The Philadelphia Phillies are mourning the lack of minor league pitcher Corey Phelan, who died at 20 from cancer, announced on thursday by the team.
Phelan, a left-handed pitcher who was recognized with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in April, was signed as an undrafted free agent out of high school in 2020, who was recognized with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in April. “Corey is and at all times be a special person,” tweeted by the Phillies Player Development account that Phillies director of player development Preston Mattingly stated in a press release “His smile lit up a room and everybody who got here involved with him cherished the interplay. His reminiscence will stay on, particularly with the Phillies group.”
Phelan’s good friend and minor league teammate, pitcher Jake McKenna, 20, paid tribute to him on Instagram.
“Meeting Corey and having the friendship we had was an absolute blessing and altered my life,” McKenna wrote. “On a regular basis he pushed me to be a greater person and at all times put a smile on my face. He lit up each room he walked in and made an influence on everybody he met. I’m devastated I missed my finest good friend however extremely grateful I had as a lot time as I did with him. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.” The Phillies stated in a assertion that Phelan will probably be remembered for his “optimistic presence and selflessness” that “influenced everybody round him.”
“Whereas he was extremely passionate in regards to the sport of baseball, his love for his household and his sturdy religion outmoded every little thing else,” the crew stated within the assertion. “We prolong our deepest condolences to his household, in addition to his teammates and employees who have been by his facet, offering emotional assist all through the course of his brave battle with most cancers.”