You would have no idea former Mets pitcher Anthony Young is dealing with an inoperable brain tumor the way he’s approaching his recovery.
Young, a fan favorite during his six-year career for taking his baseball misfortune lightheartedly, has brought that same level of optimism to his grueling treatment schedule. The 51-year-old, who revealed his diagnosis at Mets fantasy camp in January, opened up on Sports Talk 1240 Sunday night about the progress he’s made since doctors discovered the “dangerous” cancer.
“I was having blurred vision and my wife took me to the emergency room, and I did all kinds of tests — EKGs, spinal taps — and everything came back normal,” he told the Long Island station. “I got an MRI, and they found I had a tumor in my brain stem, which is too dangerous to try to get a biopsy on, so we just treated it like it was cancer.”
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Beloved ex-Mets pitcher has 'inoperable brain tumor' 0:0 Former Mets pitcher Anthony Young, a New York fan favorite,… Young said he followed up two straight months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment with his current, alternating schedule that includes five days of chemotherapy and 23 days off.
“I’m doing great,” he said. “I never got sick behind it, I drove myself every day to chemo, I never missed a day of work. … I had an MRI the other day, and the tumor actually shrunk some.”
Through all the doctor visits, the Texas native has managed to oversee the Kingwood-based baseball facility he’s owned since 2011. “The Madden Zone,” open five days a week, features 12 batting cages and pitching machines for Texas prospects, like Young once was.
The right-hander was drafted by the Mets out of the University of Houston in 1987 and made his major-league debut four years later. Young still is considered one of baseball’s unluckiest pitchers for going winless from April 1992 to May 1994. He also holds the record for the most consecutive losses with 27, which he recorded from 1992-93 as both a starter and reliever for the Mets.
Young was traded to the Cubs in 1994, where he played two seasons, before ending his career in his hometown with the Astros. He retired in 1996 with a 15-48 record and a collection of good-luck charms he received from fans.
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