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How Cole Hamels motivated the Rangers’ No. 1 draft pick

Cole Ragans had been hoping for the moment for eight months.

Since he was the Texas Rangers’ first round selection in June’s amateur draft, the left-hander was already giddy at the prospect of meeting Cole Hamels in person.

On Tuesday in Surprise, he not only met Hamels, he spent the entire day with him.

Ragans, 19, said he was nervous as he walked from the minor-league locker room to the one for major-leaguers. “But as soon as I met him everything was good, all the butterflies went away,” he said.

When I was walking from our locker room to that locker room I was very nervous.