Statue of baseball legend Babe Ruth outside of Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)
“Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.” — Proverbs 14:4
Keep Swinging!
Most people familiar even a little bit with baseball, along with many who are not, know Babe Ruth as one of the greatest American hitters of all time. He led the league in home runs during a season 12 times and dominated the era in which he played.
But many might not realize that Babe Ruth also struck out 1,330 times at bat. That fact may not be emphasized quite so much when compared to his laundry list of accomplishments on the field.
Just because we accept Christ into our life as our Lord and Savior does not mean life will always flow smoothly, and all bad situations will soon be resolved neatly and tied up with a pretty bow. Messes, failures and strikeouts will always remain a part of this earthly life.
Jesus warns, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The Lord advises us to keep moving forward and not be overcome by the messes of life. Often, our greatest triumphs eventually come from persevering through initial failures. Don’t expect life to always be neat and tidy, but expect God to bring an eventual reward to your life as you stay faithful to Him and His Word. Keep swinging.
— Kristin Cooley
If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to jason@sportsspectrum.com.
When I started coaching as a career, I had no idea where the Lord would use me or send me. To be quite honest, I don’t remember ever asking Him to be a part of the process. Well, I would shoot up a tidbit of a prayer knowing I would be the one doing the coaching.
I was so young — 21 years old — thinking I was going to set the sports world on fire with my expertise in coaching with absolutely no coaching experience. I was fortunate to play sports at the NAIA level — I was good, and so were about a zillion other athletes, but I was not great. Why I thought I would be an excellent coach after playing sports for four years in college had to come from the arrogance and pride that takes so many of us down to reality. I was just another drop of water in the vast ocean of coaches.
I wish I knew then what I know now. Wow, what a difference I could have made for Jesus. Now 52 years later, I am still coaching, but not what you think — I am now coaching people. I am now the athletics chaplain of a Christian high school. The Lord has taught me so much through my career. It was never about me and what I could accomplish; it was about Him and what He could accomplish. Thank the Lord I learned this several years ago. The Lord changed my plans to His plans, and I am so thankful He did.
The old is gone and the new is here! As a chaplain, I now go from one season to the next with different coaches and different teams. Every morning is fresh and new, and I look for ways to share Christ with students, coaches, teachers, administrators and parents … and yes, even with referees.
I pray that all of you reading this today will take yourself out of the picture and place Jesus front and center. Stay in God’s Word, talk to Him every day through conversation and prayer, and expect Him to do great things. God placed you right where you are for a reason, so let Him use you for His reasons, season after season after season.
Coach RAC speaks at a Sandlot Revival night in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 18, 2026. (Photo courtesy of SandlotRevival.org)
The inaugural Banana Bowl championship wrapped up on Saturday, the culminating matchup for the 2026 Banana Ball Championship League. The Savannah Bananas — whose fans-first, entertaining style of play spawned its own league — were in the game, but lost to the Texas Tailgaters, 2-1, in front of 41,000 people at Nationals Park, home of the MLB’s Washington Nationals.
That fact — that the league’s flagship team didn’t win the championship — is the biggest differentiator between this baseball phenomenon and the Harlem Globetrotters, the longtime basketball entertainers so many critics compare the Bananas to. Globetrotters games are scripted for Harlem to win; Bananas games are not scripted — aside from the singing and dancing — and feature actual competition.
And Banana Ball is continuing its rise. The Bananas first began this style of play by playing against the Party Animals in 2023, then the Firefighters joined Banana Ball in 2024, followed by the Tailgaters in 2025. This year, the Loco Beach Coconuts and Indianapolis Clowns joined the league.
The largest crowd in Banana Ball history — 102,000 — took place May 2 at Kyle Field, the football stadium on the campus of Texas A&M. And just a couple weeks later they played in front of 101,000 at Neyland Stadium, home of Tennessee football. Banana Ball games were also played this year in NFL stadiums and the most iconic MLB venues. In all, the Bananas visited 21 cities — including their home in Savannah, Georgia — and all six teams played 64 games apiece in 2026. The league will announce its 2027 cities on Thursday.
21 cities. 64 games. Infinite memories. What. A. Season. 💛
To every one of you that showed up, sang along, danced with us, and made us feel so at home in cities across the country, thank you. You're the reason we get to do what we love and you made this season one we'll never… pic.twitter.com/MflZ2Dt09C
But what’s happening on the field isn’t as eternally significant as what’s taking place off the field. While the massive popularity of the Bananas and their competitors is bringing newfound fame to many of the players, a large number of those guys are using their platforms to glorify God.
