Baseball: Get well Tug McGraw

I remember growing up watching Tug McGraw pitching for the Phillies, he was such a character and a good pitcher. He was diagnosed with brain cancer and is now battling it.

"A former star reliever with the Phillies and the New York Mets, McGraw was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor shortly after he was hospitalized in Clearwater, Fla., on March 12.

McGraw, 58, was working as a special spring training instructor for the Phillies when he became ill. He knew something wasn't right when he went to the stadium on an off day.

"They told me I had three weeks to live," McGraw said. "I'm still alive, so the three-week thing didn't work."

Joined by his 7-year old son, Matthew, and wearing a baseball cap that bore his trademark slogan, "Ya Gotta Believe," McGraw became emotional a few times during a news conference at Veterans Stadium before the Phillies played the Mets.

"I'm not fearful. I have confidence," said McGraw, best known for his zany antics during his 20-year career in the major leagues.

McGraw popularized the phrase, "Ya Gotta Believe!" with the Mets during their improbable pennant run in 1973, and later closed out the Phillies' only World Series championship in 1980.

A fan favorite in both Philadelphia and New York, McGraw is best remembered by Phillies fans for striking out Kansas City's Willie Wilson to end Game 6 of the 1980 World Series and win the title.

The Phillies are hanging McGraw's No. 45 jersey in the dugout during each of their games this season.

espn.go.com...

His home site:

www.tugmcgraw.com...

Maybe you have heard of his son Tim McGraw, a famous country singer. :tum: