Patrick White, a ballplayer, Sox fan, and inspiration; at 15
Patrick White lived for baseball and he was tougher than most of the big-league ballplayers who dive into fences in pursuit of fly balls or hit majestic home runs over Fenway Park's Green Monster.
When Patrick was a 9-year-old Little Leaguer in Quincy, undergoing chemotherapy treatments, he'd instruct nurses at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to put IV lines in his left arm because he was a right-handed pitcher. Quincy Little Leaguers and parents remember a small, bald pitcher who would sometimes vomit between innings, then return to the mound to strike out a few more batters.
''Whenever I saw Patrick at the ballpark or in spring training, you couldn't tell that he was sick," said Trot Nixon, a Red Sox outfielder. ''He was a phenomenal kid. At first, when I'd talk with him I didn't know what to say, but then we'd start talking baseball and it all came out smoothly. Obviously, he loved the Red Sox and he enjoyed playing baseball himself."
Surrounded by his immediate family, Patrick, 15, died of cancer Tuesday morning at his home in Quincy.
''He never, ever gave up, right until the moment he died," said Patrick's father, Paul White, a mailer at the Globe. ''He believed he was going to beat it."
''He was one of those kids I feel like I've known forever," said Mike Andrews, a former Sox second baseman who now serves as chairman of the Jimmy Fund. ''He even went to my baseball camp way back when. I've seen him go through the trials and tribulations and ups and downs. This is a tough one. Sometimes you get closer to kids, and Pat was one I got close to."
Baseball and the Red Sox were a major part of Patrick's life. He played catch with Derek Lowe when the Sox were at spring training in Fort Myers, Fla. Pedro Martinez was another Sox star who made time for the skinny kid who always wanted to learn new grips he could use on the mound. Nixon and his wife, Kathryn, made Patrick feel like part of their family.
''When we were in New York in September, Patrick came to my son's birthday party at our team hotel," said Nixon. ''It looked like something was wrong with him, but he succeeded in convincing me he was fine that night. He was going to live his life no matter what was happening to him. It's hard to sum up Patrick's life. We all wanted him to be with us longer, but even in this time of grief we're celebrating his life."
Patrick was afflicted with rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of tissue cancer. He first underwent treatment at Dana-Farber when he was 9. Initially, his cancer went into remission after a year, but it returned twice, most recently in the summer of 2004, when Patrick was 13. By then, Quincy Youth Baseball had already established a Babe Ruth Jimmy Fund Tournament in his honor. In August 2004, Patrick endured chemo treatments during the day, then played in tournament games at night. His only concession to cancer was moving from shortstop to second base -- to make things easier on his throwing arm.
''Baseball plays a big role in my life," he said at that time. ''It helps me not think about being sick. When I play baseball, I usually don't feel sick."
''The players on his team always wanted him in there, even when he got weak from the treatments and maybe shouldn't have been in there," recalled Andrews.
''He didn't swing and miss very much in his life," added Patrick's dad.
A freshman at North Quincy High School, Patrick looked forward to someday playing shortstop and batting in the two-hole for the varsity Red Raiders. The Sixth Annual Patrick White Jimmy Fund tournament will be held at Adams Field next August in Quincy.
On Oct. 30, 2004, Patrick and his family rode on the
''It was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill," said Patrick's father. ''The Red Sox winning the World Series was a special thing in his life, and to be able to celebrate with them was incredible."
In addition to his father, Patrick leaves his mother, Barbara, a nurse at New England Medical Center; 10-year-old twin sisters, Katie and Meghan; grandparents Fran and Judy Toland and Nancy White, all of Quincy; and many uncles, aunts, and cousins.
A funeral Mass will be said Monday at 11 a.m. in St. Anne's Parish in Quincy.
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
