Rangers Pitcher Taylor Hearn: 'You've Got to Give Back'
ARLINGTON, Texas — Taylor Hearn was at his parents’ home in Royse City outside of Dallas when he learned he was the Texas Rangers’ nominee for the 2022 Roberto Clemente Award.
He then spent part of his day on Friday voting for a couple of former Rangers that are also up for the award — Philadelphia pitcher Kyle Gibson and New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino.
The Roberto Clemente Award is the annual recognition of a Major League player who best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
Hearn was honored to get the nomination, named for the Hall of Famer who died on New Year’s Eve 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
“I’ve always wanted kids from (Dallas-Fort Worth) to know that a person like me, who’s from here, can play for the Rangers,” Hearn said Friday. “And when you get here, you’ve got to share like you’re going to be able to give back.”
Hearn has during his four-year stint with the Rangers. His focus has been on supporting opportunities for young athletes and those from underprivileged backgrounds.
That includes hosting a free camp at the Texas Rangers Youth Academy for over 100 athletes for Grades 1-8 in conjunction with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Also this year, Hearn sponsored a youth baseball team in Tema, Ghana, promoting the sport of baseball in Africa by sending equipment, T-shirts and monetary sponsorship.
Hearn also donates time and effort to the Alzheimer’s Association to honor his grandmother, who passed away from that disease. He created and sold a special t-shirt in her memory with proceeds benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association. In 2021, he partnered with Big League Impact Texas Campaign to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association of Dallas.
He also hosted a “Week of Giving” for the Thanksgiving holiday in 2021, and has participated in community initiatives for The Players Alliance, Outerstuff, the Arlington Life Shelter and has been an active participant in numerous events at the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy in west Dallas.
Hearn has had an up-and-down season — or as Rangers interim manager Tony Beasley put it Friday, “down and up.” Hearn is 6-7 with a 4.94 ERA. He began the season as a starter, was briefly demoted to Triple-A Round Rock and is now coming out of the bullpen. He’s found a role coming on in relief.
In his last five games, he’s thrown 10 innings, giving up five hits and one earned run, along with three walks. He’s struck out 15 and has shaved half-point off his ERA. He’s thrown at least two shutout innings in four of his last five games and in seven of his last 11.
Beasley said he’s proud of how Hearn has handled this season, on and off the field.
“When you see them face adversity and bounce back from it, it speaks to who they are as individuals,” Beasley said. “So the fact that he didn’t just throw in the towel and just say, ‘forget it,’ but still fighting for his career and fighting to be successful I’m really proud of him. I’m really happy for him.”
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