Friends, Family Are Ready to Salute Dan Quisenberry as He Battles Brain Cancer

“Someone told me just recently that poets are eulogists. It’s their job, to eulogize. I didn’t know that, but it makes sense. Because in almost every poem of mine there is a loss.”

--Dan Quisenberry, a week before he was diagnosed with brain cancer

*

More than a decade ago, before he was a poet, when he was one of the best closers in baseball, Dan Quisenberry listened as Kansas City Royal Manager Dick Howser said goodbye.

Tears rolled down both men’s cheeks. Only three days after Howser’s triumphant return to the Royals after treatment for a malignant brain tumor, Howser realized the illness would not allow him to continue.

Four months later, Howser died. He was 51.

Three months ago, Quisenberry, 44, cut short a vacation in Colorado because of headaches, dizzy spells and blurred vision. He had fallen and bumped his head while snowboarding and thought he might be suffering from a concussion. He returned home to Kansas City, where a CT scan revealed a tumor.

On Jan. 8, surgeons removed the growth and four days later revealed it was a Grade IV malignant astrocytoma, the most severe form of tumor. After removing between 80% and 90% of the three- to four-centimeter tumor that was dangerously close to the optic nerve in a 3 1/2-hour procedure, neurosurgeon Jonathan Chilton said, “We measure these situations in months to years.”

Marty Quisenberry, who will read one of his brother’s poems Thursday when Dan is inducted into the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame in ceremonies at the Anaheim Marriott, visited Dan at home last week. Marty played golf at Dan’s favorite course for the first time. Dan rode in the cart, watched and rolled a few putts.

“Afterward, we sat on a bench, talked about how scared we both were and watched the sun go down on the course,” Marty said. “He was trying to be perky while I was there, but I would have to say he’s not doing well. The tumor’s very aggressive. He’s been through the radiation treatments and he’s in the second part of three cycles of chemotherapy.

“He’s suffering from terrible headaches and brain swelling, so they had to suspend the treatments for a week or so. The worst part is that the tumor is already bigger than when they originally diagnosed it. And there’s no chance of more surgery because of the area of the brain involved.

“But Dan’s a battler and he wants to fight it and battle.”

Nobody knows that better than Rich Fielder, one of Quisenberry’s closest friends since childhood. They went to the same junior high and played baseball together at Costa Mesa High, Orange Coast College and La Verne College.

Few know the competitor and the man better. Their shared background goes beyond the baseball field to the after-hours water fights at the McDonald’s where they worked together as teens. And to the tackle football games on the beach next to Newport Pier after their shifts as busboys at the Crab Cooker.

“Dan accomplished what he did as a pitcher because he stays so calm under pressure,” Fielder said. “He’s never been the kind to blame or attack when he feels bad or something goes wrong. Through all this, he’s never once said to me, ‘This isn’t fair.’

“He’s a lot weaker now and he’s scared. This not a form of cancer you defeat often and he’s a devout Christian who’s not afraid to lose this fight. But he wants to be there for his family, see his kids grow up and go to college.

“So he’s in the ninth inning again and he’s got to get these guys out.”

I throw a 3/4-speed toss to the intersection of points

shortstop wins the race, catches

the toss and throws to first

in a bound he jumps over

the sliding, grasping man

denied his right to property

a double play made

“good play” says the pressman

“that’s what practice is for”

says the pitching coach

“damn you’re good”

say the teammates

I panicked in the right direction

is what I think.

--From “Double Play” by Dan Quisenberry

*

There’s little doubt the comical Quiz--always a stand-up kind of guy in victory or defeat--will hang onto his quirky sense of humor to the end. Two weeks after undergoing the surgery to remove the brain tumor, he told a group of reporters at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium that his children, Alysia, 18, and David, 16, were “taking me for rides.”

“I feel like a dog,” he said, “I get to stick my head out the window and let the wind flap my ears. I love it. It’s great.”

That under-whelming sense of ego and self-deprecating humor combined with poise under pressure and an 80-mph fastball delivered from a submarine angle were the keys to Quisenberry’s remarkable success in the major leagues. Remarkable, because of the almost total disinterest in him by college recruiters and pro scouts after high school and his two years at Orange Coast.

Fielder, a second baseman, got the same professional contract offer.

“Baseball had been such a huge part of our lives,” Fielder said. “We’d been to the College World Series both years together and quite a few guys were drafted from that team. I decided the money we could get as free agents wasn’t worth it, but Dan didn’t care about the money, he loved baseball so much.”

Soon thereafter, Quisenberry found what he calls “a delivery in my flaw.” He had always used a conventional three-quarters delivery--”I don’t ever remember him even throwing submarine when we played with a tennis ball against the garage,” Fielder said--but discovered he got more movement on the ball throwing from down under.

His under-handed sinker eventually lifted him to the majors and he pitched for the Royals from 1979 to 1988, establishing a team record of 238 saves (since eclipsed by Jeff Montgomery) and a record of 53-44. In 1985, he was the winning pitcher of the sixth game of the World Series against St. Louis.

Ruminating on growing old, he said, “Most pitchers fear losing their fastball, but since I don’t have one, I have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

After being released by the Royals in 1988, he played 1 1/2 seasons with St. Louis and retired in 1990 after a brief stint with San Francisco.

“If you polled 100 people who had faced him in high school or college, I don’t think you’d find anybody who could honestly say they expected him to be a major leaguer,” Fielder said. “He just kept battling.”

And so it remains, but he’s becoming increasingly weary of the fight. He even stopped writing poetry recently because it saps too much precious energy.

you can’t see

the cost of winning

the lines on my forehead

under the hat

trench line between my eyes

you don’t see my wife,

daughter, son

left behind

--From “Baseball Cards” by Dan Quisenberry

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Hall of Fame

* What: Orange County Sports Hall of Fame’s 16th induction banquet

* When: Thursday

* Where: Anaheim Marriott Hotel

* Class of ’98 inductees: Bob Boone, Bob Boyd, Steve DeBerg, Debbie Green, Johnnie Johnson, Dan Quisenberry and Leon Wood. Receiving special awards: Paul Salata, Ken Purcell, Bill Cunerty, Jim Gattis and the late Duncan Clark.

* Tickets: $100

* Information: Marianne DeRose, (714) 758-9882