundays. Your family wants to be in church. And you're worried that missing games could cost him playing time or put him behind.

How do you handle that?

Savannah Bananas star RobertAnthony Cruz, better known as Coach RAC, joins Bobby Minor on the Chasing Baseball Dreams Podcast for a conversation about faith, family, and the decisions baseball parents face.

Coach RAC shares his journey from UC Riverside to the Washington Nationals, the heartbreak of being released from professional baseball, and how his faith helped him find purpose beyond the game.

We also talk about Sandlot Revival, the faith-based movement that grew from a Savannah Bananas team Bible study into worship nights in more than 20 cities.

In this episode we cover:

• Whether missing Sunday tournament games really puts your son behind
• How Christian parents can handle the conflict between church and travel baseball
• What conversations parents should have with coaches before committing to a team
• Practical ways families can maintain their faith and church community during a busy baseball season
• How parents sometimes make their sons feel like their love depends on baseball performance
• What Coach RAC learned about identity and faith after being released by the Washington Nationals
• How Sandlot Revival started and the impact it's having across the country
• Why Coach RAC believes developing your son's character matters more than his baseball career

Coach RAC also shares his personal testimony, what fatherhood has taught him, and why his biggest accomplishments on the baseball field don't compare to what matters most in his life.

Whether you're a Christian family struggling with Sunday tournaments or a parent trying to keep baseball in perspective, this conversation will give you plenty to think about before your next season.

🎙️ Host: Bobby Minor
⚾ Guest: Coach RAC (@coach.rac)
🎧 Podcast: Chasing Baseball Dreams Podcast

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with players, coaches, and baseball people who can help you think through the decisions you're making for your son.

#ChasingBaseballDreams #CoachRAC #SavannahBananas #TravelBaseball #FaithAndBaseball

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Coach RAC: I don't think you'll fall behind by missing one day out of the week. I think that that's the illusion that we have and All of our jobs is man, if you just if you miss one day, you're done. You're gonna fall behind. You know, the grind don't stop. But as I get older, I'm noticing like I I need a day off. I do.

Bobby Minor: And welcome back to Chasing Baseball Dreams. Today I know you may not recognize him, but we'll get into that. But today I've got Robert Anthony Cruz with me, better known as Coach Rack, on social media. His baseball journey is taking him from UC Riverside to Biola University and then into the Washington Nationals organization and eventually to the Savannah Bananas. Built a huge following through baseball, but there's another side of Rack that I really want to get into today, and we're going to talk a lot about his faith. He and his good friend Makai Key started sandwiching. Revival, bringing worship and personal testimonies to communities across the country, usually in coordination with the bananas baseball games. And we're gonna talk about his journey, his faith, and something I know a lot of travel by travel baseball families struggle with. And it's like how do you keep faith a priority when baseball takes over your weekends? So Rack, welcome to the Chasing Baseball Dreams Podcast.

Coach RAC: Bobby, thanks for having me, man. Also, my first name technically is Robert Anthony, so we kind of share a name there. yeah.

Bobby Minor: Okay, yeah, my middle name is Robert and that's why I go by Bobby.

Coach RAC: nice. Okay, there you go. Well we got that in common. Good name.

Bobby Minor: So anyway, man, and for people that don't know, this has been literally months in the making. It's just we've communicated and it just we can never get it to work, and I really appreciate him taking the time today. I know right out of rehearsal for you know what's a big week in banana balls. So so anyway, we'll jump right into it. So okay, so Rack, so you you hit 170 your freshman year at UC Riverside, okay? You eventually signed with the Washington Nationals and then got released. So take me back to that moment when you got released. Like what was going through your mind? And then how did your faith help you deal with that?

