Rockies’ Bettis ‘ready to go’ after beating cancer
Right-hander had surgery to remove testicle in November.
One night in November, Chad Bettis found a lump in the wrong place before going to sleep.
The C o l o r a d o Roc k i e s pitcher then gave himself an ultimatum: “If I found it again in the morning, I needed to step up and say (something).”
He followed through and received a diagnosis of testicular cancer. He underwent surgery to remove one of his testicles Nov. 29.
There have been no complications, and subsequent tests, including results he got at a doctor’s visit on Wednesday, have shown him to be cancer-free.
“I feel great,” said Bettis, who turns 28 on April 26. “I’m ready to go.”
The right-hander realizes he can be a source of inspiration for people dealing with cancer and is eager to spread the word that the disease can be beaten.
Whe t h e r h i s me s s a g e “reaches everybody or just one person, that’s good,” he said. “The key is early detection.”
He still will undergo more CT scans and blood work, though with less frequency, from every three months to every six months then annually.
Bettis’ situation has drawn more attention to one other aspect of his life: He really can pitch.
The past two seasons have represented a breakthrough for a player who had previously been inconsistent. In 2015, he went 8-6 with a 4.23 ERA in 20 starts. Last season, Bettis had 32 starts, going 14-8 with a 4.79 ERA.
This season, he likely will be at or near the top of the team’s starting rotation.
He has been in the Rockies organization for seven years, but, “A couple years ago was the first time I could honestly say that I felt really comfortable being able to throw a fastball down and away whenever I wanted to. That had a lot to do with the success I’ve had the last couple of years. Everything works off my fastball.”
He seemed to realize just how effective he can be when he threw a two-hit shutout vs. San Francisco — at home at Coors Field, no less — in a 6-0 win on Sept. 5.
“I’m a Chad Bettis fan,” said Bud Black, the Rockies’ new manager. “I like his weapons.”
Arbitration: Padres first baseman Wil Myers landed the biggest raise of all the hefty salary increases in arbitration. The 168 players eligible for arbitration as of mid-December averaged a 113 percent raise, according to a study by The Associated Press on Thursday.
Myers received a 26-fold increase from $523,900 to an average of $13.8 million as part of an $83 million, sixyear contract.
Rangers: Josh Hamilton is back at camp in Arizona after an examination in Texas showed no structural damage to his surgically repaired left knee. Hamilton said he felt a sudden pain when doing some running drills during the first full- squad workout two days earlier. After a platelet-rich plasma injection in his knee, Hamilton, 35, said he hopes to resume hitting by Monday.
Ya n k e e s : S c h e d u l e d opening-day starter Masahiro Tanaka threw 74 pitches off a bullpen mound and during a simulated game in preparation for his first spring training appearance next week. Tanaka went 14-4 with a 3.07 ERA last year.
Phillies: Pete Rose is on the ballot for the club’s wall of fame, his first association with the team since he was banned from baseball in 1989.
White Sox: The club plans to retire the No. 56 worn by former ace Mark Buehrle before a game June 24.