Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris announced Thursday that his thyroid cancer is in remission after undergoing an operation to remove a malignant growth.
“I just want to thank everyone for the thoughts & prayers. Surgery was successful & I am Cancer Free,” wrote Norris on Instagram.
Norris made his cancer diagnosis public on Oct. 19. The 22-year-old was initially diagnosed with the disease in April 2014, yet he played through the entire 2015 season, explaining, “Baseball kept me sane.”
After five starts for the Toronto Blue Jays this MLB season, Norris was demoted to Triple-A before being traded to Detroit in late July as part of the David Price deadline deal.
Then Norris got another shot at the big leagues, making eight starts for the Tigers and posting a 2-1 record with a 3.68 ERA and an impressive 1.01 WHIP in that stint. He pitched five perfect innings in a Sept. 22 start against the Chicago White Sox and also homered off Jon Lester in his first plate appearance against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 19.
The southpaw did extraordinarily well while facing a life-threatening disease. With his demonstrated resilience and evident potential as a pitcher, Norris figures to be a significant part of Detroit’s future with his health squared away.
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