Draft day is a big day for any athlete.
However, it must have been an especially meaningful day for New York Mets draftee Eric Orze, who was drafted in the 5th round (150th overall). This is because Orze has defeated cancer not once, but twice.
The 22 year old pitcher is from the University of New Orleans. Because of his fight against testicular and skin cancer, Orze could not participate part of 2018 season and completely missed the 2019 season.
Despite his battle against cancer, Mets scouts thought highly of Orze’s fastball and especially his splitter. Mets’ Vice President for scouting, Tommy Tanous, also acknowledged that there is absolutely no doubt that Orze is a tenacious fighter who will never give up on or off the mound.
Tanous, who referred to his new pitcher as ‘kid’, did not spare his praise for Orze. He said Orze is truly a special pitcher who can really fight on the mound, and said that it was an appropriate and perfect last pick for his organization.
Orze’s career has already had multiple ups and downs despite his young age. Although he was big gain for New Orleans, Orze performed terribly in his first season because of constant pains in the stomach. After initially thinking that it was just a passing strain, Orze said he didn’t believe the diagnosis.
In fact, the pitcher said that he first laughed when his doctor told him that he had cancer. It is no surprise that a college freshman athlete did not expect to have cancer. Orze says that when he realized what he just heard, he just started crying like a baby.
Over the summer, Orze went through a tough battle against cancer, including many surgeries. One of the surgeries was to remove his lymph node after the doctors found abnormalities with it, which affected his breathing.
Before the seasons were cut short because of the global pandemic, Orze had been having a great season. He was posting a 2.75 ERA while going 3-0 and striking 29 hitters out over 19 2/3 innings.
Mets general manger Brodie Van Wagenen said that he respected Orze for never giving up baseball despite his condition, adding that he is happy to provide Orze an opportunity to prove himself in a professional level.
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Replaced!