Anthony Rizzo‘s story is one of perseverance and perspective.
A highly acclaimed prospect since he was a sixth round draft pick out of high school by the Red Sox in 2007, the now 23-year-old left-handed hitting first baseman is starting to realize his Major League potential. Called up to the Chicago Cubs on June 26, Rizzo was named National League Rookie of the Month in July after he produced a .330 average with seven home runs and 17 RBI in 25 games.
Epstein and Hoyer are in the first year with the Cubs, and they are quite familiar with Rizzo. Epstein was Boston’s general manager when the team drafted Rizzo while Hoyer was an assistant under Epstein.
Considered the potential first baseman of the future in Boston, Rizzo opened eyes in what he thought would be his first full season of professional baseball in 2008. At Single-A Greenville, and just 19 at the time, he batted . 373 with a .848 OPS in 83 at-bats before he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma that April (2008).
It was the same condition that afflicted Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester, who overcame the disease, returned to the mound in 2007 and earned the win against Colorado in Game Four of the World Series that October.
Like Lester, Rizzo underwent cancer treatments and chemotherapy, recovered from non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and returned stronger and undeterred. In 2010, he was named Boston’s Minor League Player of the Year after belting 25 home runs, knocking in 100 and hitting .260 between advanced Single-A Salem and Double-A Portland.
Hoyer became general manager of the Padres after the 2010 season, and Rizzo was the featured player in a deal that also yielded top prospects Casey Kelly and Reymond Fuentes from the Red Sox for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.
Rizzo tore up the Pacific Coast League in 2011, finishing with 26 home runs, 101 RBI and a .331 average, but his Major League debut was a struggle. Called the most celebrated Padres call-up since Roberto Alomar in 1988 by the San Diego Union-Tribune, Rizzo batted .141 (18-for-128) with one home run, nine RBI and a .242 slugging percentage in 49 games for the Padres. Perhaps the 21-year-old phenom was not ready for the bigs, some speculated.
Epstein and Hoyer did not lose their belief in Rizzo, so when the duo joined the Cubs front office, they traded for him and minor league pitcher Zach Cates last January, dealing hard-throwing right-hander Andrew Cashner and a minor league outfielder to the Padres.
When he was summoned from Triple-A Iowa on June 26, Rizzo led the Pacific Coast League with 23 home runs and was third with 62 RBI to accompany a .342 average and a 1.101 OPS.
At 23, Rizzo joins shortstop Starlin Castro, second baseman Darwin Barney and right-handed starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija as core young Major Leaguers who currently occupy the Cubs roster. Over his last three games, Rizzo is 2-for-12, including an 0-for-4 performance on Monday in his return to San Diego. Yet Rizzo knows that 0-fers are part of the game, and he keeps it in perspective considering what he has endured as a top prospect who has overcome cancer.
“Coming out of it, I feel like it made me a lot stronger as a person,” Rizzo said. “I mean, if I go on a 0-for-20 slump, it doesn’t matter that much to me. I’ll get out of it.”
