Anytime a baseball player makes it to the big leagues and gets his shot, he has a network of support behind him: family, hometown friends, teammates, and coaches. Nic Enright has an even larger crew of fans that includes doctors and nurses because he’s playing Major League Baseball while battling cancer.
Enright learned he had Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma on Dec. 22, 2022. He made his diagnosis public on Instagram in February 2023.
“My goal is to use my platform to provide hope and inspiration to others who fight their battles with cancer,” he said in the post. “I’m going to continue to tackle this challenge with the same perseverance that I do baseball — and I can’t wait to return to the mound and the game love.”
“I might have cancer, but cancer does not have me!” he concluded.
On Monday night, in the 19th game of his MLB career, Enright earned his first save. He took to the mound in the bottom of the 10th inning and pitched a one-run inning to help the Cleveland Indians* beat the New York Mets 7-6.
*Yes, I know their uniforms say “Guardians,” but they’ll always be the Indians to me.
The 28-year-old Enright basked in the significance of the moment.
“He was almost crying on the field just now,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt told ESPN. “If you read his story, it’s pretty inspirational.”
“What a cool night. His first career save. He was outstanding,” Vogt told reporters. “Nic is such a great kid, what he has been through in his personal life, nothing is going to rattle him either. He has been so great for us, consistent. I’m just really happy for him and his family.”
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ESPN reports:
After four rounds of immunotherapy in early 2023, Enright made nine minor league rehab appearances for the Marlins before being designated for assignment and returning to the Guardians [sic] in late May.
He missed most of last season due to a right shoulder strain but went 2-1 with a 1.06 ERA in 16 appearances with Triple-A Columbus.
The right-hander has one more round of cancer treatment scheduled for November.
Enright refused to let his diagnosis get him down. With the encouragement of his wife and family, he has continued to press on and refused to slow down.
“I haven’t just pulled up in my house and felt sorry for myself this whole time,” he said. “On top of it, I can’t speak highly enough of my wife [Erin], my parents [Doug and Betty Enright] and my family and the people around me. To say it’s a team effort is an understatement.”
Enright says that his wife has been a rock for him.
“I can’t speak highly enough of everything she has done,” Enright said. “The sacrifices she has made because it’s going through treatments and things like that. It’s no easy undertaking, especially for her. I can’t speak high enough of her and everything she has done for me.”
How did it feel to get his first save?
“Really, really cool,” Enright said. “These last couple of years, especially, I’ve gone through a lot of adversity and just everything that’s gone on. And so for me, it’s being able to reflect on those in these moments. I think that helps being able to slow the game down. Because it hasn’t exactly been a red-carpet rollout for my career trajectory.”
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