Jameson Taillon has Surgery for Suspected Cancer
We ought to consider Jameson Taillon the person before we consider Jameson Taillon the pitcher.
On Sunday, the Pirates sent burgeoning top-of-the-rotation arm to the 10-day disabled list for groin discomfort. A day later, the club announced that Taillon had undergone surgery for suspected testicular cancer.
Pirates announce Jameson Taillon was treated this morning at Allegheny General Hospital for suspected testicular cancer. pic.twitter.com/JLM3KpxEBQ
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 8, 2017
Taillon has already dealt with a number of health issues in his young career, from Tommy John surgery that robbed him of his 2014 minor-league season and a hernia setback that stole 2015 from him. Now he deals with a much more serious health complication.
I had a number of personal encounters and interviews with Taillon during my time as a beat writer covering the Pirates. Despite being just 25 years of age, Taillon was one of the most introspective and earnest Pirates players in the clubhouse. He had a maturity and humility about him, perhaps enhanced from the obstacles he had overcome to arrive in a major league clubhouse. He was also interesting, something of a coffee and Netflix connoisseur. Taillon allowed the media in more than most players. He was human and relatable. He is especially so today. As a writer you tend to find yourself rooting for people — and your game story — more than teams, and Taillon was always a player many enjoyed seeing have success. Everyone is, of course, rooting for Taillon now. Nearly everyone has been touched in some way by cancer. If the issues is indeed cancerous, hopefully it was caught early and will be treated effectively.
After his surgery Monday, Taillon sent out a message on social media, showing as much resolve as ever to pick up where he left off in regard to his promising career.
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon50) May 8, 2017
It is, of course, a secondary matter what his loss means to the Pirates, but the loss will have a real, and very negative, on-the-field consequences for the club.
The Pirates have already dealt with a number of setbacks. From Jung Ho Kang’s legal trouble and inability to gain a work visa to enter the country, to Starling Marte’s 80-game PED suspension and the struggles of Gregory Polanco and Andrew McCutchen, little seems to be going right for the Pirates.
One thing that was working in the club’s favor was a surprisingly robust starting rotation.
The Pirates’ rotation entered play Monday ranked third in the majors in FIP (3.62) and fifth in WAR (2.9). Ivan Nova, remarkably, has more complete games than walks as a Pirate. Gerrit Cole is in his 2015 form when he finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting. The erratic but talented Tyler Glasnow could perhaps be turning a corner after a quality outing on Sunday, and Taillon had picked up where he left off in 2016, when he completed an impressive rookie season.
Through his first 35 innings this season, Taillon has posted a 3.31 ERA, 4.05 FIP and 0.4 WAR. To date in his young career, he has a 20.3% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate. It is remarkable command given the time he has missed to injury. He also picked up an effective two-seamer on the fly as a rookie last season and has posted a 52% ground ball rate, which spoke to his aptitude, openness to new ideas and coach-ability.
This is not the type of arm, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft, that will easily be replaced.
While the Mets and Giants have seen their playoff odds take hits early this season due to injury, opening the door to a Wild Card race that could live up to its name, the Pirates entered Monday in last place in the NL Central (14-17) and with 13.3% odds of reaching the postseason. Those odds took a hit with Monday’s awful news.
The Pirates were already being tested to overcome the loss of arguably their best two position players. While Kang and Marte were lost due to their own missteps and choices, it is a terrible health luck that removes one of the Pirates best from their rotation. Should the Pirates remain out of the race at the deadline, it will be interesting to see how much tearing down the club does. McCutchen could be on the move, and the club could receive excellent returns for a Cole or Nova should it consider a more extreme tear down. But that is discussion to consider more deeply on another occasion. The Pirates’ playoff odds seem relatively meaningless at the moment.
Despite missing two entire seasons of competition due to elbow and hernia surgeries, Taillon vowed to return better than ever. He debuted last season in the majors with an excellent rookie campaign. Taillon vowed to return again Monday, just as he has done in the past. The baseball world is rooting for him.
