A pitcher's story: Luke "Live Strong" Lawson

[AZTarHeel]

Luke Lawson remembers vividly the day he was diagnosed with cancer.

It was a dreary, overcast September afternoon. He was sitting in a drab doctor’s office at Duke University Medical Center. On one side sat his parents. On the other, his grandfather – a stately old fellow that everyone simply called “Pappy.”

The doctor was so blunt about it.

“Well the pathology report confirmed what we were thinking. The growth on your leg is malignant.”

Cancer – at age 17. Whoa.

The next 10 minutes became a blur as the doctor showed him MRI images of his infected left leg, talked about surgery options, worried about metastasis and threw around stats on cure rates and five-year survival like a sports fan reading the morning box scores.

As soon as the doctor left the room to check on another patient – a calculated move to allow the Lawson clan to process everything – Luke collapsed on his grandfather’s shoulder and cried. It was a good cry that lasted for several minutes. Luke’s parents joined in.

“Well, grandpa. It looks like we have more in common than our love of baseball,” Luke said. “We also both have cancer.”

Those words made Luke’s father shudder. He could very well lose his dad and his only son to this dreaded disease… Sometimes life just didn’t make sense…

[AZTarHeel]

When the doctor returned with a game plan for the surgery, Pappy asked the question that was on everyone’s mind.

“What about the boy’s baseball career?"

The doc knew this question was coming but still hemmed and hawed. Luke was a bit of a hero in Asheville, located in Western North Carolina, and had been since pitching a local Little League All-Star crew to a state runner-up finish as a 12-year-old.

“Well, we’re very confident that this surgery will be successful and that Luke will be able to live a healthy and active life. But this is a serious surgery. I don’t see him playing baseball at the level he’s used to for quite some time. Certainly not this coming year for sure. Sorry about that.”

Those words were like a dagger into Luke’s heart. Here he was a senior getting ready for his final season as a high school player. Just this past spring and summer, colleges had started calling on him and mentioning scholarships. Even some pro scouts had started collecting data on him and hinting that he might be picked in the upcoming 2004 amateur draft next June.

One scout from the Brewers had been really impressed with Luke’s performance at a Summer Showcase tournament in Tennessee. Being a lifetime Braves fan, Luke had hoped Atlanta would show some interest as well.

While his parents tried to comfort him with kind words and backrubs, Luke quietly resolved to himself – “I will play baseball again. This year. For my high school…”

[AZTarHeel]

The surgery went as well as expected for Luke. He was in the hospital for three days, then came home, missing another week of school. Before long he was up and around on crutches. He threw soft-toss with his younger sister, Molly, in the backyard nearly every day.

By late fall, Luke had started wandering down to the high school field to “assist” his teammates with their off-season workouts. Of course, he wasn’t supposed to participate but he did. Eventually, he started throwing BP for the guys. That then progressed to full bullpen work (without the doctors knowing of course).

That first “real” pitch Luke threw from the mound sent a tingle up his spine. It felt GREAT! And the leg didn’t hurt at all. Just a little awkward.

January was the most stressful time. That brought a trip back to Duke hospital for a three-month check-up, plus more batteries of tests to see if in fact the cancer had stayed gone. He worried, since Pappy’s cancer had been much more persistent.

Taking the tests was fine. Waiting for results for a few days was pure torture.

The afternoon the Lawsons were to meet with his docs to go over the test findings had to be the most nerve-wracking time of all. Pappy slipped into a small chapel in the hospital while the others sat in the waiting room.

“Lord, I’ve lived a great life. I was blessed with a great marriage of 47 years until Millie passed away two years ago. We raised three awesome kids. And now I’m around to enjoy grand-kids. Thank you, especially, for Luke and getting to be a part of his life these past 17 years.

“He’s a real special kid, with a full life in front of him. Lord, if there is any cancer left in that boy, I’ll gladly take it on myself. Give it to me and let him be free to live and love and dream and just savor your creation. I’m willing, Lord, to take that burden of disease from him…Amen.”

An hour later, the doctor came into the room beaming.

“You’re clean as a whistle, kid. We want to keep monitoring you very closely the next few years. But I really like your progress. Right now, I'm writing on your chart NED, which means No Evidence of Disease…

“Oh by the way, consider yourself cleared to play baseball this spring. Have a good season…”

[AZTarHeel]

Luke’s senior season was exceptional. He was one of the main starters and earned all-conference and all-state status for his great work on the mound. USA Today even put him as an honorable mention All-American. Wow.

Luke’s prep team didn’t win state but did advance to the 4A quarterfinals. He earned a pitching victory in the round of 16, a convincing 6-1 decision.