As the teams toured through the U.S. in the summer of 2024, a group of Christ-followers began meeting for weekly Bible study. What started with five or six guys sitting in a coffee shop grew to 40 or 50 people meeting in someone’s house. Then God planted the idea of public worship nights outside Grayson Stadium in Savannah, so, led by left fielder RobertAnthony Cruz, they held three nights of worship open to anyone.
That left Cruz — better known as Coach RAC — with a desire to take the worship nights on the road. So this summer, he and a college friend, Mehki Key, launched Sandlot Revival. It’s not affiliated with the Bananas, but is driven by Cruz and some teammates.
“Last year, I feel like God put it on some of our hearts to start hosting public worship nights in addition to our team Bible study that we do behind the scenes,” RAC told Sports Spectrum during the team’s stop in Denver in August. “So we had two worship nights during the summer last year, and then we ended up having one in the fall.
“And this year, God just opened some doors, and a friend of mine, Mehki, he organized these worship nights all over the country in a bunch of different cities. So pretty much every city we go to, we’ll play either Friday, Saturday, Sunday, but the night before we’ll have a worship night partnering with a local church in that city.”
At each stop, Key joins with the church’s band to lead attendees in a time of worship and praise, and then one of the players shares his testimony. Often it’s one of the Bananas players, but guys from other teams share as well.
“I was kind of nervous because it’s the first time I’ve ever shared my testimony,” said Ty Jackson, one of RAC’s longtime teammates. “But [RAC] was like, ‘You know what, just let God speak through you, and it’s your testimony, however the Lord has impacted you.’ And it was such a blessing. It’s the first time I ever did it and it’s hard to talk about. You know, everybody’s testimony is different, and my testimony was very emotional. But at the end of the day, people in the crowd were going through the same things I went through and it brought a smile to my face that they could come talk to me about it. It was truly a blessing.”
Following the testimony, Coach RAC takes the stage to share a message and present the Gospel. While playing baseball at Biola University — a Christian school in La Mirada, California — he was a Christian ministries major with a Biblical studies minor. He had a short stint in rookie ball with the Washington Nationals after college, but is now Banana Ball’s de facto chaplain.
“When I was really little I thought I wanted to be a pastor, when I was 5 years old, but didn’t really think much about it after that,” RAC told Sports Spectrum. “… I don’t think it’s my desire to really necessarily be a pastor of a church. We’ll see what God has planned, but in the meantime though, to be able to articulate the Gospel to the best of my ability every week has been a blessing.”
Following RAC’s sermon, the audience is offered a chance to come up for prayer. Along with some church staff, any players in attendance stand in front of the stage and pray over anyone who asks.
“The prayer time from players is awesome,” said Easton Parrish, who’s in his first year with the Bananas. “I get to see a lot people truly become emotional because of whatever they’re going through, whatever prayer they might receive. It’s been fruitful for me. When we first started doing that, I did not go out and pray over other people because I didn’t feel like I could; I didn’t feel like I was a very good prayer guy. But I’ve probably gotten more out of praying for others than they’ve gotten from me praying over them.”
Also in his first year on the team is JT Sokolove, who at 23 is the youngest on the team. He was asked to share his testimony twice at a Sandlot Revival, and has been inspired by hearing his teammates or opponents share their stories as well. Since the teams most often play or travel on Sundays, he said the worship nights have been like church services for him and the other players.
“Seeing city to city, thousands of people come together to praise the Lord — that’s our church because most of the time we’re playing on Sundays,” Sokolove told Sports Spectrum. “So being there and getting to go to our church service basically, and just feel the presence of God … alongside your brothers, it’s just special.”
Meanwhile, the Bible study that started this movement is still ongoing. Some players meet with just their own teams, some gather with other teams when they’re on the road together, and the groups can get rather large if all the teams are in Savannah together.
The players are having tons of fun and living a dream in many ways, but just like any believer knows, trials and tribulations still come in this life. So this band of Bananas keeps meeting to hold each other accountable and stay grounded on God’s Word.
“During the year, everyone is going through highs and lows at different times,” RAC said. “So to be able to meet consistently every week and center ourselves and remind ourselves God is on the throne and we are not the ones on the throne, that’s needed for all of us.”
Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa are both NFL quarterbacks these days, but years ago, they were teammates at Alabama. It was Hurts who led the Crimson Tide to the national title game against Georgia in January 2018, yet after a difficult first half, he was benched in favor of Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa sparked a spectacular comeback and overtime victory, and he suddenly became the media’s darling. Hurts, meanwhile, was nothing but supportive. He was famously one of the first teammates to embrace Tagovailoa after his iconic game-winning touchdown pass.
Hurts’ support continued next season, even when Tagovailoa won the starting job over him. Hurts accepted his reduced role, helped Tagovailoa however he could, and told reporters that “my job is to be the best quarterback I can be, and that’s what I strive to do every day.”