Coach RAC: When I got released, it was in March of twenty twenty two, and I was less than a year out from when I had gotten signed. So I assumed that I would get a couple of years in the organization. I think that's pretty standard. And me, alongside a lot of other guys, got cut that day. And I remember thinking w when I got cut, I was like, man, I was already a senior sign. I was already getting a little bit older. I was only twenty-three, but at that point, you know, twenty-three is old in minor league baseball. So I I kind of knew that that was it for me, as far as, you know, that level of baseball goes. And so that was definitely like heartbreaking in a way. Like that was my lifelong dream that I always wanted to you know, play in the big leagues. And I remember they told me on a Wednesday, hey, you got till eleven AM tomorrow morning to pack up your room and be out of your hotel and back on your way home. So I I remember that drive though on the way back home. I I felt this overwhelming sense of peace. It was like, all right, I don't know what's next. And I'm definitely, you know, sad that I'm potentially missing out on my, you know, childhood dream. At the same time, during my time in Pro Ball, I had dealt with the yips and just a lot of like identity, you know, struggles. Like who am I outside of baseball, you know? 'Cause when you're in pro baseball, everything you do The way you're evaluated, even a lot of times the way you're treated is totally based on how you perform on the field. And so it's so easy to just have that be how you see yourself. And if you have a good day at the ballpark, you feel good about yourself. And you have a bad day at the ballpark, you don't feel so good about yourself. So I think during my time with the nationals, I I learned through time in small groups and time with, you know, in in church, like and time with mentors in my life that okay, God still loves me. Regardless of how I perform on the field, I am an image bearer of God and nothing can take that away. And so I should care more what God thinks about me than what the people around me think. So all that being said, I learned that during my journey in Pro Bowl. And as I'm driving home, from Florida, I felt this overwhelming sense of peace, knowing that hey, I might never play in the big league someday. I may never touch a base like a baseball again, on the field. But nonetheless, I know that God holds my future and my life is about glorifying him and not myself anyways. So I found a tremendous amount of peace in that and that was very encouraging to me moving forward from there. I I didn't have to cling to a dream that I once had. I could I could know that I'm approved by God already.

Bobby Minor: Wow, that's amazing. So I I want to get into, I want to talk about like just how baseball can become your identity. But before I do, walk us through a little bit, like you just your background. Like how old were how old were you when you started playing baseball? what did it look like for you, you know, through the travel ball days, high school days, like what did that look like for you?

Coach RAC: I started playing baseball when I was eight years old, turning nine. Before that, I had done gymnastics. So I got started a little bit late baseball wise, but I had done a lot of training before because of gymnastics. I think that helps my athleticism. jumped right into

Bobby Minor: Yeah yeah.

Coach RAC: baseball when I was turning nine and immediately fell in love with it. I played on as many teams as I could possibly play for. I played little league, pony league, did some travel ball, and that was kind of my I grew up in Southern California, so there's a lot of baseball there. And yeah, quickly fell in love with it. I felt a little behind when I started just because, you know, nine years old is technically kind of late for for baseball. but yeah, that was kind of the the the situation for me growing up.

Bobby Minor: So were you doing backflips in the outfield back then or is that like

Coach RAC: Yeah. No, I w I mean, yes, in practice. No, I I definitely never tried like a back flip catch or anything, but because of my gymnastics background though, the you know, I still could always do a back hand spring or a back tuck, you know, as a party trick, but I never thought that the two would be merged.

Bobby Minor: So okay, I'm I just turned sixty in August. If I c if I can pull off a backflip catch, do can you get me a cameo with the bananas?

Coach RAC: yeah. If you can do a backflip catch. I I don't know what that'll look like, but I'm sure we can fit you in somehow. I don't think anyone else has done that.

Bobby Minor: man, I don't know. I think those days are long gone for me. And it's funny, growing up my brother actually was in gymnastics and he could do all sorts of like backhand springs, back summies and I used to like like I was like his agent. I was putting him up in competitions against people and I was always envious though, but I c I could never do that. So

Coach RAC: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: all right, so you've talked about how much of your identity was wrapped up in your performance on the field, okay? And there are a lot of young players going through that right now. I you know, you just see it. So what can a parent do To help his or her son understand that his worth isn't determined by his batting average or how much playing time he's getting.

Coach RAC: I think a lot of parents see that their kids are struggling with that. And they'll try to verbally tell them, Hey, don't have your identity in baseball. Doesn't it's all good. You're more than that. but then I think sometimes parents will verbally say that and then by their actions insinuate something different. And you know, if the if the car ride home is difficult after a tough loss or some strikeouts, or if you as a parent are like, Hey, you did this wrong, you did that wrong, you did that wrong, Of course they still love their kid even through saying that. They just want them to perform well. But if you're a kid, it feels as though the love you receive from your parents is conditional to some degree. And I think that that can can sometimes weigh heavy on kids. So I think for parents, as far every kid's different and I don't claim to have the answers, but at least in my scenario, my parents were always Very supportive of me, very loving. I had a tough day at the yard, they just wouldn't talk about it. We just go back home, we go get food, whatever. And you know, my dad was always there ready to throw me batting practice if I wanted to go hit BP after a game because I struck out or whatever it is. And so I think if you're a parent who's available, always there for your kids, and doesn't treat any differently, regardless of how they perform, I think that that frees up the kid and teaches them I think by actions that hey, regardless of how you play, I love you no matter what. so I think that that's something a a parent can do can teach more with their actions than with their words.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, I think that's really good. I mean, yeah, definitely I think your actions speak much louder than words. is there anything so obviously you you just referenced your parents, sounds like they did an amazing job. Is there looking back, is there anything that you think they could have done differently?

