A home run with troops

It started off as a simple request.

"Hey Mom, can you send me some baseballs and gloves over here?" Army Sgt. Michael Ganatos e-mailed from Afghanistan.

Being the mother that she is, Sherrie Ganatos got on it right away.

Through word of mouth, the Rolling Meadows resident got connected to the owner of a local sports store to see if he could help out.

Last week, she walked into the Sports Scene in Palatine and walked out with an armful of baseballs and gloves, courtesy of owner Steve Biro.

"He gave me three mitts off the shelves and the price tags were still on," she said. "I was floored."

Now, just days later, Biro has set up a collection box in the store at 712 E. Northwest Hwy., asking for donations of used baseball equipment for the troops.

He's already contacted the local park district and baseball leagues asking if they have anything to give.

"If you think about it, a lot of the (soldiers) from this area are former high school athletes," he said. "What's more homey than sports?"

Ganatos, 23, goes by "Jed" and has been deployed to Iraq twice before this latest tour in Afghanistan.

He is a 2002 graduate of Rolling Meadows High School and joined the Army that year.

Actions like this mean the world to him, he said in an e-mail to the Daily Herald.

"I was shocked when I found out what Steve was doing for us," he said. "People like this Steve guy are what makes it easier to be deployed."

Playing baseball with his buddies makes the time go by faster and builds camaraderie, he said.

"There is not much to do … you can go to the gym, but who wants to work out every day on their spare time?" he said. "We find things to do that amuse us, whether it be making something out of steel or playing soccer, basketball or baseball."

Getting sports equipment isn't so easy. It has to be sent from home, he says.

"I am sure many troops asked for the same thing I have, but not many have met a man like Steve who will go out of his way to help us," Ganatos said.