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This week, MLB and Make A Wish Foundation organized a scouting session at the New York Mets for high school student and cancer survivor Joshua Cohen. This is the most recent venture of Major League Baseball’s initiative that has granted wish experiences to young people with life-threatening medical conditions since 1998.
In 2016, doctors diagnosed Joshua Cohen with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that invaded his right cheekbone. Cohen underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments, which eradicated the disease but massively depleted his body of strength, and his career prospects of playing Major League Baseball.
This week, Cohen underwent a bullpen session at the Mets’ Spring Training complex, having been 10 months cancer-free and rapidly rebuilding strength. As Cohen worked in a Mets jersey with his name stitched across the back, pitching legend Frank Viola watched alongside several other Minor League pitching coaches. General manager of the New York Mets Sandy Alderson even stepped outside from the clubhouse to observe the young pitcher.
When Cohen finished his cancer treatment earlier in 2017, he and his parents discussed how to celebrate, and how to make the most of his second chance at life.
“I had to go through hell and back,” said Cohen, now 17 years old and a junior at Indian Hills High School in Oakland, N.J. “But I made it.”
Cohen’s dream from a young age was to perform in front of Major League scouts. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Major League Baseball, that dream became a reality on Wednesday at First Data Field, where a sizeable group of scouts gathered to watch him. MLB coordinated the event concurrently with the Mets, who provided the venue and the coaching staff, and the Yankees, who flew in an evaluator.
“It was my pleasure to see Josh,” said Ben McIntyre, the Yankees’ assistant director of amateur scouting, who planned a scouting trip to Florida around the opportunity to watch Cohen pitch. “It’s a great story. It’s inspirational to see a kid so young go through so much already.”
Soon, Cohen will head back to New Jersey, armed with notes on how to improve as a pitcher – advice that, Cohen said, will translate as much to his life as to his changeup or curveball.
“It’s amazing knowing some of the best pitchers to play or players to play are giving me information and advice,” Cohen said. “It’s really cool. I loved it.”
Added Viola, a former Cy Young Award winner and longtime supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation: “That puts everything in perspective, to see his face light up to be able to do something he loves to do. And he was pretty impressive doing it, too.”
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