On Thursday afternoon Dillon Gee made a return appearance at Cleburne High School. The manner of his return was low-key, but not lacking in importance as he, along with Cleburne Assistant Principal Ronnie Garcia, put together a motivational video for a group of Yellow Jackets to view in May when academic excellence awards are handed out.
Gee also spent some time on Thursday with the 2011-12 Yellow Jacket baseball team and offered some words of advice and wisdom.
Gee started for the New York Mets last season and went 13-6 with a 4.43 ERA and 114 strikeouts.
He is 15-8 in his major league career with a 4.04 ERA.
Gee was part of the 2003-04 Yellow Jacket team that went to the state semifinals in Round Rock.
He said he never could’ve imagined he would get to where he is today.
“I was thinking the other day how weird it is to be where I am now,” Gee said. “To be a guy living on a county road on the outskirts of Cleburne to living in New York City for half the year and playing in front of 40,000 fans every night for the Mets.
“I never thought that would happen. Life takes you in different directions and this is where it went.”
Gee said he relishes the opportunity to give back to a community which gave him the support he needed to succeed.
“It’s hard to pinpoint just one thing I learned in high school, but I remember how much of a team we were,” he said. “No one worried about individual success. Now, going into pro ball, I see how it gets more about the ‘me’ and I see teams which don’t have the chemistry. I try to harp on that with my teammates.
“If we had a good year together, then we’ll have a good one individually.
“I think I picked up on that and how to lead as well as how to be a good teammate.”
Garcia, who taught Gee when he was in high school, said it’s thrilling to see a Cleburne High School alumnus succeed through strong moral values, determination and hard work.
“I’ve known Dillon a long time,” he said. “He was shy back then and he’s still pretty shy now. He did his work, but he was quiet.
“I think it’s awesome for a young man who, by his own admission, wasn’t the strongest or the best athlete on the field. But he worked his tail off.”
Garcia referred to Gee’s returning from arm surgery to lead the Jackets.
“He had major arm surgery and he came back stronger than he was before,” Garcia said. “He did that through the work ethic that his parents instilled in him and by his own desire to be all that he can be.”
Baseball and Softball
Related Photos
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Cleburne’s Dillon Gee, left, and Ryan Stepp were both members of the 2004 Cleburne baseball team which made the state semifinals. Gee now pitches for the New York Mets and Stepp coaches at Cleburne High School. Zack Cunningham/Times-Review
Discussion
Gee comes back to his roots
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Baseball/Softball playoff update
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Cleburne's matchup against Arl. Heights suffered a similar fate. The series is now a one-game playoff which will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cleburne High School.
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