Ken Hubbs Honors Dominick Gallegos

COLTON >> Sixteen. It is not the regular number for the Ken Hubbs Memorial Little League’s All-Star team boys division, but it is the most important number of all. If you attended a game last year, you would count 13 boys on the field. This year, however, the story is a little different. This year, 12 members are out on the field, and one watches from the dugout every game, keeping the spirit of the team alive. With the number ‘16’ scrawled on the back — the same '16' that Hubbs himself had on his jersey during his Little League career — first pick Dominick Gallegos’ jersey hangs in the dugout at every game, reminding the boys of their most important team player. “I asked the president if we could make him an honorary member of the team,” said Mark Chavez, manager of the All-Stars team. “We got the jersey so we could make it that he was part of the team, because he would have been if he had been here.” Dominick, a former student at Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School in Colton, had been a part of the league since he was 5 years old and was a previous member of the Ken Hubbs All-Stars team. On April 12, 12-year-old Dominick was playing soccer at school when he slipped and lost consciousness on the field. He was transported to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and was pronounced dead later that afternoon. His father, Joel, said Dominick was looking forward to being a part of the All-Stars team again, but that the draft was not announced until June. “He had made the team the previous years, and he was very excited to play on this year’s All-Star team,” Joel said. “I remember telling him, ‘You know, you’re not automatically going to be on the team. You got to work hard and play hard and hopefully they pick you.’ He was up to the challenge.” Chavez explained when the draft rolled around, he knew he wanted Dominick to be first pick. “It’s the best we could do,” he said. Chavez cleared it with Ken Hubbs Memorial Little League president Eric Castillo and then he cleared it with Joel. “I told him we would put (the jersey) up every game,” Chavez said. “I knew he would have been part of the team if he was still here.” Joel, who was a previous manager of the Cubs, a team in the Majors Baseball division, said that it touched his heart. “It touched everybody, a lot of heart,” said Robert Williams, assistant coach to manager Ricardo Ruiz of Minors Baseball division team the Angels. “All of the kids were upset. They really liked him.” While Williams was never manager of Dominick’s team, he and his son played basketball with him at Gonzales Community Center. “He was a real good player, a real good kid, a real good friend to all the kids,” Williams said. “He would do anything for you. He was just a great all-around kid and a good athlete. He needs to be remembered.” And remembered he is. True to his word, Chavez said that Dominick’s jersey has traveled with them since the season has begun, and now that the season is over, the jersey will be given to Dominick’s family: his father Joel, his mother Charmaine, his 20-year-old sister Illisa and his 7-year-old sister Gabriela. “(The jersey) is going to go as far as they go,” Williams said. When asked what kind of impact Dominick had on his teammates and friends, Joel said he brought out the best in people. “He always wanted to have fun and laugh and joke around,” he said. “I saw that there were a couple of his teammates that were normally quiet, and so when they were around Dominick, it was different. There were times when I would have to tell them, ‘Hey, settle down. You’re having too much fun.’” According to Chavez, the boys can feel Dominick’s presence at every game and know that he is there. “We know that he’s in the dugout with us, watching over us,” he said. In the three months since Dominick’s passing, what can only be described as an outpouring of love from the Colton community has covered the Gallegos family. Hundreds attended the vigil held for Dominick the day after his death, and a car wash organized by Ken Hubbs Memorial Little League shortly after raised more than $7,000 to help the family cover funeral expenses. “My family and I appreciate everything Ken Hubbs has done for Dominick,” Joel said. “Words can’t express how good we feel to know that Ken Hubbs is taking care of Dominick this year.”