by grantlairdjr

Question by Rangers♥ Young has the record : Is this the beginning of many feel good stories for the 2010 baseball season?
CEDAR HILL, Texas — The Cedar Hill baseball team, under coach Jeremy Fatheree, is on the rise.

The Longhorns have been in the playoffs in two of the past three years, and their goal is to capture the District 7-5 title this season.

“That’s the plan,” said All-State shortstop Joey Reyna.

The plan was almost shattered and their hopes and dreams were just about crushed. A week ago, the Longhorns had their baseball hearts torn out and were looking at the distinct possibility of not being able to field a team at all this season.

That’s what happens when vandals break into your fieldhouse over the holidays and steal just about every piece of equipment in every player’s locker.

“All my stuff,” pitcher Caleb Hamrick said. “I was pretty devastated.” But all is not lost in this town just to the southeast of Arlington on the other side of Joe Pool Lake. The Longhorns, despite the setback, will take the field this coming season. Practice begins on Jan. 29 and the Longhorns will be re-equipped. Many different groups and many different people have come forward to help, and the Rangers donated $ 10,000 to the cause from the Texas Rangers Foundation.

Second baseman Ian Kinsler and pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Tommy Hunter were at Cedar Hill High School on Monday to present the check to Fatheree and his players. Those three Rangers and some of their teammates donated their own money to help out the Cedar Hill program.

“I know these guys work hard and want to be out there,” Kinsler said. “This was not fun. The only vandalism that took place at my high school is when the rival school came over and turned on all the sprinklers.”

Said McCarthy, “I can’t imagine baseball being taken away from me in high school, especially that close to the season. That would have been miserable.”

The Rangers are not the only ones to donate. Other local establishments have helped out and so have other high school baseball programs in the area, including teams on Cedar Hill’s schedule.

“It’s a community thing,” Hunter said. “These guys needed help and we were glad to provide.”

Much help was needed. The vandals were particularly destructive and venial. Just about every piece of equipment was taken, much of it personal items belonging to the players. Bats, balls, gloves, shoes, workout gear. There are 32 players in the program and nobody was spared. As someone pointed out, the vandals knew what to take and what not to take.

“It was mainly personal items that the kids and the parents paid for, not the school district,” Fatheree said. “Things you can’t play baseball without, but things you take for granted.”

A soda machine was smashed and the money box looted. But it wasn’t just grand larceny. The place was trashed and profanity-laced graffiti was spray-painted all over the walls. Pictures of Fatheree’s family on his desk were smashed.

On one glass window in the coaches office, spray-painted in big letters was “Ha Ha CH …”

Plus the profanity.

“I didn’t realize the damage until I walked in there,” Reyna said. “I was in shock. This means a lot for the Rangers to help us out. It feels great. It makes the situation a lot better.”

The losses ran into the tens of thousands of dollars and work has not begun to repair the damage. On a bright Monday afternoon, pieces of a door lock were still scattered on the sidewalk where the vandals had gained entry. There have been no arrests.

“We have a couple of leads, but nothing to nail them with,” athletic director Gina Farmer said.

“The kids were really down and almost in tears,” Fatheree said. “Some were in tears. You try to reassure them, but what could you really do? First of all, there was the fact that we couldn’t get out to practice, but also, where would the hope come from?

“There wasn’t any until the Rangers and others stepped in. That was a big blessing and a life lesson for these kids. In the future, when they see others in need, they’ll remember this and how they felt when others stepped in for them.”

What are your thoughts? What other feel good stories do you see happening this year?
I feel really bad for those kids.. I mean their rivals in our division but for someone to just come and destroy everything they worked for is just plain wrong.
I feel really bad for those kids.. I mean their rivals in our division but for someone to just come and destroy everything they worked for is just plain wrong.
Thats high school baseball, not college
=o

You are SO lucky. If you see Michael tell him hi! lol and have fun =)

Best answer:

Answer by Dracula
Interesting story good luck to them but i still root for the USC Trojans baseball!

What do you think? Answer below!