Free baseball tickets aren't going to rebuild the town of West, Texas or bring back the 15 people who were killed when a fertilizer plant exploded there on April 17. But it's certainly a nice gesture on the part of the Texas Rangers, who announced today that they've invited basically the entire city to its game on July 6, a Saturday.
The club says it expects 1,000 of the town's 2,800 residents to attend. The game will be preceded by on-field ceremonies featuring city officials and first responders, as well as a performance by the Czech Dance Group. Mayor Tommy Muska will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
There will be also be a moment of silence in honor of the people killed in the blast.
The Rangers' generosity is perhaps partly explained by the fact that the game is against the bottom-feeding Houston Astros, but it remains a very cool gesture. It's not every day that a professional sports team offers to host an entire city for free.
