Chad Bettis Throws Seven Scoreless Innings In His First Start Since Beating Cancer. Twice.
In one of the feel-good sports stories of the year, Chad Bettis returned to a major league mound last night after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer last December. After undergoing surgery to remove the testicle, Bettis was declared cancer free in January. Unfortunately, after going in for a biopsy prior to the start of the regular season, Bettis was again hit with hard news when he learned that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes. The 28-year-old then underwent nine weeks of chemotherapy this past March.
Nine months after discovering a lump that was later revealed to be testicular cancer, Bettis made his return to a major league mound in front of his friends and family, who were all in attendance, while receiving two standing ovations — one when he took the mound for the first time since his cancer diagnosis, and one more when he walked off the mound after seven shutout innings with a couple punchouts. And at 90 pitches, he probably could’ve gone one more inning under normal circumstances, but the last nine months have been anything but normal for Bettis.
It was a scoreless tie when Bettis exited the game, so he wasn’t able to pick up a win, but the Rockies put up a three spot in the bottom of the eighth, and that’s all she wrote. The NL West has been wrapped up since mid-June thanks to the Dodgers being an absolute juggernaut, but if the postseason started today, the Rockies would claim a Wild Card spot with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who, at 66-52, have an identical record to the Rockies.
Here’s to hoping that the Rockies hang on to earn a postseason spot so that more baseball fans can learn of Bettis’ inspiring story on the big stage.