The home run comes from Houston Astros slugger Carlos Lee, a native of Panama who owns a ranch in his native country as well as a ranch south and west of Houston. Lee toured the coastline earlier this week in a helicopter with Texas Ag Commissioner Todd Staples and, struck by the hurt that is out there in ranch country, donated $25,000 and 300 bales of hay to the ranch relief efforts.

"As a cattleman, this can happen to anybody," Lee said. "That's why I'm here today, to make a donation and to help. I'm going to donate $25,000 to this cause. That can help us get started. If everybody does a little bit at a time, I think we can help. If this happens to you, you want to feel like there's help out there."

Lee and Staples estimated they saw to 2,000 to 3,000 stray cattle from the air as they toured the hardest hit areas along the coast between Galveston and the Louisiana border.

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