The best day, though, had come earlier in April. That’s when Luke’s team faced its biggest cross-town rival. Both schools were undefeated in conference play and looking to take over the top spot all to themselves. Luke gave that honor to his team – throwing a NO-HITTER!!

The best part – Luke’s granddad got to come to the game, sitting in a wheelchair just behind the fence. As he had done for so many of Luke’s contests over the years, Pappy sat there charting Luke’s pitches and keeping a detailed scorebook.

Luke dedicated the no-hitter to Pappy, whose cancer had become worse and worse over the past few months. The local newspaper took a picture of Luke signing the game ball and handing it to his granddad following the exciting contest, Luke’s first-ever no-hitter.

Pretty soon the story spread all over town, the county and was even reported in some statewide newspapers:

“Cancer surviving teen throws no-hitter in honor of his granddad, who is battling cancer.”

Six weeks later, however, Pappy lost his battle.

[AZTarHeel]

The last weeks of school were a blur for Luke. First, there were the state playoffs. Then, graduation and all of those related festivities. Then, Pappy’s death and funeral, and all sorts of relatives and friends coming to the house with casseroles and deserts.

Luke stayed mostly to himself during this time, reflecting on the last conversation he had with his granddad about a week before his passing. Pappy kept telling Luke how proud he was of him and how admired his fighting spirit.

Then, Pappy gave Luke back his game ball from the no-hitter. Pappy had signed it, too: “Live Strong, Luke! Love you, kid. Pappy.”

Wherever Luke’s life took him, the ball – and Pappy’s advice – would always follow.

“Just remember to think of me when you throw out that first Major League pitch,” Pappy had said.

No question about that… if he ever got there…

[AZTarHeel]

Luke’s resurgence as a high school senior brought the colleges and pro scouts back. He had signed with Western Carolina early in the spring, but told them if he was drafted in a decent round he would definitely have to consider going straight to the professional ranks.

The Brewers continued showing interest, as did the Royals and Mets. Unfortunately, the Braves didn’t really make a play. Maybe some day.

Draft day arrived and a bunch of Luke’s friends and family came by the house to see what transpired. Even a local reporter and photographer joined what was now becoming a party. Luke’s mom ordered plenty of pizza.

Drew Rutledge, who had been Luke’s catcher since the two were in Little League, kept tabs on the picks via the Internet.

“Check this out, Luke,” Drew said. “This site has a detailed scouting report on about everyone in the draft, including you.”

“What does it say about me?”

Luke Lawson… age 18… height: 6-2… weight: 195… throws: left… bats: right…

Overall rating: 3.5 stars out of 5…

Luke has all the makings of a solid big league starter. He has good stuff and really puts pressure on the hitter… His move to first is deceptively good, but he does tend to lose focus at times… His defense is adequate, and he doesn’t hurt himself too much with the glove… Bunting is no problem for Luke. He often moves runners into scoring position via the sacrifice.

That sounded pretty good, Luke thought to himself. But as the rounds clicked by, Luke started getting nervous. Maybe the scouts had just been playing him. Maybe no one really thought this way about him at all.

Midway through the eighth round the phone rang. Luke hadn’t jumped that much at a phone call since January while waiting for doctors’ reports on his cancer tests.

“Yes, this is Luke.”

“Hello, son, my name is Steve Brown, the lead scout for the Milwaukee Brewers. We’ve got our eye on picking you in the ninth round. If we made you our selection, would you be willing to sign with us? I know you’ve signed with Western Carolina. Here’s what we’d be willing to give you as a signing bonus if you’ll come play for us this summer…”

Luke’s draw dropped. It wasn’t millions or anything like that, but more money than he’d ever dreamed of having in his possession.

“Sir, how soon would you like me to be in Milwaukee?”

[AZTarHeel]

Actually, Luke ended up far away from Milwaukee. His first stop with the Brewers organization came with the Helena Brewers, a Class A rookie team that competes in the Pioneer League.

Instead of the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros, Lawson will get familiar with such foes as the Great Falls White Sox, Idaho Falls Chukars, Provo Angels, Ogden Raptors, Missoula Osprey and Billings Mustangs. Fine by him. It beats cancer.

Helena calls Kindrick Field its home. Premium seats cost $7 and general admission seats are $5. Will there be sausage races?

Johnny Narron manages Helena. Mark Littell will be his first pitching coach.

Carlos Ramos, a 23-year-old hot shot from the Dominican – who was Milwaukee’s first pitcher picked in the ’04 draft – is Luke’s new roommate. Ramos is the player getting most of the press in the Milwaukee media following the draft – and in Helena as well. At least for now…

[AZTarHeel]

I guess everyone knows where this one is going. I wanted to do a diary focused around one particular player, and I wanted to do something with a poor team – seeing if I could pull them into respectability.

