Arthritis Group to Honor Baseball Player

For a player on the visiting team, Rico Brogna may hear a few more cheers than one would expect from the home crowd when the Dodgers meet the Phillies on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

That’s because Brogna, the Phillies’ first baseman, is a hero--both on and off the field--to people with spondylitis, a form of spinal arthritis that strikes primarily young people.

The Spondylitis Assn. of America, which is based in Los Angeles, will be honoring Brogna, the group’s national spokesman, in a reception before the game.

Brogna, 27, was found to have spondylitis after enduring severe lower back and hip pain during his 1991 season in the minor leagues. With treatment, however, he persevered, becoming one of the National League’s outstanding rookies in his 1995 season with the Mets.

In 1996, the pain struck again, and at the end of the season he returned to his doctor to try a different regimen of medication. He was later traded to the Phillies.

But 1997 has been a good one for Brogna. His spondylitis is under control, and he is playing regularly for the Phillies.

In December, he contacted the SAA and volunteered to become its spokesman. The SAA was founded in 1983 and has 4,000 members. An estimated 1 million Americans have spondylitis.

“He’s the first public person who has the disease who is willing to go out and talk about it,” says Executive Director Jane Bruckel. “I’ve been able to see, in just such a short period of time, how inspiring he’s been. He’s already a role model.”

Brogna is a good example of how to live successfully with the disorder, which is treated with medicines, exercise, good posture habits and stress reduction, Bruckel says.

“He gives hope to people. Rico has told us how, in baseball, it’s particularly rigorous because they play day in and day out. Very rarely do they have a day off. He doesn’t have recovery time between games. But he still does very well.”

For more information on spondylitis or the Spondylitis Assn. of America, call (800) 777-8189 or visit its World Wide Web site at https://www.spondylitis.org.