'It taught us a lot about life,' the Angels catcher says at Yankee Stadium about three years after Michael O'Hoppe was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma
NEW YORK — The Major League Baseball schedule provided a bonus for Logan O’Hoppe.
The Angels are in New York just at the time when the Angels catcher and his family are celebrating the anniversary of his father’s successful fight against non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Michael O’Hoppe, who was diagnosed in 2021 and underwent chemotherapy for the blood cancer, was there at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, along with about 350 friends and family members, all celebrating Michael’s health and Logan’s success in the majors.
“It’s a little overwhelming,” Logan O’Hoppe said before Wednesday’s doubleheader, which was scheduled after Tuesday’s game was postponed because of rain. “It’ll be really good to have everyone here. I feel like it’s a little bit of what I can pay him back for what they’ve done for us.”
Logan O’Hoppe, who grew up in Long Island, was playing in the Philadelphia Phillies farm system in 2021, when he learned his father had cancer.
“It’s terrifying,” Logan said. “Anyone that knows us, knows how tight knit we are. We’re all so close to each other. It’s scary. But it taught us a lot about life and really put things in perspective when you go through that. It seems that baseball doesn’t matter as much.”
O’Hoppe’s trip to New York also worked out for him to celebrate another friend, one who lost his battle with cancer.
Corey Phelan was one of O’Hoppe’s teammates in the Phillies system, as well as a fellow New Yorker. He was diagnosed with cancer in April 2022 and he died six months later at the age of 20.
Phelan’s family founded Corey’s Promise, an organization dedicated to helping ease the financial burden on families with children fighting cancer. O’Hoppe, who often wears a “Corey’s Promise” T-shirt at the ballpark, was able to attend their charity golf tournament Monday.
“I went and saw a lot of people that I hadn’t seen him in a while, obviously got to keep his name alive,” O’Hoppe said. “It’s an important day for everyone and I’m glad I got to do it.”
A day after Luis Rengifo underwent season-ending wrist surgery, manager Ron Washington said it would be a “huge” loss to the Angels. The Angels have already seen Mike Trout and Patrick Sandoval undergo season-ending surgeries, and Anthony Rendon has missed nearly three months with two injuries. “There’s been a lot of losses that we’ve had to take,” Washington said. “But the game continues. We’re going to keep grinding and keep getting after it, keep watching those young kids grow.” …
Rendon was in the lineup at third base, batting sixth, for the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader. He had been out for 10 days with back stiffness. Washington said Rendon would be off for the second game, and would return to the lineup Thursday, either at third base or DH. …
Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz was summoned from Double-A on Wednesday morning to be the 27th man for Game 2 of the doubleheader.
Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 8-10, 3.05) at Yankees (LHP Nestor Cortes, 5-9, 4.16) at Yankee Stadium, 4:05 p.m. PT Thursday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.
