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David Hess will join the Tampa Bay Rays for spring training as things get underway in the coming days. But several months ago, it was unclear whether Hess would be pitching at all, or if the 28-year-old would even be alive for the start of the season.
Hess, who has played parts of four Major League Baseball seasons since he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2014, was diagnosed with cancer in October. After he threw up blood in the shower, doctors discovered a cantaloupe-sized tumor in his chest, as reported by Jerry Crasnick of the MLB Players Association website. Doctors estimated the mass had been growing for at least 18 months, and perhaps even three years.
Speaking to Crasnick, Hess revealed some of the sobering details about his diagnosis and treatment and shared that two players, including former Boston Red Sox reliever Daniel Bard, were among those who kept his spirits up.
Hess leaned on Baltimore Orioles star Trey Mancini for advice regarding his medical situation, as Mancini recently battled colon cancer. But he credited Bard, who was in the midst of his major-league comeback attempt, with helping him through "the mental side" of his situation.
The pair worked out together when baseball was shut down in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and became partners in the bullpen and weight room and friends off the field.
"I knew I liked him because he always had a smile on his face from the time I met him," Bard told Crasnick. "It was almost to the point where you're like, 'This guy can't be that happy.' And it just never ends. He chose to take a positive outlook on this because he knew it was going to give him the best chance."
In January, Hess learned his tumor was "99 percent gone." He will undergo another scan in March.
"I could have died a few months ago, and here I am," Hess told Crasnick. "It really shifts things into a good light. You want to go out and just enjoy things for what they are. It's more about making impacts as you go -- not just on the field, in the clubhouse, and with all the people you come in contact with."