When the 2018 SEC Championship Game rolled around, Alabama faced Georgia again, and this time, it was Hurts’ turn to shine. He stepped in to replace an injured Tagovailoa down by seven in the fourth quarter, engineered two consecutive touchdown drives, and Alabama won, 35-28. Hurts’ maturity and humility were widely lauded by sports pundits the next day, and for years to come.
Hurts’ story is a prime example of the apostle Peter’s exhortation, and God’s instruction, to a group of churches in 1 Peter. In the context of walking with humility toward all, Peter writes that God often exhibits a special kindness toward those who humbly accept the story He orchestrates in their lives. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand,” Peter concludes, “that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).
This in no way means that God “owes” humble people something. Rather, it simply means that humility is pleasing to God when we approach Him and others with a humble disposition. We shouldn’t be humble just to get something; that isn’t humility at all. However, the passage is a promise that our humility won’t go unnoticed.
Hurts was disappointed that he wasn’t getting to play at Alabama in 2018. Perhaps even frustrated. Yet he conducted himself with humility, and God smiled his direction in the SEC Championship Game.
Maybe you find yourself in a similar situation on the field, in the gym, or in your office at work. You’re frustrated. Embarrassed. Stuck. Let those feelings lead you deeper into humility with those around you. Obedience to God never guarantees changed circumstances, and things might even get worse. But, obedience to God is always the right answer.
What is guaranteed when you walk with humility is that you will please God. In His perfect timing and in His perfect ways, He will smile in your direction too.
Cleveland Guardians catcher Patrick Bailey gestures to his team after his home run, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
The Cleveland Guardians wrested early control of the American League Championship Series from the favored Tampa Bay Rays on the road Monday night, capturing Game 1, 7-3. The Guardians fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, but their bats came alive in the final four frames to plate seven runs and surge ahead for the victory.
One of the key plays in Cleveland’s rally came in the seventh inning, when Guardians catcher Patrick Bailey walloped a 436-foot home run to centerfield off Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen. Bailey’s blast tied the contest at 2-2, Rasmussen was soon pulled, and the rout was on.
Cleveland would not trail from that point on, adding two more in the eighth before the Rays hit a one-run homer in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit to 4-3. Yet the Guardians immediately responded with three more runs in the ninth to provide the final score.
“We’re having so much fun,” Bailey said with a smile in an on-field interview after the final out. “Fun is just the word that comes to mind. We’re settling in. This has been awesome. It’s been awesome.”
Bailey’s home run was his second in three games; he also homered in the fifth inning of a win-or-go-home Game 4 in the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
In addition to helping Cleveland’s elite pitching staff with his work behind the plate, Bailey is leading his team (among those with more than two at-bats) with a .368 postseason batting average through six games, which mark his first trip to the MLB playoffs. The Greensboro, North Carolina, native is a career .225 hitter, but his newfound offensive production is a welcome sight for the AL Central champs. They’ve won their last four games and are getting hot at just the right time.
Bailey was drafted in the first round by the San Francisco Giants out of N.C. State in 2020, and he made his MLB debut with the team in May 2023. The 27-year-old spent three full seasons in San Francisco, winning two Gold Gloves (2024, ’25) before being traded to Cleveland in May of this season.
In March, just a couple of months before that trade, Bailey joined the Sports Spectrum Podcast to talk about baseball, Jesus and the challenge it’s been to find his identity in the latter.
“That’s kind of something God’s been hammering in my heart right now, like, ‘Anything outside of you being My child is not your identity,'” he said on the podcast. “We’ve got 40,000 people watching us every night, and there’s some good, and there’s some bad. It’s definitely very easy to kind of fall into that trap of seeing my self-worth in what I do. And again, obviously, baseball is a gift and it’s a platform that I can serve Jesus and serve others on, but it can very quickly become that idol that I think it’s just so easy to get to.”
Bailey describes himself as a “believer” and lists the Bible passage Matthew 5:14-16 in his Instagram bio. He said on the podcast that he grew up attending church, but he truly began to discover what it means to follow Christ during high school. In the majors, he’s been spotted wearing a T-shirt with the popular phrase “Jesus Won” on the front.
“Jesus has won the battle. Hell has been defeated. Death has been defeated,” Bailey said on the podcast. “He rose again on the third day and is sitting at the right hand next to God the Father. That’s what I’m trying to put my hope in towards tomorrow.”
With his ultimate hope resting in the firm foundation of Christ, Bailey and his Guardians teammates also hope to continue the momentum from their rousing victory in Game 1. They will be back on the diamond on Tuesday night for Game 2, seeking to steal another win on the road. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. ET.
