Ryan Westmoreland

M

mt8thsw9th

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Jul 17, 2005
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The MRI can come back clean, but the odds of him coming back from one of these malformations are extremely slim, especially in a sport in which hand eye coordination is so key. Anecdotal, sure, but my younger brother went through surgeries and radiation for a malformation at MGH, and while his MRIs are clean, he still has speech problems and issues with motor skills. He's facing some incredible odds, so the more power to him if he's able to overcome them.
 
AbbyNoho

AbbyNoho

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Jan 20, 2006
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They can't not let him go to camp after all that talk about it being his biggest drive for recovering. It is good of the Red Sox organization to still be taking care of him after he is essentially a non-prospect anymore. Realistically, the kid is never going to play professional baseball again. I'm glad the Red Sox have stood by him even knowing that likelihood. 
 
R

radsoxfan

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mt8thsw9th said:
The MRI can come back clean, but the odds of him coming back from one of these malformations are extremely slim, especially in a sport in which hand eye coordination is so key. Anecdotal, sure, but my younger brother went through surgeries and radiation for a malformation at MGH, and while his MRIs are clean, he still has speech problems and issues with motor skills. He's facing some incredible odds, so the more power to him if he's able to overcome them.
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And just to clarify....the MRI "coming back clean" doesn't mean it is normal.  It just means its unchanged from the previous MRI and he hasn't had any new bleeding.  
 
All of the post operative changes and gliosis is still going to be there. I'll echo everyone else's comments that the odds of any meaningful professional career for the guy is unfortunately slim to none.
 
H

Hugh G Rection

Banned
Nov 29, 2012
411
I think Baseball is at the very least secondary at this point... Hopefully he can get himself to where he has a normal quality of life, perhaps the Red Sox can offer him some sort of front office/scouting position when this is all over with. It wouldn't be just a token jesture either, this kid could be such an inspiration to minor leaguers and youngsters who take for granted the talent they have (like Felix Doubront for example).
 
StuckOnYouk

StuckOnYouk

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Great to see he's doing OK and hope it lasts that way.
 
I agree, can't see any chance he realistically plays again. Sure would have been great to see an OF in a year or two of Brentz/Bradley/Westmoreland..
 
keninten

keninten

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Nov 24, 2005
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Tennessee
Appreciate it. From the little it says about what he is now doing. Hope he is adjusting. 
 
"Now he is just learning to adjust to life as a regular kid, taking courses through Northeastern University while he ponders his next move in the baseball."  
 
Does the "through" mean he`s not attending but maybe online. I`m not sure how long his road to a somewhat normal life is. Hope the Sox give him a chance to do something in the game.
 
M

mt8thsw9th

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Jul 17, 2005
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"Now he is just learning to adjust to life as a regular kid, taking courses through Northeastern University while he ponders his next move in the baseball."  
 
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This is a thing that happened and was never corrected.
 
mabrowndog

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ESPN's Joe McDonald wrote a great piece on Wednesday's ceremony. Lots of details on his post-baseball life.
 
 

 
Ryan Westmoreland stood near the mound and watched as his father, Ron, threw a perfect strike for the ceremonial first pitch Wednesday night at LeLacheur Park.

The two stood shoulder to shoulder as the fans gave them a standing ovation.
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It’s been tough for Westmoreland to forget about baseball. Since he’s decided to retire, he’s focused on the future but admits sometimes it’s unavoidable to think about what could have been.

“I can’t help but think about it, especially doing stuff here in Lowell,” Westmoreland said. “I think about at-bats I had here, games I had here. But for the most part, I’ve moved on. I don’t get two hours of sleep every night thinking about my games here.

“It hasn’t been an easy battle, but I’m doing well and I’m trying to keep my spirits up. It’s obviously tough not playing anymore. I’ve spent my whole life preparing for this dream, so it’s devastating to not fulfill it. But I’m doing well. I’m happy and I’m in a good spot mentally. It’s all I can ask for right now and I’m getting better every day mentally and physically and it can only get better from here.”

He admits he’ll watch a video of him playing baseball and think about the what-ifs.

“Mentally, I’m getting over it. I can’t say I’m fully over it but I’m getting there,” he said.
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From a health standpoint, Westmoreland is doing well. He lives with disabilities but he’s learned to live with them and nothing is getting worse. Something Westmoreland has kept to himself since his second surgery is the fact that he experiences double vision.

“I haven’t told anyone, but I see double of everything. I can’t feel anything on my right side, so you can imagine how hard it is to walk when you can’t feel the ground, or hitting with a bat or throwing. But I’m doing well,” he said. “Obviously, at first it was tragic. It was devastating but I’ve gotten over it and I’m doing well. I’ve certainly gotten used to everything that I’m dealing with. I’m just trying to get better every day.”

Westmoreland explained the double vision is a normal side effect to the surgeries he’s had. It occurred after his first procedure but his vision returned to normal after three days. This time around, he’s still waiting for it to correct itself.

“I’m getting used to it,” he said. “I have special [glasses]. I can drive, I can do all that stuff, so it’s not holding me back too much. It’s different. I can’t pick up the spin on a 90 mile-per-hour slider but it’s getting better.”
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After he decided to officially retire in March 2013, Westmoreland started online classes at Northeastern University. His primary focus now is getting good grades.

“I’m moving forward with my life, not so much baseball related, but I’m trying to take steps forward,” he said. “I feel good. Right now I feel like I’m getting the ball rolling with my life and we’ll see what the future holds, but I’m optimistic.”

At some point, Westmoreland would like to return to baseball in some capacity because he believes he can teach and serve as an inspiration to others.
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67WasBest

67WasBest

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Mar 17, 2004
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PaulinMyrBch said:
https://twitter.com/RWesty25/status/553631693912145921
 
Click the insta link, still got some pop.
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When I saw this thread pop up afetr so long I experienced a sense of dread, afraid I was going to come here and learn some more tragic news in this kid's life.
 
Kind of made my night to see the positive report.  Still has a quick bat, and I hope that demonstration means he has made great strides toward a more normal existence. 
 
PaulinMyrBch

PaulinMyrBch

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I was excited to see that pop up on Twitter. I don't know what it means, but it's positive news no matter how you slice it.
 
SoFloSoxFan

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67WasBest said:
When I saw this thread pop up afetr so long I experienced a sense of dread, afraid I was going to come here and learn some more tragic news in this kid's life.
 
Kind of made my night to see the positive report.  Still has a quick bat, and I hope that demonstration means he has made great strides toward a more normal existence. 
Click to expand...
 
 
Yeah I don't care at all about any sort of baseball future. I just was glad to see that maybe he can live a semi-normal life moving forward. Go Ryan.
 
StuckOnYouk

StuckOnYouk

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Can you imagine if he didn't have the physical issues, he'd probably be up in Boston by now. Him, Betts, Bogaerts, damn. This kid was gonna be a middle of the lineup monster.
 
Sorry to be debby downer. After reading those links I hope he's making steady improvement to normalcy.
 
LogansDad

LogansDad

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Nov 15, 2006
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Thanks for posting, can't believe it's been two years since this thread was updated. Wished for better news, but I suppose "mostly normal life" probably feels like a blessing for him and his family. Reading his story still brings a tear to my eye.
 
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