Coach RAC: Yeah, looking back, not really. I think they just gave me every tool necessary. They for me personally, I'm very like self-driven. I I didn't really they were never breathing down my back saying, Hey, you should go practice, you should go do this. I I just really loved the work. And so I would be the one asking, Hey, can you go throw me batting practice, Dad, after work? And, you know, he worked blue collar job at Firestone as an auto mechanic, but every day after work. He would go throw me batting practice. He always said yes. He was always available. So yeah, I don't think my parents could have done anything differently. I mean, for me, I think what could have been helpful in the high school age, I was probably good enough to start getting recruited college-wise a little earlier than I did. I didn't start talking to schools. I didn't even go to high school till my junior year. And I didn't

Bobby Minor: wow.

Coach RAC: play high school baseball till second semester junior year. So I didn't have any college offers. I didn't do any showcases. I literally Rolled into my senior year with n no offers, no nothing.

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Coach RAC: And I think I was good enough w at a younger age to potentially get recruited and start that process early. that being said, I think most parents out there probably start that process earlier than they should and start trying to get their 13

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Coach RAC: year old recruited, and that's just not gonna happen. So obviously there's, you know, different scenarios there. But as far as how my parents, you know, raised me and and treated me in baseball, I don't think they could have changed a thing.

Bobby Minor: Alright, that's good. What position did you play in high school? What was your main position?

Coach RAC: I'll shortstop.

Bobby Minor: Okay. I think the reason I asked that is because I I tell parents all the time, like in it's almost It's almost a catch 22 because you know everybody rags on daddy ball because their kid plays shortstop, you know, and and I tell parents like you want to play multiple positions, but at the same time, shortstops get recruited, they get drafted, and then they get moved to second, they get moved to third, they get moved to center field, they get moved to wherever. You know, my son, he's a redshirt junior. His he was a high a shortstop in high school. His first year in college, he played shortstop, second year he played second. Last year he was actually out in California in Richmond. Chris. He played third and now this year so far in the fall he's played center and played right. So, you know, but I think when coaches see, you know, when you're a good shortstop and you're athletic, then they know I can move literally move this guy anywhere.

Coach RAC: yeah, that is a fact. Our shortstop for the bananas obviously was a shortstop. Our second baseman was a shortstop in college. Our third baseman was a shortstop in college. I'm in left field. I played second base shortstop in college. Our center fielder was a shortstop. Like it our catcher was a shortstop. That's just that's just the way it works in higher levels of baseball for sure.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. So let's jump in l let's talk about the birth of Sandlot Revival. So, you know, you started with a few Savannah Bananas teammates just getting together for Bible study and then now you and Mikai are are taking Sandlot Revival to cities across the country. So tell me how that happened, what Sandlot Revival is all about, and what you're hoping comes out of it.

Coach RAC: Initially, yeah, it was just a team Bible study and and it at the beginning of last year the bananas started expanding. They added some new teams and so a lot more players were in the organization and thereby our Bible study grew at the beginning of the year a lot. And we felt like there were some cool testimonies from a couple players, guys who decided to, you know, live their life differently and give their life to Christ. And and because of the work that God had been doing in their lives, it was like, wow, these are some cool stories that we should tell. We have all these fans that are showing up to games and, you know, wanting to be entertained and and you know, how cool it'd be if we, you know, gave them something that can really make an impact on their lives and and by sharing the stories of God's faithfulness. So we started having worship nights in the summer of last year. We had a a public worship night right outside of Grayson Stadium where the bananas play. And Noah Bridges, a couple other guys shared testimonies. I just Did a simple gospel presentation and and we did some some worship songs with a friend of mine, Makai, who organized it with local church leaders. And we did that a couple times last year. And at the end of last year, decided to make the leap. I had no idea how this was going to be possible, but felt led to do it. So I made a post on social media in October of last year and said, Hey, I got this idea. What if, you know, as we're in all of these different cities next year, what if We had a worship night at each one of these stops. And you know, the night before we play in a stadium, we could maybe partner with a local church, host a worship night, and see if we could do it in every city. And it was a lot to coordinate. I don't have much time or bandwidth, as you know. And but some people stepped up, Makai Key stepped up and someone named Nicole Hurley who is in the military, she actually just retired three days ago from the military. But

Bobby Minor: Mm-hmm.

