Academy notebook

Thanksgiving started early for 100 West Dallas families who received a turkey and all the trimmings for the holiday meal at the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy at Mercy Street Sports Complex, Presented by Toyota, on Tuesday, November 20.
While this marks the first Thanksgiving in the states for Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara, the Dominican Republic native was happy to get in the spirit of the holiday.
"This is awesome to come here and give away food to the families," Mazara said.
Fellow Rangers Joey Gallo, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Ronald Guzman, and Delino DeShields joined Mazara in handing out turkeys, sides, and desserts for the families to take home and prepare.
"Being able to give back to the community, that's one of the activities I really enjoy the most. For them to give me the chance to come over here and help them out, it means a lot to me," Guzman said.
Gallo agreed.
"We want to help out as much as we can. That's what you're supposed to do when you're a professional athlete. You help the community that you're in. We love it here. We all stay here and we live here," Gallo said. "That's why we come out."
The Texas Rangers and The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation joined Power 2 Change Foundation, Buckner Foundation, Kroger, Pro Financial Services, and Coca Cola in donating the turkeys and other Thanksgiving meal ingredients to families selected by the Buckner Foundation and Dallas Housing Authority.