A Cleveland native, FanGraphs writer Travis Sawchik is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Big Data Baseball. He also contributes to The Athletic Cleveland, and has written for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, among other outlets. Follow him on Twitter @Travis_Sawchik.
Lovely piece. I wish all the best for him during his road to recovery.
Ditto that. Hoping he rebounds from this as well as Mike Lowell did after his testicular cancer.
Thanks for mentioning Mike Lowell, too. His surgery happened right at the beginning of a great career, so the prognosis for full recovery is excellent. I notice Lowell came back after two months: “underwent surgery on February 21 returning to the lineup on May 29”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lowell
Fortunately, if you detect testicular cancer early you’ve got an excellent chance of taking care of it through surgery. I really hope this is what happened, although my understanding (maybe incorrect) is that if you’re experiencing pain it’s not that early anymore. I hope I’m wrong about that, and if I’m not I can only hope that the “groin discomfort” was from the surgery and not what led to the surgery.
Also, dear heavens that’s horrible and I hope he’s okay.
Safe to say this isn’t the type of news I was hoping to see. Best of luck to both Taillon and Chad Bettis.
As usual, thank for the high end prose Travis, and wishing Taillon a speedy recovery from surgery.
4.05 WHIP,looks too high for a 3.31 ERA. A typo?
Should read, FIP. Should be fixed
Short story:
Had a college buddy who was an awesome guy, met and married the girl of his dreams and went on to medical school. Just when he was interning, he discovered — doctor, diagnose thyself — a lump where there had never been a lump before. Young men in good circumstances in western world have little to fear, but there is this: he had testicular cancer. Still, he’d found the lump, caught it early; so he got the surgery and the prognosis looked great. About 18 months later, during a follow-up, they found a suspicious mass in his abdomen (right at the lower limit of what they could detect; again, they caught it early). It had spread to his lymph nodes. A young man, newly married, and down to his last testicle: he froze some sperm samples and went into chemo. Two years later, with the cancer seeming finally to be in remission, he and his wife had an IVF (aka test-tube) baby. Still clear of cancer and back as a doctor, he switched out of the surgery path and went into emergency medicine. The small family picked up and moved to a new city. His wife now pregnant again, I asked where they had this second fertilization done. Laughing, he said, “At home.” Eventually they had a third kid, also the old-fashioned way. Those kids are all teenagers now. And the boys definitely know to look for a lump where there had never been a lump before.
Last year when I was visiting him and he was on call — there’d been a bad car accident, and he was waiting to hear whether the hospital needed a trauma doc to meet the air ambulance — I asked him how many lives he’d saved. He shrugged and said, “A couple every shift, I guess.” He’s been doing this now for 20 years. The math boggles. But of course he hasn’t saved them all. Nobody could. Still I know every life that has passed through his hands, on the way back to the light or on into the dark, has been accorded an extra measure of compassion because as a young man he was once where they were, on a gurney beneath a cloud of uncertainty and fear.
The glory of young men is that they think themselves immortal. The tragedy is that this is never so: even the lucky ones merely live to face the ignominy of growing old. But while they’re young, oh the amazing things they can do. As a doctor in an ER, certainly, but also in a garage or a studio, on a pitchers mound or at the plate. If you’re a young man reading this, you can do amazing things too.
Just remember to look for lumps where there had never been a lump before.
Good luck, Jameson Taillon. We will likely never meet, but I wish you the best.
Thank you for relating this inspiring story. Travis’s wonderful article and your story lift us up a little bit as we all wish Jameson a complete recovery and return to the hill, and while we are in our thoughts let us not forget Chad Bettis as he continues his battle.
Joser, that might be the best PSA I’ve ever read.
Wishing Taillon a full, speedy recovery. His incredible drive, fortitude and resolve brought a tear to my eye.
Ugh, never like to read or hear the word cancer when regards to anyone! Good luck to Jameson, here’s to hoping he comes back with a 100% vengeance.
Really balanced article. Taillon is a player i really pull for. Always impressed by his poise and command. I pray to God he comes out of this well. Although the article was terrific, i found it interesting and not surprisng that it was painted as complimentary that he “lets the media in”….