ATLANTA,None — A local baseball player recovering from a devastating injury was picked in the 33rd round of the Major League Baseball draft.
UGA baseball player Jonathan Taylor was paralyzed in a freak accident earlier this spring.
Channel 2's Diana Davis spoke to Taylor's high school coach about that gesture by the Texas Rangers. Coach Tom Callahan called the move by the Rangers pure class.
"I was floored, astounded. It brought tears to my eyes. Still does," said Callahan.
Taylor broke his neck in an outfield collision playing for UGA in March.
He's paralyzed and in a wheelchair undergoing rehabilitation in Atlanta.
Taylor lettered all four seasons at North Cobb High School. He stole 100 bases.
But at baseball camp at North Cobb High on Thursday, it wasn't so much Taylor's statistics that may have stood out to the kids but his spirit and fight to recover from that devastating injury.
Amy Stader was his English teacher.
"Watching him get hurt was kind of like seeing one of my own kids get hurt," said Stader.
"You just got to learn from it and keep moving forward keep pushing ahead," said ninth-grader Spencer Maddox.
"He's absolutely everything you could ask for in a young man. If my son turns out like him, I'd be very happy," said Callahan.
WSBTV
