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2 Locals To Be Honored By MLB As All-Star Teachers

SAN FRANCSICO (CBS SF) - In addition to the seven Oakland A's and three San Francisco Giants in Minneapolis for this year's Major League Baseball All-Star game, two Bay Area teachers elected by fans made the trip and will be honored during a pre-game ceremony today, league officials said.

Keith Debro of Oakland Technical High School and Tracy Ruiz of Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville were selected by A's and Giants fans, respectively, as part of the All-Star Teachers campaign.

Thirty teachers, one for each MLB team, will be honored during the ceremony before the American League and National League squads face off at 8 p.m. EDT.

Debro has been a teacher for 25 years and is currently a special education teacher. He developed a mentoring program at two Oakland elementary schools during and after school to prepare students entering Oakland Tech.

In a statement, Debro said he attended the first game the A's ever played in Oakland on April 17, 1968, just after the team moved from Kansas City. The A's lost 4-1 to the Baltimore Orioles, but Debro said, "I've remained a fan ever since."

Ruiz has been a teacher for 17 years and draws inspiration from life's challenges and adversity, according to her bio for the All-Star game.

She said in a statement that she began following the Giants because of the story of pitcher Dave Dravecky. Dravecky came back to MLB after being diagnosed with cancer in his pitching arm but broke it mid-game in 1989 and never returned to baseball.

Eventually, his arm had to be amputated, but Dravecky overcame again and began a new career as a motivational speaker.

"My love for the Giants began with Dave Dravecky, as I followed his inspirational journey," Ruiz said. "There's no place I'd rather be—school night or summer evening—than surrounded by thousands of fans, all cheering for the best team in baseball."

A student with heart disease inspired her to become a camp counselor for children with heart disease to better understand her student's challenges.

Ruiz also left anonymous gifts for three underprivileged students one holiday season and later started the "Winter Wishes" program to make holiday wishes come true for hundreds of community members.

© Copyright 2014 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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