Pirates' Taillon: 'Different person' after cancer scare
A testicular cancer diagnosis midway through last season has Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon seeing things in a new light entering his third major league campaign.
"I know people always say that when they've gone through something like cancer, but it really is true," Taillon told reporters at the Pirates' spring training facility. "I look at life differently. I'm a little more serious about things. I'm a more mature person than I was a year ago at this time."
Taillon received his diagnosis in May and had surgery shortly afterward. He returned to the mound for the Pirates on June 12, throwing five shutout innings against the Colorado Rockies.
Taillon went 8-7 with a 4.44 ERA in 25 starts last year. Despite the diagnosis marring what looked to be a breakout campaign for the former top prospect through the season's first month, Taillon described the face that it happened during the season as "best-case scenario."
"I had my teammates for support, and I had a goal of returning to help the team to serve as a distraction," he said.
"I don't want to say I feel things are easier now, because this game is never easy, but I do feel a lot more comfortable," Taillon added. "Not just with the pitching aspect, but just everything that goes into playing in the major leagues.
With Gerrit Cole traded to the Houston Astros, Taillon figures to be in the mix for the Pirates' Opening Day starter nod. Manager Clint Hurdle has already endorsed the 26-year-old as one of the club's top leaders.
"It's not so much his words, but his actions," Hurdle said. "The way he goes about things. The way he handles himself. The work he puts in. The adversity he has overcome. Those kinds of things make the other guys take notice."
--Field Level Media