Coach RAC: she volunteered her time and With Nicole and Makai's help, we had worship nights in over twenty cities this year and share the gospel to every single one. and it was the highlight of my week through all the busyness and craziness of my schedule to have that time to look forward to to worship with other believers and fix my eyes on something other than banana ball and myself and social media. It was a huge blessing for me and and it thankful to say I think God did a lot of a lot of good through it.

Bobby Minor: That's awesome. And I hate I hate that I missed when y'all were here in Dallas Fort Worth at Globe Life a couple of weeks ago. I was at Field of Dreams doing a baseball influencer event there, but yeah, I really hated it because I was like, man, like I definitely wanted to go and check out the worship night and check out Banana Ball in person. So so let's talk about this. I'll just kind of call this the Sunday Tournament Dilemma. Here's something I know a lot of Christian baseball families struggle with. Okay, their son's playing travel ball, they're at tournaments almost every Sunday, and they're missing church week after week. They don't want their son to fall behind or lose his spot on the team, but their faith is also very important to their family. How should those parents think through that?

Coach RAC: Man, that's a great question, dude. And I wish I had a great solid answer for ya. You know, I I do believe that You can't go wrong by prioritizing church. I think that prioritizing time with other believers sends an important message to your kids and and what the way that you're the way that you choose to spend your attention and your time, that's that's where your devotion is. And I think that you could set a really strong example for your kids by prioritizing that. I also would say I don't think you'll fall behind by missing one day out of the week. I think that that's the illusion that we have and All of our jobs is man, if you just if you miss one day, you're done. You're gonna fall behind. You know, the grind don't stop. But as I get older, I'm noticing like I I need a day off. I do. And I think that God built built the universe that way, made us to need a day off. And I I have read some some books by John Mark Comer, one of being his most popular probably The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. And

Bobby Minor: Mm-hmm.

Coach RAC: in that book, you know, it talks about Sabbath and the its importance. So I I'm a firm believer in taking a day off. and at the same time, I haven't been the best about prioritizing that. And so much of my job now is playing on Sundays. And so that being said, you know, throughout the year we've been intentional about having those fellowship nights through through worship and in all these different cities. And so, I've still been able to have somewhat of a day that's set aside for the Lord. And so that's been kind of like a temporary way that I've been doing things. But I I think that there is no hard and fast rule. Hey, you should you should prioritize this over this. But I do think that parents should pray about it. And I think that they should be fully convinced in their own mind to to quote, gosh, I don't remember what verse that is, but the I I think it's in Titus I don't know if it's the same passage. There's something somewhere in there talking about you know, avoiding foolish controversies and things of that nature. I think

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Coach RAC: that if you are in prayer and you know united as a family, that's that's a beautiful thing already. And I think there's some grace. I think that more important more than anything, I think parents need to understand that attending a church doesn't isn't a requirement for believers. I think that at the same time Being the church is a requirement. And so the way that you are an ambassador for Christ on the field, and the way that you talk to your coworkers, the way that your kids talk to teammates, all that stuff does matter. Like you are an ambassador for Jesus Christ, the creator of the universe, our savior. And so realize that and realize the responsibility that you have throughout the week. And then that being said, I think that a believer should also be have this desire for fellowship and for worship. And so, I will say this day and age there's a lot of there's a lot of workarounds. You could you can get resourceful. You can you can go to a night service, you can have a fellowship group later on in the day on a different day of the week. I think that what parents shouldn't do in this area is just coast and pretend it doesn't exist and let the busyness of life distract them from the more important things, as I am prone to do all the time as well. So I know that's a whole lot of whole lot of nothing there, I gotcha for ya, but it's definitely something a question worth wrestling with and I've even thought about it for my future's sake. Like, man, how am I gonna handle this? It's it's a tough one.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. No no no, that's good stuff. And it's funny, when I was the lead pastor of a church start here in in Dallas Fort Worth, we actually had our we had monthly services. We had our first services at the old Globe Life field across the street and they had a a a meeting room there and that's where we started, but we did our our initial Sunday services at five five PM on Sundays and that was one of the reasons why to give some of those families an opportunity to be there. And I used to always tell my members that you know whether they had daughter playing club volleyball or they're playing club soccer or whatever that like just because they're not going to be at church doesn't mean that it's a missed opportunity because they're in community with these families far more than they are even if they're a part of a small group at our church. You know what I mean? So use that as an intentional time to build relationships and look for opportunities to you know to disciple and all sorts of things. So you know I think it's just it's it's what they make of it. And so you You mentioned like obviously you travel all across the country, lots of Sundays you're playing baseball. I would imagine there in Southern California, if that's where you still live, that you have you have a home church. So what are some ways and things that you've actually done to stay connected to your faith and your home church community during the season that a travel baseball family could also do themselves?

