After battling cancer, Corey Phelan, a minor league baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies, passed away. He had just turned twenty.
The team revealed the tragic news on Thursday night, expressing their shock and grief over Phelan’s passing and highlighting how his “selflessness and good personality affected everyone around him.”
Preston Mattingly, the Phillies’ director of player development, remarked that Corey “is and will always be a special person.”
“Everyone who came into contact with him loved the experience because of his infectious smile. His legacy will endure, particularly inside the Philadelphia Phillies organization.”
The undrafted free agent from New York who joined the Phillies organization in August 2020 learned he had non-lymphoma Hodgkin’s in April after passing out in the shower.
Following scans, it was discovered that Phelan had a 9-inch tumor in his chest.
After being diagnosed, the pitcher had chemotherapy at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He also visited the team in May when they faced the Mets at Citi Field.
Phelan recalled, “Getting to talk with the guys in the locker room, Joe Girardi taking me on the field, everyone supporting and friendly, that was one of the finest evenings ever.
“To my family and I, the entire Phillies organization has been nothing short of incredible.”
In his most recent Instagram post, Phelan, who played in 9 games and had a 0.93 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, wrote, “Can’t wait to get back out there.”
R.I.P.