Oak Cliff Sandlot Gives Everyone a Chance to Fall in Love with Baseball

Santa Claus stands midfield, opposite a member of a Spanish-speaking men’s baseball league. They are trying to overcome a language barrier, to explain to one another why their respective leagues should have the field that day. Turns out, the city double-booked them. No one loses their cool, but, as local sportswriter Levi Weaver recalls, “it’s a spirited conversation.”

Ultimately, Santa Claus is victorious. The men’s league departs, and Fred Flinstone, Mario, and others take the field alongside Santa. They are here to partake in a surreal rendition of America’s pastime and, more importantly, to have fun.

That scene, which took place at a Halloween 2023 costume game, is about as intense as things get for Oak Cliff Sandlot. Santa Claus was Patty Evans, the recreation league’s founder, trying to make sure their first annual costume game could go on as planned.

The league has been well-received by players and the community, with minimal skill or time necessary; Oak Cliff Sandlot is a co-ed league that allows adults to come out on weekends and play baseball when they can.

It was originally founded in 2022 while Evans, a long-time Oak Cliff resident, was grieving the losses of his grandfather and childhood best friend in quick succession. It was a difficult time, but one that inspired him to start a sandlot baseball team in Oak Cliff, modeled on others he had seen in Austin, Tulsa and Vancouver.

“I had this, like, ‘come to Jesus’ moment with myself,” says Evans. “‘I need to do what I want to do and not waste any time about it.’”

Evans posted flyers around Oak Cliff, made an Instagram page, and hoped for the best. Around 30 people showed up for the first game, and Evans formed Oak Cliff Sandlot’s inaugural team, the Oak Cliff 86ers. The program has grown over the last few years and now boasts six local teams. Games are played between each of them, and also on the road against sandlot teams in other parts of Texas and the United States.

Speaking with Oak Cliff Sandlot players, it is immediately clear that this group wants baseball to be fun and accessible to anyone. Players of all skill levels take part in the games; some played baseball in college, while others have never picked up a bat in their lives. The more experienced players help those with less experience pick up the fundamentals, and everyone celebrates each other’s achievements. To join, you just need to make an appearance at one of the league’s monthly pickup games. The only real requirements are being of age (21 and up) and having a good attitude.

“If anybody ever wants to come out and play, and if they’re super intimidated, all they have to do is sit down and watch us play, like, an inning of baseball,” says Evans. “And if you can’t do what we do, then it’s probably not your thing. But if you have at least the interest enough to show up and watch an inning of it, you’re probably going to end up playing.”
Levi Weaver has been writing about baseball for years (he previously covered the Texas Rangers for The Athletic, before he began covering all of the majors). When his schedule opened up enough for him to join Oak Cliff Sandlot, he was ready to take part. Playing for the White Rock Mudbugs has helped him reconnect with the game on a personal level.

“Because I write about baseball, like, I’m around it all the time,” explains Weaver. “But it can become almost an academic exercise, like I sort of forget what it’s like to turn a double play or, you know, get my knees buckled by an off-speed pitch.”

The players also come together outside of games to hang out and spread the word about the league. Recently, the Texas Theatre (one of Oak Cliff Sandlot’s sponsors) hosted a screening of a new baseball film called Eephus, about an amateur baseball league’s final game. Players came out to watch the film and sell merchandise in the lobby.

Barak Epstein, president of Aviation Cinemas, which operates the Texas Theatre, also plays in Oak Cliff Sandlot games. “I was happy to pick it back up a few years ago and play actual baseball with, you know, wood bats and hard balls,” says Epstein. “That’s what I did the first 20 years of my life.” He says that the different skill levels within Oak Cliff Sandlot keep it from getting too serious while staying just serious enough to keep the games exciting.

Reflecting on baseball, Weaver says that there are reasons why it is so effective at building a sense of camaraderie amongst players, which remains a chief objective of Oak Cliff Sandlot. It takes a decently sized group – Weaver says realistically you need 16-18 people – to even make a game happen, unlike with other sports where you can adapt to a one-on-one or three-on-three matchup, which automatically lends a sense of community to baseball games.

“It’s also a game [where] you can talk. You know, if you’re standing on first base and there’s a runner on first, you’re not hand-checking him and, like, playing defense and winded. You’re not trying to tackle him. You know, you can just sit there and have a conversation with somebody,” says Weaver. “It fosters conversation. It fosters community. It fosters friendships, I think. And that, to me, is something that I really love about baseball across the board.”


Information on Oak Cliff Sandlot can be found at oakcliffsandlot.com. Their next pickup game will be held Saturday, April 5, at Lake Cliff Park, 300 E. Colorado Blvd. at noon.