Phillies

Another Former Phillie is Battling Brain Cancer

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: May 12th, 2021 · 9:11 AM EDT

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Well this is a bummer:

Extending prayers & best wishes to Darren’s teammate, David West in his fight against brain cancer. David pitched during the ‘93 Phillies World Series & is a supporter of the Foundation & its mission. We wish David; his wife Jennifer & family the best during this difficult time pic.twitter.com/0auYz22LXA

— Darren Daulton Foundation (@TheDDFoundation) May 12, 2021

David West played four seasons here and appeared in more than 70 games for the 1993 squad. He finished that regular season with a 2.92 ERA over 86 innings, with a career-high 9.01 strikeouts-per-nine number. West also played two playoff games, once in the NLCS and once in the World Series.

Oddly enough, Darren Daulton died of brain cancer back in August of 2017. You may recall he had 2013 surgery on a pair of tumors related to glioblastoma. He told everybody he was cancer-free two years later, but then it returned and he ultimately succumbed at 55 years old.

Johnny Oates, John Vukovich and Tug McGraw also died of the same exact thing.

From a CBS Philly article dating back to 2017:

University of Pennsylvania’s neurosurgeon John Lee says it’s not clear what causes glioblastoma, which is the deadliest form of brain cancer.

…

“Although we’re getting a rash of Phillies baseball players, it’s probably just the statistical anomaly and probably nothing we would be able to prove scientifically,” Lee said.

There has been speculation that AstroTurf or some unknown toxin at the old Veterans Stadium could explain the high cancer rate.

“We currently have very little info or science to prove there’s any kind of association with brain cancer with anything that you’re exposed to,” Lee said.

It’s so strange. Another Phillie dealing with brain cancer? If this is a “statistical anomaly” then it’s certainly a head scratcher. Hope David West pulls through and wins this battle.