Coach RAC: During the season, my wife and I live in Savannah, and actually we're in Savannah now as well. But we

Bobby Minor: Hmm.

Coach RAC: have a home church out here. and I I will say throughout the year it's tougher on I think my wife Gigi because I have this fellowship with my teammates and we're intentional about meeting together and having Bible studies. And Gigi fortunately is able to travel with me, so she's going on a lot of these trips with me, which is great. but it's a lot harder with us traveling so much to be rooted in a community. So I think that you know, when we are in town, we really we love attending and being a part of community Bible church right here by our house. But but yeah, throughout the season it's really tough. And I wish that I had I wish that I could speak from experience about how we've got this like system figured out, but we really don't. So I think that in future years we're gonna try to figure out a way, hopefully get a Bible study going with some of the wives and girlfriends on the road and something like that. But it really just takes intentional meeting time and it seems like taking that time is difficult and takes intentionality. It's not gonna happen by accident. So I think that one thing I will say like our team has met every single week this year and we always have a Bible study. We have not missed a week. Same with I have some friends from back home that I grew up with in California and we were all homeschooled in the same homeschool group and you know we've kept up to date. We FaceTime every couple weeks and and we'll get in the word and and share updates and so there's definitely ways to to to have that community and be spiritually, you know, refreshed. But if you're someone like me who has a crazy travel schedule, then just

Bobby Minor: Okay.

Coach RAC: know it's not gonna happen by accident. It takes intentionality.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, that's good stuff. so all right, l let's say a Christian dad is getting ready to put his eleven year old son on a travel ball team. Okay. He knows they're gonna be playing a lot of you know, on a lot of Sundays. He just he knows that up front. So what conversation should he have with that coach before he commits and how should he handle it if the team's expectations don't necessarily line up with his family's priorities?

Coach RAC: I think that if you're a dad and you've got, you know, your eleven year old son, you're planning on having him play for this travel ball team, but you as a family have prayed about it and decided that, hey, like on Sundays, we're gonna prioritize going to church. We're not gonna play games on Sundays, then and that's what they've they believe. I I think that family should prioritize that over playing for said travel ball team. I think that in most bigger cities there are lots of options when it comes to things like travel ball, you know. whether be California, Texas, I know those are the bigger, you know, areas where you have a lot of options. I'm sure in some more remote places you might not have too many options. So maybe that's more difficult in another scenario. But I also think it's not wrong for I I th I guess there's three ways this plays out. One is you say, No, we're not gonna play baseball on Sunday. We're gonna dedicate that to the Lord to the Lord, and so we're not gonna be able to play for this team. I think in other scenarios, some teams are gonna be flexible and understand it and be like, hey, I respect that. You guys do that. We'll fill in for your kid on those Sundays. Don't worry about it. Go for it. In which case, great. And I think in another scenario, maybe you as a family, you know, believe that you can, you know, be a part of the body of Christ in other ways and and don't feel like you have to necessarily be there for every Sunday morning service. And so in that case, so be it. You know, go play ball on Sundays and And be the church throughout the week. so I think that each family should should pray about it and come to their conclusions. But I think that if you are convinced that the Holy Spirit is convicting you to not play ball on Sundays, then I think you should be obedient to that. And I think that you shouldn't play for a travel team that gives you an either or. And I think that you can you'll be just fine. Missing those games on Sundays, it's not gonna hurt you long term.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, that's good. I think it's crazy and this is more of a fall thing. but you know, like like a baseball coach, if he has guys that play football and they're good athletes, they they already know like, hey, these on Saturdays pool play games they're probably not gonna be here and they're okay with it. But if you flip it and you take somebody who says, Hey, I'm not gonna be there on Sunday morning because I'm going to church, they may not get the same grace that the football player gets and I just think that's just kinda crazy, but

Coach RAC: Hm. Yeah. It speaks to our our culture a little bit.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. So, okay, obviously you play professional baseball, you're playing in sold out stadiums with the bananas, which just has to be bananas. I mean, pun intended. Like it's just it's really crazy what what you know what y'all built there. But you've also built this huge following. I mean, more I mean, I don't even know what your what your total follower account is. It's almost a million on Instagram, so it's probably gotta be a couple of million across platforms. But knowing everything that you know now, what would you tell a dad Who's so focused on helping his son become a great baseball player that he might be overlooking something that's far more important?

