Comebacker

It was an ugly debut, five runs in one-third of an inning. Not the type of major league visions that danced in his head as a kid.

Still, Angel pitcher Scott Schoeneweis had been through worse days.

Five runs in one-third of an inning? Try undergoing six months of chemotherapy in a three-month period, as was Schoeneweis’ decision when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer as a sophomore at Duke.

Face six batters, give up four hits and a walk? Kid stuff compared to reconstructive arm surgery, which came a few months after the chemotherapy was finished.

If anyone on the Angels has the wherewithal to ride out bad days, it’s Schoeneweis. It may not look like it sometimes--with his beady eyes staring from beneath a cap yanked down to his eyebrows--but he is having a ball these days.

“I don’t know if I’m having more fun because I have had some setbacks or not,” Schoeneweis said. “Maybe I can deal with things a little bit better because I know I have been through a lot worse than giving up five runs in one-third of an inning. Coming to the ballpark when you’re in the big leagues is so much fun.”

Even being in the bullpen is fun.

Schoeneweis has been one of the Angels’ most sought-after pitching prospects the last few years, and his name was even bandied about in several trades talks, including a proposed deal for Mark McGwire two years ago.

The Angels, though, clung to Schoeneweis as strongly as he grasped to his hopes in the past. Then they stuck him in the bullpen.

There was no room in the rotation with Tim Belcher, Ken Hill, Steve Sparks, Chuck Finley and Omar Olivares around. It seemed that Schoeneweis, 25, was ticketed for another year at triple-A. But the Angels’ need for left-handed relievers changed his destination.

So far, it has been a good move. Schoeneweis has given up only six earned runs in 22 2/3 innings since his not-so-glorious debut.

“I could be starting in triple-A and be doing what I’ve always done, starting,” Schoeneweis said. “I would rather be here as a reliever than be back down there. I think if I ever do become a starter at this level, getting my feet wet this way will be a big help.”

But not drenched, as was the case April 7, when the Cleveland Indians welcomed him to the big leagues. Still, Schoeneweis shrugged it off a day later.

“With what he has gone through, what does he have to fear? Giving up hits?” Angel Manager Terry Collins said. “He has gone through tougher tests.”

The Trials

Schoeneweis ended his college career almost as he began it, by dominating.

He beat North Carolina to keep the Blue Devils alive in the double-elimination Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Schoeneweis was among a talented crop of pitchers in the ACC that season. Clemson’s Kris Benson was selected by Pittsburgh with the No. 1 draft pick. Clemson teammate Billy Koch was taken fourth by Toronto. Virginia’s Seth Greisinger was taken sixth by Detroit. Eric Milton was drafted 20th by the New York Yankees, and later traded to Minnesota in the Chuck Knoblauch deal.

All are now in the majors. Schoeneweis went in the third round to the Angels. It is a testament to his perseverance.

True, he went 10-4 with a 3.23 earned-run average his senior season, which made a nice bookend to his 12-3 freshman season. What came between was difficult to watch, let alone live through.

“Scott’s story is so complicated with all he went through,” Duke Coach Steve Traylor said. “I remember his great talent and his great work ethic. But the things he he had to overcome tell me more about him than any baseball exploits.”

The most amazing part was that Schoeneweis never missed a season at Duke.

Schoeneweis was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the fall of his junior year. It seemed it would sidetrack, possibly end, a promising career. He had been named to the freshman All-American team.

But those concerns were secondary.

“It would be devastating for anybody to hear ‘testicular cancer,’ but for a young man, it had to be extremely difficult to deal with,” Traylor said.

Schoeneweis dealt with it in the hospital. But one thing helped him focus his mind: He was going to pitch that year.

“Duke is the No. 1 cancer center in the country and they kind of used me as a guinea pig,” Schoeneweis said. “They doubled the dosage and did the chemo in half the time.

“They killed me. You can try to explain it, but it is hard to equate it to anything. Try the worst flu you’ve ever have and multiply that by thousands. I didn’t realize it at the time, until after I was done, but it took me over a year to be fit again.”

By then, there were other problems.

Schoeneweis made it back to pitch that spring and finished 8-3 with a 5.85 ERA, striking out 69 in 67 2/3 innings. But a great comeback story abruptly ended when Schoeneweis blew out his elbow late in the season.

Within a nine-month period, he had been subjected to cancer treatments and reconstructive surgery on his elbow.

“I don’t know if the chemo weakened his body or he rushed himself back too fast,” Traylor said. “But for that to happen on the heels of his cancer was just terrible.”

As if surgery would slow a man who’d endured cancer treatments.

A year later, he was pitching again. That he went 0-6 and had a 9.17 ERA meant little.

“It is suppose to be a two-year recovery [from surgery],” Duke pitching coach Dave Koblentz said. “Scott wasn’t going to wait two years.

“Scott never used anything as an excuse. If there was a guy who had acceptable alibis, it was Scott. But he came back in January and never opened the alibi drawer.”

There was no need for one his senior year.

Schoeneweis set school records for victories (30) and starts (51). The Angels took a chance.

“It was a significant position in the draft,” General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “[Scouting director] Bob Fontaine checked out everything. We knew the difficulties he had. We had a pretty good clue on his makeup.”

The Rewards

Schoeneweis was called in on April 18 against Seattle but had trouble getting to the mound. He couldn’t open the bullpen gate. A fan had to help.

An omen? Butch Huskey took Schoeneweis deep. Embarrassing? It was must-show TV, with nearly every sports report flashing a shot of Schoeneweis struggling at the gate, then one of him looking over his shoulder, watching Huskey’s majestic home run.

Schoeneweis would shrug it off later, as he did after his major league debut.

“You have to learn how to control the adrenaline when you come into a game like that,” Schoeneweis said. “You don’t have time to get into the flow or to feel your way around.”

These are things Schoeneweis is learning on the job.

In 61 minor league appearances last year, Schoeneweis started 59 games. He was 11-8 at triple-A Vancouver.

Schoeneweis entered spring training knowing it would take a miracle to make the Angels’ starting rotation. It was a veteran group, all over 30 and all with million-dollar contracts.

But the Angels need for relief, especially left-handed relief, created an opportunity.

“There were many people who felt Scott couldn’t relieve because of his past physical problems,” Collins said. “He said to me that one of the only ways he could make this team was as a reliever. That surprised me. We talked it over and we brought him with us.

“Do I think he is going to start one day? Probably. But he might turn out to be an outstanding relief pitcher. Arthur Rhodes and Paul Assenmacher were starters and became relievers. Those guys are hard to find.”

Such things are too far off right now for Schoeneweis to consider. He has recently passed the five-year mark that all recovering cancer patients sweat out. After five years, if there is no reoccurrence, doctors declare a patient cured.

“The things I went through made me work a lot harder than I did before,” Schoeneweis said. “I feel like I have something to prove to myself and to everyone, but mainly to myself. Even though I had some setbacks and injuries, I can still pitch at the ultimate level.”