Coming home feels a bit different for everyone. However, there are some things that are universal. Warmth and nostalgia being just two of those.
“It’s very comforting being back here and seeing some of the things that haven’t changed, but also seeing some things that are new. So, it’s good to know it’s the same place,” said Jon Gray. “It’ll always be home.”
Jon, a pitcher for the 2023 World Series champs, the Texas Rangers, returned to Chandler last weekend with his wife Jacklyn, also from Chandler, to help usher in the holiday season in town. They were in the annual Christmas parade through downtown and helped light the tree.
However, sitting in a back room at Randy Bowen Chevrolet, it was talking about his charity work and memories of playing ball in Chandler that had him lighting up.
Oh, and ghost hunting, of course.
Both Jon and Jacklyn are active in helping make their community a better place in Texas, something they said was inspired in part by their families and their own expectations for themselves.
“We’ve probably had an expectation on ourselves to make the community better. To help any way we can,” Jon said.
“So we knew we were going to help people at some point. We love animals and both of our families have a lot of military ties. So it made a lot of sense to go in those directions.”
He continued that when he signed with the Rangers, they made it clear that they would help the couple out with anything they wanted to do.
“It just made it so easy for show.”
However, if given the chance, Jon admitted that they would probably start an animal farm and just rescue dogs. Jacklyn said they were already getting close to that with their seven dogs. She added that the apple didn’t fall very far from the tree.
“His dad is the same way. Like, they are very driven when it comes to their animals. They basically like us where they have numerous, they have horses and cats,” she said. “They’ve kind of inspired us and that’s something we’ve seen over the years. Watching them do what they do. That’s kind of, I think, where it sparked for us.”
The two also have fond memories of growing up in Chandler. Jon said the thing he misses most is baseball practices.
“I miss hanging out with the guys at the field. We used to mess with each other all the time,” he said. “We’d grab the other guys’ glove and throw it up on the roof, so we had to go get it. I mean, it was constant fun… I just miss everyday practice.”
And if there were anything he could tell young baseball players in Chandler, it would be not to be content.
“There’s always room to get better, always room to grow,” he said. “I think that’s part of life. Striving and seeing what we can become and how good we can be for the people around us, not just ourselves.”
Of course, there’s also always room for a little ghost hunting too, a pastime of Jon’s. He said that he would like to check out the Tilghman house if given the chance.
“I don’t know if the Tilghman house has anything spooky going on over there, but I would love to go in there and just see it. Hang out for a night. That would be great,” he said.
He added that the weird feeling people get at places is what makes it so interesting.
“Places that people can’t be in and, like, they just feel weirded out. That stuff’s interesting,” he said.