Faced with a decision between a few more months of the MLB season and shutting himself down to get a cancerous growth removed from body, Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris — incredibly — chose baseball.
On Monday, Norris revealed that he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer a few months ago, but the 22-year-old rookie opted to wait until after the baseball season to have surgery to remove the growth from his thyroid. He's having surgery soon and went public with this story, saying baseball helped him get through the difficult diagnosis. From his Instagram account:
I've been debating for months as to how or even if I should share this with people. - I'm a firm believer in the power of prayer. So now, I'm asking for prayers. - A few months ago, after I was optioned to AAA, I found out I had a growth on my thyroid. Flying back & forth from Toronto to Buffalo after pitching to have more and more tests done it was finally concluded that the growth is considered malignant.. Meaning it contained the C word.. cancer. Hearing this was alarming, yea. Weird, yea, that too. I was given the option to shut my year down & get it removed immediately. However, seeing another doctor that determined I could wait until the end of the season reassured my gut feeling. Just Keep Playing. Baseball kept me sane. Regardless of results on the field, I forgot about it when I was between the lines. Afterall, I was just trying to get the heck out of AAA. & I did. I was revived with an opportunity, a blessing from God, with the Tigers back in the Big Leagues. So yea, the power of prayer.. It got me through this season. Now that it's over it's time to get this thing out, so please keep me in your thoughts & prayers as I undergo surgery & come out 100% cancer free! As always,,, #justkeeplivin
Norris was the key piece for the Tigers in the trade that sent David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays. He finished the season with a 3-2 record and a 3.75 ERA in 13 starts for the Jays and Tigers, including what was almost a combined no-hitter for Detroit.
Norris' diagnosis came before the trade to Tigers. The club knew about it and expects him back for spring training, according to Tony Paul of The Detroit News. Tigers GM Al Avila told reporters: "We were very happy with how [Norris] pitched for us and expect for him to recover and compete for spot in the rotation."
When that happens, Norris won't be the only young pitcher to have beaten cancer and returned to baseball. Jon Lester, during his rookie season with the Boston Red Sox, was diagnosed with lymphoma. He underwent chemotherapy treatments in the offseason and returned to the Red Sox the next season.
When he arrived in the big leagues this season, Norris became known as the pitcher who lived in a van down near the river. Next year, if all goes right, he'll be known as the young pitcher who beat cancer.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
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