Dsvitak is my inspiration for a lot of this dynasty format. I really love how he weaves a story together and how he builds teams into contenders (Willie Cotton Love and Bubba Jones being among my favorite dynasties on the boards). I wanted to make a pitcher who I thought could make the Majors, but I didn’t want an automatic Randy Johnson or anything. Luke’s a lefty and at least for now is a 3.5 star guy.

I actually created Luke too good at first, and the first version was drafted by Anaheim in the first round! So I made another Luke and changed the first guy’s name to my own – haha!! In the game, since I only had a 10-round draft, Luke was actually picked in the third round by the Brewers. Since the real life MLB draft has tons more rounds than that, I changed him to a ninth-round pick for the story line, since that’s somewhere in the top third…

My character got its inspiration from a real high school kid here in Arizona who did beat cancer and did throw a no-hitter this past spring as a senior. And, if I remember the newspaper article I read about it, his granddad – who was battling cancer at the time himself – was at the game charting pitches. A great story!!

And, cancer is close to my life as well. I’m actually a cancer patient myself right now trying to beat head-and-neck cancer. Writing about baseball and playing OOTP is a great diversion from radiation and chemo treatments. Like Luke, I intend to overcome and Live Strong!!

Hope folks enjoy this one. Feel free to comment on what you like, don’t like and would like to see… I’m using 2004 rosters from CBLCardinal… I am playing OOTP5 for now…

I don’t plan on editing Luke anymore aside from his initial creation… Not sure what I’ll do with this story if he tanks… He’s a strong kid and I guess he’ll will be all right…

One last note: I'm not discontinuing my Boston Red Sox's "Win at All Costs" story... I'm just taking a break from that one for awhile... I'd like to do the post-season with that one about the time the real post-season is going on...

[pat]

Originally Posted by AZTarHeel

And, cancer is close to my life as well. I’m actually a cancer patient myself right now trying to beat head-and-neck cancer. Writing about baseball and playing OOTP is a great diversion from radiation and chemo treatments. Like Luke, I intend to overcome and Live Strong!!

wow.. hope you can overcome it.. thanx for sharing your talent to us..

[AZTarHeel]

Luke Lawson, 18, takes some warm up tosses before his first pro start. Just don't ask him how his pre-game meal went.

Luke is as nervous as heck as he prepares for his first start as a professional. His parents have flown all the way to Helena, Montana to see it. He sees them in the “premium seats” reading a story about him in the local newspaper, The Independent Record.

They chuckle when they read the part about his teammates starting to call him “Live Strong” Luke because of the yellow Lance Armstrong band he wears on his right wrist. Pappy had even told him right before his death to “Live Strong.” It’s not exactly like being called The Big Unit, but it had a nice ring to it…

Luke is talking with pitching coach Mark Littell during warm-ups when all of the sudden something doesn’t feel right in his stomach and he makes a mad dash for the locker room.

“Where are you going, kid?” Littell asks, though he knows the answer. “Say good-bye to the pre-game meal.”

Yep, Luke loses all the pasta he put down before game time. Oh well…

The coaches all follow Luke into the bathroom…

“Wait, don’t flush that just yet,” Littell yells.

“Yeah, we’ve got to grade the rookie’s first upchuck,” manager Johnny Narron says. “Tradition you know.”

“Wow, I’d give that a 10 on volume and a 9 on style since there are still a lot of noodles intact,” Littell says.

“Yeah, but he only gets a 5.5 on the dismount. He missed the toilet quite a bit,” Narron says, cracking himself up. Wise guys…

Fortunately, the game goes much better than warm-ups for the 18-year-old bundle of nerves. Luke pitches seven strong innings – giving up seven hits, striking out five and walking three. Lawson doesn’t surrender a run and the Brewers beat the Great Falls White Sox 3-0! What a debut!

“We’re proud of you, son,” his dad says afterward… “Pappy would be too… What’s this I hear about you getting sick before the game?”

“Never mind that…”

[RMXO]

Originally Posted by AZTarHeel

And, cancer is close to my life as well. I’m actually a cancer patient myself right now trying to beat head-and-neck cancer. Writing about baseball and playing OOTP is a great diversion from radiation and chemo treatments. Like Luke, I intend to overcome and Live Strong!!

great read so far. i wish yah the best in beating cancer. my mom just recently had colon cancer, its her 3rd occurance of cancer & she beat it 3 times. it has takened a toll on my mom since she is so weak physically but she is doing great now.

if my mom can beat cancer 3 times, you should have no problem beating yours. i wish you & your family well during this hard time & keep up the good work.

