Texas Rangers can’t have fans at games yet, but they made exception for parent with ALS
The baseball community is a tight-knit one, and that is on display this week at Globe Life Field.
Yes, there will be fans on Opening Day. Three of them.
The Texas Rangers plan to allow the parents and fiancée of Colorado Rockies outfielder Sam Hilliard, a Mansfield High School graduate, to attend the season opener. They also attended the exhibition Tuesday against the Rockies and might go Wednesday.
It will be Hillard’s first time on an Opening Day roster.
His father, Jim, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Travel to see their son play is difficult, even though Jim and Tamara Hilliard made the trek from their Fort Worth home to Denver last season to see his MLB debut.
This trek will be piece of cake, and the Rangers were glad to accommodate the Hilliards.
“It just felt like the right thing to do,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “There’s a lot of craziness in the world right now. When you’ve got a chance to help someone out, we want to do that. We’ll take the necessary precautions.”
The Rangers were approached by Hillard’s agent, Scott Braunstein, and were on board with the idea. They then reached out to the Rockies.
It will be a special moment for Hilliard, whether he cracks the lineup or not, to see his parents and fiancée, Kat, in the ballpark.
“The Rangers have been very accommodating. We’re very thankful for that,” Hilliard said. “It’s going to be something else to look up there and see them. It’s really cool. Hopefully I’ll be able to interact with them after the game and get to see them. I haven’t been able to see them for a while. It’s going to be really cool. It’s going to be something to cherish.”
The Hilliards and Kat had to undergo testing for COVID-19, and they tested negative. The Rangers did not seek permission from MLB to allow the Hilliards to attend, but they will be seated far enough away from the playing surface.
Hilliard, who hit a home run in his MLB debut Aug. 27, has started to use his platform as an MLB player to bring awareness to ALS. He and his family have formed Team Hilliard, which helps raise funding for ALS research.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 9:01 PM.
