Brad Keith
Sports Editor, Stephenville Empire Tribune

STEPHENVILLE - Tarleton State head coach Bryan Conger will be the first to admit baseball players - and oftentimes coaches - are a unique breed.

The countless superstitions associated with the game aside, baseball players will line up to give each other mohawks then rib one another about how they look, Conger said.

But no one is ribbing any of the Texans for their freshly shaved heads.

The team-wide shaving that took place last weekend didn't coincide with any kind of streak or preseason prank - this was serious. They did it in honor of David Diaz, a new teammate suffering from cancer.

"When I found out, it was probably three weeks before we reported to school," said Diaz, a Fort Worth native and graduate of South Hills High School, of the day he was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin's Lymphoma. "It started from a biopsy at the beginning of summer, and I went from doctor to doctor. Finally I had it removed and tested and it was still three weeks before I found out (it was cancer)."

To say cancer treatments are no walk in the park would be a little like saying Diaz wants to play baseball next spring. The right-handed pitcher desperately wants to, of course, but he will miss the season due to ongoing treatments.

But the spirit of Diaz - strengthened by the gesture made by both teammates and coaches, who also had their heads shaved - remains strong.
"I look at things from a different perspective now," said Diaz, who played junior college ball at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster and will retain his two remaining years of eligibility after the upcoming 2012 season. "I have the most treatable form of cancer, and I know from what doctors are telling me, I'm going to be fine. And I get to be here three years now, so I can learn the program this year and hopefully dominate for two more years.
"God did this because He wanted me to be held out for something better," he added. "I believe He has a bigger plan."

Diaz says it helps tremendously to know he doesn't have to fight alone.

"I know these guys are like my brothers, we're a family," Diaz said. "They showed me that already. When they all shaved their heads out of respect for me, it was inspiring. I knew I had people here I could count on."

Senior Andrew Wolfe was the architect of the head-shaving plan.

"It actually started when I was talking with coach (Mark) Jeffery. We were throwing ideas around, trying to decide what we could do (to support David)," said Wolfe, an outfielder from Dripping Springs. "We came up with the idea to shave our heads. We can only imagine what he's going through, but we thought this would show him we're here for him."

Wolfe ran the idea by a few other seniors, and soon the entire team was lining up for their turn under the razor.

Conger, who in just three seasons has returned Tarleton baseball to the Division II map by guiding the Texans to their first regional appearance since 1998 last season, certainly won't argue with the early exercise in team chemistry.

"As a coach you sit back and wonder at times - especially this year with pretty much a whole new team - how it's all going to come together, if you can get everyone to buy into the team concept," Conger said. "It's been pretty neat to already see such a huge sign of leadership from our returning guys and unity from all our guys.

"I don't think it was ever a question of if we should do something, I don't think there was ever a doubt," Conger continued. "Everyone's attitude was just 'He's our teammate and we need to support him, let's get it done."

And Diaz knows his teammates did it for no other reason than for him.

"The roughest days are after treatment when I have to go to school," said Diaz. "Then I'll be walking around campus and see some of the guys. I know when I see the bald head, it's one of them. It's motivating, really. It keeps me going strong."