Feb. 27

PEORIA, Ari. -- Rob Ramsay arrived at the Padres' camp as a non-roster invitee. "That," says the 29-year-old pitcher from the great state of Washington, "was a great, great feeling. Just to be back in uniform with teammates. I want to live every day I can. Every day is a gift."

Then came the first loose throwing session. Then the mile run.

"He ran the mile. He does everything," says Padres manager Bruce Bochy. "He never complains. I just think it is remarkable what he has been through and be out here throwing already ... and for him to be here this spring throwing surprised me and to see the kind of shape he's in."

	Rob Ramsay pitched for the Mariners in 1999 and 2000.

"It was miraculous he even came of out surgery," says Padres GM Kevin Towers, "let alone be out here running, and running the mile with the players. If he isn't an inspiration to these players I don't know what is."

Then came the first side throwing session, followed by live batting practice.

"It is unbelievable that he's here," says Bochy. "I feel inspired by him. If you're not inspired by Rob, there's something wrong with you."

Ramsay once was a pretty decent prospect, a left-handed pitcher who was drafted by the Red Sox, traded to Seattle in 1999 and seemed en route to a promising major league career. He was 10-7 between Triple-A Pawtucket and Triple-A Tacoma in 1999, but sat out most of 2000 and came back to be 10-11 for Tacoma in 2001. The Padres claimed him on waivers and planned to bring him to spring training with a shot to make the staff as the second lefty reliever behind Alan Embree.

Then, after the 2001 season, came the headaches.

"I had been having headaches for a while," says Ramsay, "and they had been more frequent and a little more intense. I had never gotten headaches before so it was a little odd to get headcahes in the first place. But my wife kept hounding me about going to see the doctor.

"I was like, 'I'm not gonna see the doctor over a headache.'

"So, finally the headaches kept progressing more and more frequent and in December I hardly worked out, which is the time you have to start getting ready for spring training. I wasn't getting ready. I was like 'OK we are gonna see a doctor.' We did. The doctor recommended getting an MRI just to take the bad things out. And unfortunately it showed I had a mass in my brain."

	“	It is unbelievable that he's here. ... If you're not inspired by Rob, there's something wrong with you. ”
		— Bruce Bochy, Padres manager, on pitcher Rob Ramsay

What the doctors found was a tumor. It was about the size of a baseball. It wasn't shaped like that. But it was pretty big. According to the Cedars-Sinai Health System, these are high grade tumors that grow rapidly, invade nearby tissue and contain cells that are very malignant. Oh yes. There is no cure.

"They said you need to get this out of your head, obviously," says Ramsay. "I was gung ho to do it and you know fortunately here I am still standing. "

The operation took nearly 10½ hours.

"That was the weirdest part about the whole thing, going into the surgery and sitting in the waiting room until like 8 in the morning. And going through all the procedures and waking up at night. Where did the day go? It was an experience I'll never forget."

Ramsay thought he was on his way back to the majors. But he started to experience a lack of feeling in his left (throwing) arm.

"Later in the year during the summer time I started having symptoms again and had weakness in my left side," says Ramsay. "The tumor itself was in the right frontal lobe and a blood clot had started to form in the tumor cavity and the inflammation caused deficit and inflammation in my left side. So in November, I had a blood clot removed. But my recovery time was a lot faster the second time."

Last November, Ramsay had the operation for the blood clot. Doctors, in turn, told him he had to switch his chemotherapy treatments.

"I just decided that I am going to focus on getting healthy now. Baseball? Maybe later," Ramsay said.

Ramsay now undergoes radiation treatment every six weeks. After reporting to spring training, he had to take a day for the radiation.

"You know I do get a little tired from the chemotherapy," he says."I don't get ill or have problems holding down food or anything. I just took it easy the day I had it and the day after and everything is fine after that."

Ramsay can't rejoin the Padres until May 15, but he knows he won't be ready before then. But he understands his place as a role model.

	“	I look into the mirror and say I can inspire some people. The first thing when I found out I had a tumor is I talked to some people. Some good friends of ours gave us the Lance Armstrong book. So, I read that book and man I was ready to go. Let's get this thing. ”
		— Ramsay, on his battle with a malignant brain tumor

"I look into the mirror and say I can inspire some people," says Ramsay. "The first thing when I found out I had a tumor is I talked to some people. Some good friends of ours gave us the Lance Armstrong book. So, I read that book and man I was ready to go. Let's get this thing. But I think for what Lance Armstrong has done I see that as very inspiring. You know you read his book and for what he went through I don't feel I had it as tough as he did. If I can inspire some people, especially kids with cancer or tumors or anything like that then I feel that is my duty."

Coaches worry about what happens when he faces live hitters without a screen in front of him.

"I want to be out there," says Ramsay. "I want to play. You know if it is rookie ball. If it is A-ball. Obviously, I want to get back to San Dieg,o but just to get out there to compete is something I sorely miss and am looking forward to doing."

Said Bochy: "This guy is so inspiring to all of us -- the players, our coaching staff, myself. I mean he has been out here going through everything. It is hard to imagine going through what he has to go through and come out of here and go through these workouts. And maybe take a day off to go through chemo and we all should look at how tough he's had it and we'll realize how great we do have it."