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Baseball

Fighting for more than spot on roster

Padres lefty Rob Ramsay had two operations for a brain tumor. His chemo is almost complete.

©Associated Press
March 1, 2003

PEORIA, Ariz. -- It's not every player's spring training routine. Last week, left-hander Rob Ramsay went in for chemotherapy, took a day off, then returned to Padres camp the next day.

"Everybody's different, how they respond to certain drugs and medications," Ramsay said. "Fortunately, my medication is something that's more tolerable for me."

Ramsay is inspiring teammates and fans as he tries to return from an operation 13 months ago to remove a brain tumor. He never has considered himself special but agrees it would be a remarkable story if he succeeds.

"If this is something that can make people feel good, I'm all for it," he said.

You can't miss the zipper scar across his scalp, spanning from one ear to the other, and he's easy to spot. Just look for the guy always wearing a batting helmet when he steps out of the clubhouse.

"It's great to see him out here," San Diego manager Bruce Bochy said. "It's been inspiring for all of us. We're proud of him."

Diagnosed with brain cancer 18 months ago, Ramsay, 29, missed last season recovering from surgery. By midsummer, Ramsay felt strong and doctors cleared him for workouts.

"I was feeling real good doing that, getting ready to let (general manager) Kevin (Towers) know I'm ready to go," Ramsay said.

Then a routine MRI showed the tumor had returned. Ramsay had a second surgery.

"It wasn't frightening. It was more disappointing," he said.

By October, Ramsay felt healthy enough again to go pheasant hunting with friends near his home in Pullman, Wash. He knew he faced another health problem, though, when he kept falling. Doctors diagnosed an equilibrium disorder and determined the cause was a blood clot, removed in November.

Since then, Ramsay has had chemotherapy every six weeks, with his final treatment scheduled for the end of March. He also is getting nutritional help from his wife, Samantha, a registered dietitian.

His diet emphasizes whole grains, whole foods, vegetables and fruits, and every two weeks or so he gets a hamburger.

"We're not sitting down to salad and carrot sticks every night," she said. "We sit down and eat healthy meals, and it works well enough to sustain a professional baseball player."

Ramsay is back in playing shape, hoping to throw in the majors again. But it won't happen right away.

Bochy said the organization plans to bring Ramsay back very deliberately, perhaps keeping him in Peoria for extended spring training.

Ramsay reached the majors with the Mariners and had six appearances late in the 1999 season. A year later he appeared in 37 games, mostly in relief. Sent down to Triple-A Tacoma in 2001, he was 10-11 with a 4.82 ERA in 26 starts before his cancer diagnosis.

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