Texas Rangers All-Star shortstop Corey Seager used last Thursday’s team off-day to give back to the West Dallas community.
Seager hosted his first solo community event since signing with the Rangers in December 2021, alongside his father, Jeff, and wife, Mady, at the Texas Rangers Youth Academy.
Though it was his first time hosting an event, it was far from Seager's first visit to the Rangers' state-of-the-art youth baseball and softball complex, having dropped in on programming multiple times throughout the years, and most recently assisting Marcus and Tarah Semien at the finale of their summer-long Semien Family Food Distribution.
The Seagers approached the Youth Academy several months ago to discuss how they could further help the next generation of ballplayers, and another season of MVP-worthy at-bats made the hitting clinic an obvious choice.
As he stepped into the coaching role, there was no one better to join Seager than his father and former coach, Jeff, who Corey said taught him everything he knows about baseball.
“It’s a lot of fun to give back and be around these guys,” said Seager. “And it's baseball, something we're very comfortable with, so it’s just a good time.
“...Getting into high school is when it starts to get serious. Everybody [plays the game] differently. It’s a hard game, [so we told them] don't get down on yourself and just try to do your best.”
The father-son duo observed live batting practice from 24 of the top Rangers Youth Academy athletes, pulling them aside after each cycle of at-bats to offer tailored advice based on their individual swings.
Jeff, who threw BP to Corey in both his 2016 and 2022 Home Run Derby appearances, had plenty of his own baseball expertise to offer the up-and-coming athletes, having coached three sons that played at the professional level.
“In one session like this, it's really hard to offer in-depth advice -- the whole game of baseball, you have to do it over and over,” said Jeff Seager. “Everything's a little adjustment here and there, and it's a long process to get things right, and if you do get things right, and you're lucky, you get to the Major Leagues, then you got the problem of staying there.”
James Martin High School senior and repeat Youth Academy All-Star Romel Garcia was among the select group invited to attend based on his plus playing abilities.
“I think it was a great opportunity for all of us -- we really enjoyed it,” said Garcia. “For some of us, we think that what we do is right, and having [Corey] here, he can teach us through his experience and approach that we aren’t always right and that we learn along the way.
“Like he said, not even at the highest level is he perfect, so we shouldn't try to be perfect, and we should learn from failure.”
To conclude the clinic, the Seagers and participants circled up for conversations on routines, pitch selection, and plate approach before signing autographs and posing for photos.
Corey and Mady also gifted each participant brand-new Adidas backpacks, batting gloves, turf cleats, dry-fit T-shirts, water bottles, and powder blue Texas Rangers ball caps.
Last week’s event marks only the beginning of what the Seagers have planned for the North Texas community in the coming months and years.