Coach RAC: Yeah, dude, there's there's so many players I played with growing up, high school, college, even before all of that, that were tremendous ball players, much better than I was. And many of them are no longer playing. Most of are no longer playing. And you know, probably five years from now, I probably won't be playing either. And so I think it's so important for for dads to realize that, hey, you're not raising a baseball player. You're raising a young man or a young woman and you know the the the way that you are Treating them, the way that you're teaching them, all of that is shaping the person that they are becoming. And it is so much more important for them to become you know, who they were meant to be as a human being, beyond just outside of the field. The baseball thing is so temporary, it's so short, it's such a blip in in life. And you know, I even guys who make it to the big leagues, it's oftentimes that they get out of the big leagues and they don't know who they are outside of it. And so I think that you're caring for your child best, not when you're caring most about their career, but when you're caring most about who they become and their character, because their character is what they're gonna be left with. And I I've just seen it firsthand. Like, you know, w I I think we have this illusion in our heads that if my kid makes it to the big leagues, if my kid makes it, he'll be set for life and he'll be good. And like, you know, one, that's very unlikely. Two, even if he does make it, that doesn't mean that he's set. For life, he might really struggle with mental things and other other things off the field later on, even if he does make it to the big leagues, and even if he is that fraction of a fraction of a percent that is an excellent big leaguer. I I think that it's so important for parents to realize that, you know, the the ultimate dream for your kid shouldn't be for them to quote unquote make it in their sport or even make it financially in the business world. I think the ultimate goal is that, you know, your kid grows up to realize that they are a child. of God, a child of the one true king, and they have value because they are God's workmanship. Like it says in Ephesians two ten, you know, they are w God's workmanship created for good works that God cr prepared for them beforehand. And when they are walking in those got good works that God has prepared for them beforehand, that's when their soul will be so much more satisfied. It is in the service of other people that you will be so much more satisfied than you quote unquote making it. And I think that yeah, I I wish every parent would prioritize their kids' character over their baseball or insert sport careers.

Bobby Minor: That's really good. I actually had somebody on my podcast yesterday that you may have seen pitch when he was the closer for the Angels, but Ty Buttry was on and he was the closer with the Angels and he talked about like how just how his identity was so tied up in baseball. That was one of the things that led him to walk away from the game. but now that he has, like he didn't know anything else, so he's kinda trying to find his footing and and just, you know, figure things out. But that was really, really good. So now you are a father though, right? You have a young daughter.

Coach RAC: Yes.

Bobby Minor: how has fatherhood changed you?

Coach RAC: That has changed me too much. I didn't realize how much I'd like it though. I I mean it's it's the best thing ever, dude. She's like the the cutest little thing. She's about eight months old now. And she's crawling around. She wakes me up every morning by crawling over to me and hitting me on the face. Or it's it's the best thing ever. I didn't realize how much I would love it. And I also you know, it gives you a new perspective. I I don't know that it necessarily changed the way I do my day to day other than just spending time with her, but I do think that it gave me perspective on, you know, baseball and my career and helped me really realize, wow, you know, none of this stuff really matters. I just want to take care of you and make sure you're good, you know. So I I it's taught me a lot about serving, I think, and and it's made me better. It's made me I think it's made me softer and it's made me in a good way. And I think that it's made me yeah. I I think it's made my priorities a little bit more aligned to what they should be.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, I saw well, how so how exciting was it? 'Cause I'm mentioning I I saw on Instagram, I think you had a little pair of your custom cleats made for her.

Coach RAC: huh.

Bobby Minor: So just what was it so what's it like having your own shoe by Under Armour?

Coach RAC: it's unbelievable, man. I again never would have dreamt that up. Certainly not s you know, in twenty twenty two when I'm driving home from Nationals, you know, I never would have envisioned that. gosh, you know, we just had the banana bowl this past weekend and Ryan Zimmerman got an at bat and Ryan Zimmerman was an Under Armour guy. So Under Armour gave him my cleats and that's what he wore, you know, in his at bat. So I was like, dang, that's so cool. yeah, no, it's it's been unbelievable. I I'm super thankful to Under Armour for taking a chance on me like that and never would have expected something like that. So that's a f a fun little side thing that I had no plan of of having.