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by RMXO

great read so far. i wish yah the best in beating cancer. my mom just recently had colon cancer, its her 3rd occurance of cancer & she beat it 3 times. it has takened a toll on my mom since she is so weak physically but she is doing great now.

if my mom can beat cancer 3 times, you should have no problem beating yours. i wish you & your family well during this hard time & keep up the good work.

Thanks a lot... this is my second bout with head and neck cancer... it's a pretty feisty cancer from what I've read so we've been really aggressive with treatments (chemo, radiation, etc.)... so far, so good on the latest round... I'm very confident this is going to knock it out... I've got too much life to live...

[And1pg2]

AZ your have cancer? I haven't read this whole thing really just schimmed. But if you do good luck with everything.

[YankeeFanatic04]

umm does this meaN ur not finishing ur Redsox Dynasty

[pat]

Originally Posted by AZTarHeel

One last note: I'm not discontinuing my Boston Red Sox's "Win at All Costs" story... I'm just taking a break from that one for awhile... I'd like to do the post-season with that one about the time the real post-season is going on...

i think thats the answer YankeeFanatic..

[AZTarHeel]

Luke’s second start doesn’t go quite as well… The Helena Brewers go on the road to face the Casper Rockies and lose 5-1… Luke is responsible for three of those runs and gets the loss… He does strike out six… No vomiting however…

Meanwhile in Milwaukee – pure futility. And it’s only mid-June… The team is 18-43, a half-game worse than the worst team in the AL (Detroit)…

I don’t even know where to begin in rebuilding this squad… We can’t trade for prospects because we don’t even have anyone worth trading!!

[AZTarHeel]

Game three of Luke’s Minor League career – also a loss… He gets four K’s but is lifted early after giving up four runs… The Brewers fall to the Great Falls Sox again…

“You’re overpitching,” manager Johnny Narron says. “Stay within yourself…”

Game four is a no-decision for Luke… He does stay within himself and doesn’t surrender a run. Too bad the offense doesn’t come through for him. The Helena crew does win this one in extra innings…

The ERA is now 3.68 after three starts… not bad numbers… but the record is 1-2…

[AZTarHeel]

After six starts, Luke Lawson still doesn’t have another win… His record is 1-3 with an ERA of 3.76… His roomie, Carlos Ramos, is 2-3 with a 3.99 ERA… Scouts already want Ramos in AA…

The real hot shot in Helena right now is a 23-year-old reliever named Magglio Casiano… After 17 appearances, he’s 3-0 with an ERA of 1.13 and one save. He was picked after Luke in the draft…

Up on the Big Club, the buzz is all about Mark Prior joining the Brewers rotation. Milwaukee had to give up four players to get the potential ace pitcher, but ownership has talked of building for the future around hot young arms like his. CF Scott Podsednik was among those going to the Cubs (who are WAY out of the NL Central race), along with Ben Sheets and a huge 2B prospect (Rickie Weeks).

Prior loses his first start with Milwaukee but has won twice since… The DL has claimed a bunch of Brewers the past few weeks… The record: an abysmal 25-61…

[AZTarHeel]

It’s late July – a week before the trading deadline – and the Prior trade seems to be paying off for Milwaukee… He’s 2-0 in his last three games with a 1.29 ERA… nice…

The overall record still STINKS however – 29-68 (39 games out)…

The Brewers also wheel and deal for closer Damaso Marte and CF prospect Jeremy Reid, sending four pitchers to the White Sox, including the team’s previous closer Kolb and starter Capuano, who was 2-12 and had been on the DL… Marte doesn’t pitch too well in his first two appearances in a Brew-Crew uniform…

Luke Lawson’s record is 1-4 with an ERA under 4.00 in eight starts with the Class A Helena Brewers… He has 48 strikeouts, 18 walks and a WHIP of 1.40… He’s discouraged but he’s not the only rookie struggling to get a "W"… Carlos Ramos has lost his last few starts…

Hot-shot middle reliever Magglio Casiano got the call up to AA Huntsville…

[AZTarHeel]

One of the first things Luke did with his humble signing bonus – buy a nice laptop with wireless capabilities. He and some of his teammates pooled together resources to buy high speed internet access, and Luke spent numerous hours reading all about the organization he had just joined.

OK, so the Brewers weren’t a good baseball team. In fact, they stink. But ownership keeps repeating its pledge to get better through pitching. The Mark Prior trade was one example. Drafting Luke, he hoped, would be another…

Luke read with delight how the Brewers won five straight at the end of July, knocking off the Houston Astros 12-3, then sweeping a four game set against the rival Cubbies at home. Three of the four wins over Chicago were by one run. Pitching does make a difference…