ATLANTA — A University of Georgia Diamond Dog continues to shine, even as he fights paralysis.
In March, UGA baseball player Jonathan Taylor broke his neck when he collided with another player.
He's doing rehab at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.
As he worked this week, to his surprise, a dream came true.
Channel 2's Anthony Amey sat down with Taylor for his first on-camera interview about being drafted to the Texas Rangers.
Jonathan Taylor Receives Therapy At Shephard Center
Taylor never hit a home run in his 2 1/2 years as a bulldog baseball player, but that is not the measure of a man's strength.
Taylor's influence is felt both in and out of ballparks from Atlanta to Texas.
Taylor began this season on the radar of major league baseball scouts. His speed was perhaps his biggest asset.
He was coming off a season in which he played all 53 games and hit a career-best .335. But, life changed on March 6.
On that day, JT Collided with teammate Zach Cone and suffered a broken neck.
Since then, he has fought paralysis with the same vigor and toughness that defined his play on the field.
The Texas Rangers took notice. They drafted Cone in the first round of this week's amateur draft and selected Taylor in the 33rd, reuniting the two friends who collided on that March day.
"That day they came and they visited me, and (Cone) was like, 'We're on the same team again, brother!' I was like, 'Yeah, I know. This is crazy.' He enjoyed that a lot," Taylor said.
Taylor just turned 21 in March, and while he was able to leave the Shepherd Center to serve as inspiration for two of his teammates' wins this season. He was surprised that his inspired ability persuaded a team to draft him.
"When I found out about it, it was a complete shock to me. I was look, 'Ooh, Snap! They called me and was like 'Congratulations, you got drafted to the Texas Rangers.' I was like, 'You're kidding me right?' he was like, 'No, you got on TV and everything." I was like, 'Whoa, this is crazy,' so, yeah I loved that," Taylor said.
Taylor said he always played as the Texas Rangers when he played video games.
And now, maybe he'll be able to make it out to Turner Field when the reigning American League Champions visit the Braves for an inter-league series next weekend.