High school baseball player Dylan Jones needed his own bat for the upcoming season, so he went down to the storage shed near the batting cages at his school and found something he could use that wasn’t hundreds of dollars. However, it was an old worn out bat that was “dead,” meaning it had no pop.

The Carolina Forest [South Carolina] senior, who is also a catcher, is so loved by his teammates that they organized ‘Operation Get Dylan A Bat,’ a mission to surprise him with a brand new piece of equipment that would give him both power and confidence each time he stepped into the batters’ box.

“I came up with the idea, simply because how much work Dylan does on and off the field for us,” teammate Austin Padgett told Myrtle Beach Online. “He will leave every practice and game with bruises all over his body, never to complain one bit. He is the hardest worker I have ever seen, and the most trustworthy friend you could ever think of. He deserved better than to be swinging a dead bat he found in the shed.”

So, Padgett and a few teammates blindfolded Jones and took him to Rawlings Baseball Store, where they surprised him with a beautiful new bat and $65 to “buy anything else you want.”

Before Jones even touched the bat, he got choked up and hugged his teammates in gratitude. Padgett posted the video on Twitter, and in three days, it’s already garnered more than 23,000 retweets.

 

 

“Dylan, no matter the place, literally always greets me with “I love you” and hugs me every time he sees me,” teammate Michael Foltz told Horry Sports. “That’s the kind of support and brotherhood he brings to the team and I think that pretty much sums up why we got him a bat.”

It turns out, Jones isn’t just there for his teammates, but for other baseball players as well.

“Dylan, is on another team in our region. He took HIS TIME to catch ALL of my bullpens this fall so i could develop,” Ryan Florio posted on Twitter. “I salute u bro! Your work doesn’t go unnoticed. God will bless you in so many ways for being a GREAT person! Love man! Thank U again for the hours spent this fall!”

So, how does the bat perform? Jones led the team at the plate Monday night, going 2-for-3 with a double.

We’re guessing the bat will be one of his most prized possessions in college, too. He has committed to play at USC-Lancaster where, without a doubt, everyone will be cheering him on.