Bobby Minor: That that's it's really, really cool. So let's Tell us a little bit about, because the way we got connected was through Jake Savicki, really, really cool guy. I was talking to Jake. Jake and I connected, and I was like, man, you know who I'd love to have on my podcast to talk about faith in baseball? He said who? I said, Coach Rack. Y'all do, I know he may not do every camp with you, but you do these sold-out, not your average baseball camps across America. Talk for a minute, tell us a little bit about the vision for that, what people can expect, how they can find out about them. just, yeah, tell us a little about those camps.

Coach RAC: Yeah, so they're yeah, not your average baseball camp or NYABC. I started it with my buddy Ange Bourgeois back in twenty twenty two. it was the same year that I got released and that that fall we started planning for a baseball camp and it's grown a lot. The first camp was like fifty five kids and and since then we've grown to having camps with borderline a thousand kids over the span of a week in Texas. So it's so much fun. It's a bunch of just really good dudes that are, you know, close to my age or Jake's age and we We just have fun with the kids for a couple of days. And there's also a lot of really quality coaches, like hitting instruction that's there. And so the kids that are there to like really learn how to take their game to the next level, there's a lot of that. But there's also just a lot of messing around and having fun, which I think is also just as good for your skill development. So yeah, we we have camps typically in Dallas because it's just kind of the most central. We're all coming from different places. You know, I'm flying from Savannah, people are flying from California, coaches are flying from the Midwest, you know. So Texas seems like a good central spot. So I'd say probably our last four or five camps we've had in Dallas, but we normally try to do one to two a year. And

Bobby Minor: Mm-hmm.

Coach RAC: we don't have our next one planned yet. So should we do another camp, it'll be probably spring or summer of of twenty twenty seven. Man, gosh, time is flying.

Bobby Minor: I don't know.

Coach RAC: but but yeah, w those camps are the best, man. Like we just our goal is to just go over the top with everything. Like, you know, the the name, not your average baseball camp. It's like all right, like These kids, we want to give cool gear. We've given away you know, free hats and backpacks and kids get Bruce Bolt batting gloves and, you know, all kinds of cool stuff like that. And the kids love it and we have a good time. Jake Zavicki's been awesome to have as a coach. He's great. And the kids, you know, he just kind of bullies the kids the whole time and and they love it and he loves it. So, yeah, he's the gr he's the best dude. But yeah, NYBC we're probably be announcing next year, who knows within the next couple of months. But if you follow, you know, not your average baseball on Instagram or TikTok, we'll keep everything updated.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, and N-A-Y-B-C dot com is the website. And okay, here's a little tip. I know I know this past summer when you were here, y'all were probably dreading it, 'cause I I think it was like one five, one nine each day. Maybe pull some strings at with with the Rangers at Globe Life and do it inside.

Coach RAC: Yeah, kid us indoors, man. That was we're not doing that again. I said we're not doing that again after the previous year because we did it in Dallas in the summer and Houston

Bobby Minor: Yeah. Yeah.

Coach RAC: and sure enough we still ran it back. So yeah, no, definitely gonna hit up Globe Life.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, that that would be a good call. So all right, not your average baseball camps. All right. let's let's let's wrap up our time here, if you don't mind. This wasn't even something that I had planned, but if you don't mind, why don't you walk us through your testimony? I know testimonies are a big part of Sandlaut revival, so why don't you walk us through your testimony?

Coach RAC: Sure thing, man. Well, I usually start my testimony talking about my parents because my my parents weren't Christians growing up, weren't you know, didn't necessarily believe in Jesus or anything like that. But they were married for five years, couldn't have kids, and then together came to know Christ and three months later they were pregnant with my sister. And so my sister and I were raised in a Christian home. And for me, I I there was never really a time where I doubted that all this stuff was real. I think mostly because I saw how I was just sinful, you know, like even from a young age. Like I was like, okay, I get this. Like I I'm selfish. Like I see that in myself, you know? And so I never really doubted that the premise that I am a sinful person and that I need help. it wasn't until I would say high school when I started making some decisions to to to I guess prioritize God in my life. I I started dating my now wife Gigi and I remember thinking, man, I I don't trust myself to to be the person I want to be and I feel like I need help and so I bought a Bible in August of twenty fourteen and I was like, you know what, I'm gonna read this every day as much as I can and try to learn from it. And, you know, hopefully that will make me more into the person I want to be. And that's what it started as and as time went on I've I've I started relying on God more throughout my career and you know, with every opportunity, whether it was going to college and feeling isolated and lonely and joining small groups with, you know, joining a men's group or whether I was at Biola and and getting involved in FCA, I started realizing more and more my need for community. I'm not gonna be able to live the way God designed me to live unless I'm connected to the ri body of Christ and connected to other people and and meditating on scripture and truth and spending time with God in prayer. If I'm not spending that time with other believers, I can't do it on my own. And So I started learning that more and more, especially through college. And and I'm giving you kind of the abbreviated version here, but

