Community Steps in to Help Replace 9-Year-Old Girl's Collection of Baseball Cards After It Was Destroyed by Fire

San Jose man donates thousands of baseball cards to a 9-year-old girl who lost all her beloved collection during the Creek Fire in the Central Valley.

Reese Osterberg from Fresno County is a Giants fan, and she loves collecting baseball cards and laying them out as she watched her favorite team. However, in September, tragedy struck when the Creek Fire destroyed their home. She recalled that her mom got a call and started crying, and that was when she knew what was happening.

They then immediately evacuated, her mother grabbed photos while she grabbed her baseball glove. Sadly, she wasn't able to take her collection of 200 baseball cards with them. Osterberg said losing the cards was the hardest thing. "They meant a lot," she told KTVU, "some of them were prized possession." She said she is a huge fan, and her favorite was Buster Posey.

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When CAL FIRE learned about Reese and two teammates on her baseball team who, like her, also lost their homes, they set up a "Step Up To The Plate" campaign to collect baseball cards for the young fans. Immediately, many people from across the Valley responded, including some sports memorabilia shops, and saying they wanted to donate.

Some 150 miles away in San Jose, Kevin Ashford, 62, heard about her story on the radio. Speaking to ABC 7, his long time collection of some 25,000 baseball cards were from the late 90s through 2019. He said he got all these cards in his garage, and he thought of donating them to her and put a smile on her face. Ashford said that his intention is simply to make the little girl happy.

Ashford gave the collection to Bay Area firefighters and CHP officers who showed up at his home and loaded the cards into a CHP vehicle. He said they're all organized, and they are going to find some great cards in there, and he made sure that Osterberg gets a Posey card for herself. Speaking to KGO, he said, "the Buster Posey card is in the box. I looked at it this morning."

Last Friday, Oct. 30, Reese and her family went to the Cal Fire station near Prather for an interview. Then, in the middle of the Zoom call, a guest decided to drop in and surprised the diehard Giants fan - Giants Catcher Buster Posey. While it left her starstruck, Reese enjoyed every minute of the one-on-one with her favorite player. She also got signed baseball and new gear from her favorite team, the San Francisco Giants.

After getting a quick tour of the fire station, her last stop led her to the thousands of cards donated by Ashford. She said, "My brain just exploded." Her message to Ashford is that she wants to thank him and what he donated means a lot.

Reese's mother also became emotional. She said that the collection was something they had at home. It was something Reese did with her sister and her dog as they sit and go through them. She said it was a calming thing for the kids. 

Resse said that it was the best day she ever had, and they are planning to share baseball cards with others. 

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