Manager Dave Roberts has led the Los Angeles Dodgers to two straight National League pennants, and he’s the first manager to lead the Dodgers to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons. So the team is bringing him back to see if he can get the storied franchise its first World Series title since 1988.
Roberts signed a four-year contract extension Monday, keeping him in L.A. through 2022.
“When I was hired to lead this team three years ago, I said at the time that managing the Dodgers is truly the opportunity of a lifetime and I feel the exact same way today,” he said in a statement. “We’ve worked hard to develop a team and culture that will put us in position to win the World Series every season, but we still have yet to achieve our ultimate goal and that is what drives me each day.”
The Dodgers lost in five games to the Boston Red Sox this past October, and fell in seven games to the Houston Astros last year.
“Keeping Doc as our leader on the field was a top priority this offseason and now that we’ve accomplished that we are excited to collectively shift all of our focus to doing all we can to bring a world championship to our passionate fans,” Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, said in a statement.
Not only was 1988 a big year for the Dodgers with the World Series title, it was also the year Roberts gave his life to Christ.
“I stopped trying to be good enough and earn my way into Heaven and accepted God’s gift of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ in 1988,” Roberts told AiMissions in 2016. “It wasn’t until just a few years ago, though, that I really understood how much God loved me in sending Jesus to die in my place and really started living for Him, putting Him first in my life, making Him Lord. My relationship with Christ is the most important thing in my life. Beyond the game of baseball, He gives me lasting joy, contentment and peace.
“That’s the great thing about allowing Jesus to become Lord — He really knows and wants what is best for my life.”
In three seasons with the Dodgers, Roberts is 287-200 overall. He was the 2016 NL manager of the year.
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.”
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.
Atlanta Braves outfielder Brewer Hicklen celebrates a double, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
It was always Brewer Hicklen’s dream to play for the Atlanta Braves. After somewhat of a journeyman major league career, the Huntsville, Alabama, native is getting to live that out.
The Braves signed him last November, and after spending much of the season in Triple-A, the 30-year-old outfielder was recalled to the major league squad July 12. He made a career-high 20 MLB appearances this season and is now a reserve outfielder getting his first taste of the MLB playoffs. He’s appeared in three postseason games, coming in each time as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, and made his first plate appearance in Tuesday’s 3-1 Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He doesn’t have the biggest role on the team by any stretch, but he’s arguably one of the most vocal about his faith in Jesus. Ahead of Monday’s Game 2, he recorded a video inside Dodger Stadium reflecting on the moment of being in the postseason with his childhood team while also trying to remind himself and anyone watching to keep such things in their proper perspective.
He had just read 1 John 2:17, which says, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
“I can’t help but to think that as a man who’s, in the worldly view, I’m living the dream,” he said. “It’s so important for me to remain steady and make sure my pursuit of my dream never misaligns with the purpose that God has given me, and that’s to love God, to love people and to have fun doing so. And to let everybody know how incredible it is to walk with Christ.
“So don’t forget today to go make a difference in your inner circle. What has God done in your life lately that you can share with others and impact them?”
Hicklen logged 10 hits in his 20 regular-season appearances this year, including five doubles, and drove in three runs. But his calling card throughout his career has been his speed. In nine pro seasons across all levels, he’s racked up 287 stolen bases. His career high was 44 in 2024 for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, and he also logged 40 steals in 2021 for the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals. He had 30 steals this season for Triple-A Gwinnett before the Braves called him up.
That speed is where the Braves have found the most value for him on the roster — especially as pinch runner. Perhaps his most impactful moment this season was scoring a game-tying run on Sept. 11 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Braves ended up winning in the 11th to earn a big late-season win against their division rivals.
“Whatever they need, I want to do the best that I can,” he said after that game. “To be able to call my name in that opportunity was really special … to be in that position was incredible.”
Hicklen posted earlier that week about how he hopes to use any opportunities he gets in baseball to point people back to Christ.
“So grateful to live out this dream alongside my family,” he wrote. “After years of obedience, I’m blown away by the doors He has opened and the opportunities He’s given me. Since I know tomorrow is not guaranteed, I’ve held onto this verse: ‘This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ My prayer has been to use every opportunity to share the Gospel, spread His love, and point others back to Him.”
During his baseball journey, he was able to baptize several of his teammates in 2024 and 2025. Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2017, Hicklen made his major league debut on May 26, 2022, and spent six games with the Royals before being traded to the Phillies organization in August 2023. He then signed with the Brewers organization in November 2023 and said in 2024 that God placed him in Nashville for such a time as this, referring to the opportunity to baptize and witness to teammates.
“I just asked God, ‘Place me somewhere where You feel like I could have some influence and have some opportunity to make eternal connections with some teammates,’” Hicklen told Sports Spectrum in 2024.
He’s now hoping this extended stay with the Braves that has lasted into the postseason is the start of more regular time in the majors, but either way he hopes to use his platform to point people to Christ. On Sept. 20, ahead of a game against the Houston Astros, he shared some thoughts from 1 Peter 2:1-3.
“I think God knows a lot of people are a Christian when it’s convenient,” Hicklen said in the video. “But He’s challenging us to be desperate at all times — to seek after and want to grow in our faith. Like a baby, they can’t grow without milk and the nutrients that it provides. And with the metaphor of milk, like a believer you cannot grow without the Word of God speaking to you and God penetrating your heart.”
He then challenged anyone watching with a question: “Are you a Christian when it’s convenient, or are you in desperation of learning more about the One who uniquely created you for a specific purpose?”
Hicklen and the Braves take the field at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday in a win-or-go-home Game 4 against the Dodgers in Atlanta.
Andy Pettitte in March 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
THIS IS THE GET IN THE GAME PODCAST
HOSTED BY SCOTT LINEBRINK
Our guest today is Andy Pettitte, a New York Yankees legend who played 18 years in the majors — 15 with New York and three with Houston. He was a five-time World Series champion and three-time All-Star.