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Coach RAC: you know, I I then also just became like realized that God is like my f my friend. Like I I I rely on him so much and have spent so many hours with him being the one that I turn to when I'm going through something difficult and It's, you know, I I have this journal where I write out every time that you know, s there's like a wink, you know, or something that very clearly is like, you know, an answer to prayer. And you know, when you write that stuff down and you and you're in prayer frequently, you start to realize, wow, like God answers your prayers in specific, unique, beautiful ways and not in ways that necessarily get you what you want, but in ways that transform your heart to be more aligned with his. And you know I I little by little have seen my faith be strengthened, not because of any of my own doing, but just because God has graciously continued to to transform my heart. And so I I don't know that there's a moment where, you know, I I prayed the prayer and I'm quote unquote saved, you know. I

Bobby Minor: Right.

Coach RAC: I I don't know, I don't know what that looks like, but But I the older I get, the more you know, the more that Jesus is my only hope. I I see my own brokenness and selfishness and I see who I am apart from him, and it's not who I want to be. And I I trust that that this Jesus through his death and resurrection, making way for relationship with God the Father is the only way that I could have a right standing before God. And so I just yeah, I I so much of the the life that I live is just in faith that Jesus really is who he claimed to be and and that the words of scripture are true, that that Jesus is our great high priest that is interceding for us before the Father so we can boldly approach the throne of grace for help in time of need. I I I bank on that with the way that I live my life. And I don't think I got there on my own either. I think that that was just the Holy Spirit graciously waking me up out of my spiritual deadness and I think he continues to do that more and more. So I definitely don't have it all figured out, but but I have found nothing more nothing to be more fulfilling than a relationship with Jesus. and so it's it gives me so much more joy, so much more peace than anything I've ever done on a baseball field. And so that's that's really the motivation behind so many of these worship nights is I just really want other people to experience that same thing. And to to not spend so much time trying to find who they are apart from him because I think that they're just gonna keep looking for the rest of their lives and I don't think they'll find what I've found.

Bobby Minor: Man, that's really, really good. Thank you so much for sharing that. I just ha I just had an idea. If you ever want to do not your average mission trip, I can help you we can take a we can do a baseball trip in the Dominican Republic, or if you want to be a little bit more adventurous, we can go to India. I have I have really good connections in in both countries and who knows? N N Y A T. I guess that would be. Not your yeah, not your average mission trip. So

Coach RAC: Now your average missions trip. I like that, dude. We'll have to connect, dude. We we had someone I'll I'll tell share this story real quick. We one time

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Coach RAC: had a we this was last year at our camp in Dallas. And this was one of those things that I wrote down because I was like, my goodness. But you know, we're at this camp and at these camps, most of the kids know who I am, like all of them do, you know, because I they found out about the camp through my social media or whatever else. And but I I'm standing there at the camp and this this lady walks up to me. And she goes, I'm looking for Coach Rack. And I was like, yeah, like that's me. What's up? She's like, You're Coach Rack? And like she had just walked up. I had just happened to be standing off on my own. I was like, Yeah. And she's like, Okay. Well, I I was just at a I I'm a nurse and I was just at work. but some patient just told me I should go to this field and see Coach Rack and talk to you about something. And I was like, okay. Sounds good. weird, but okay. and yeah, she proceeded to tell me about how she was, you know, suicidal was gonna take her life. God saved her life. She ended up getting into missions work and has been doing that for the past, you know, 10 years. And anyways, we got to talking and connected and we'll still occasionally chat back and forth. But she had kind of brought up a similar idea like, hey, if there's ever

Bobby Minor: Mm.

Coach RAC: something that works out, you know We can you know, let me know. So anyways, thought that was cool. And who knows, I wouldn't be surprised if that's something that that God has for us in the future.

Bobby Minor: Well see it could be God confirming that for you, Rack.

Coach RAC: There you go, man.

Bobby Minor: So, all right, last thing. So for any for the for the eight people out there that aren't already following you, where can the where can people find you and follow you on social media?

Coach RAC: thanks, man. Yeah. yeah. Instagram's at coach dot rack rack R A C and then TikTok, same thing. YouTube would just be coach rack with no period in between the two. And then yeah, I think also Facebook and probably everything else. I don't know. So yeah.

Bobby Minor: All right, Rackman, I really, really appreciate you.

Coach RAC: Cool. Thank you, brother.