Arrowhead Christian graduate Robert Anthony Cruz a smash hit for wildly popular Savannah Bananas

SAN DIEGO – Robert Anthony Cruz has a flair for the dramatic.

Cruz is the left fielder for the Savannah Bananas baseball team. He was born in Fontana and starred in baseball at Arrowhead Christian Academy in Redlands.

Playing Friday night at Petco Park against another Banana Ball entrant, the Firefighters, Cruz thrilled the fans with his signature backflip catch to secure the victory, 3-2.

“Yeahhhh!” Petco fans with arms raised yelled after Cruz’s game-ending catch. But that was only the half of it – x-rays taken the next day revealed Cruz played with a fractured arm, compliments of a mishap before the game.

And the Robert Anthony Cruz legend grows.

COACH RAC

Known as Coach RAC on YouTube, Instagram, and Tik Tok, Cruz has around 2 million followers and is known for his upbeat baseball training videos.

A common theme in his videos is resiliency, which makes sense for a young man who has had so many ups and downs early in life.

Following a rollercoaster college career spent at UC-Riverside and Biola University, Cruz was not picked in the major league draft. But he was signed after the draft by the Washington Nationals and video of him telling his dad Ron went viral.

“I wound up getting 170,000 followers overnight on TikTok and I was the ABC World News person of the week,” Cruz said.

But in the end, his pro career did not work out. Cruz played poorly his first season in the Nationals’ organization, then got cut two weeks into spring training the following year.

And that would have been it, had not the Savannah Bananas, partially attracted by Cruz’s social media presence, come calling.

But first, Cruz morphed into Coach RAC – posting videos and dispensing the best advice he had learned during his college and pro baseball career. A whiz at photography, computers and art, Cruz gained a following of a million baseball followers across multi platforms.

Impressed, the Savannah Bananas coaxed Cruz back into uniform where his powerful left-handed swing, backflip catches, and infectious personality are a hit.

LASTING IMPRESSION

Now Cruz interacts with millions daily. He said a brush he had with former Los Angeles Dodger great Steve Garvey was important.  It happened when he was a youngster at Big League Dreams in Jurupa Valley.

“His kid or his grandkid was playing ball there,” Cruz said. “I grew up a Dodger fan so I walked up to him and asked him if he could sign my ball and I was a little shy and didn’t really know what to say and he said, ‘Do you want me to sign that you?” I said, ‘That would be awesome’ but I kind of stuttered over my words and he said, ‘Go ahead and speak up – you’re a handsome kid.’ Then he signed the ball and sent me on my way.”

The interaction had a lasting effect on Cruz, who ironically now signs 1000s of balls per game for youngsters.

“It was like I was the only person in the world with him that day,” Cruz said of Garvey. “He looked me in the eye, and he was excited to be with me. After that, I made it a point that every time I meet a kid, whether he’s excited to meet me or nervous, that I want to reciprocate their energy. Even on the days when we’ve played 6-7 months straight and we’re signing 1000 autographs; I try to remember that it’s a privilege to do that and that we can be leaving a lasting impact on these kids.”

A glimpse into Cruz’s soul can be seen in the viral video made when he signed as a free agent with the Washington Nationals after not getting picked in the MLB draft. Cruz enters his father Ron’s auto shop while wearing a red Nationals’ ballcap and hands a similar cap to his dad – indicating he was signed.

“Oh, are you kidding me?” Ron says, hugging his boy. “Congratulations, son.”

LEARNING FROM FAILURE

Playing baseball, leaping headfirst into social media, and performing for the Savannah Bananas, Cruz has achieved great success in his life but has also failed on occasion. Such a moment came earlier this year on CNN when Cruz tried to do a backflip and planted his face in the ground.

“That was quite an experience,” Cruz said. “That was an embarrassing moment that happened but I posted about it and shared my experience over what it’s like to be embarrassed and I wound up receiving a lot of messages from parents and kids out there who were saying things like, ‘Oh, I had this embarrassing moment when I was 12 years old …’ or, ‘I saw that happen to you a few weeks ago and to see you go through that and come out OK on the other side was an encouragement to me.’”

Besides a fat lip suffered, Cruz was no worse for wear – just another life lesson learned.

Asked what advice he would give children from Redlands and surrounding areas about life Cruz said, “Strive to be great. If you have a gift or something you enjoy doing, then do it to the fullest.”