Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley is battling cancer

(AP) As Texas Rangers players and coaches reported to camp this week, one very important piece of their puzzle missing. Earlier this month, third base coach Tony Beasley was diagnosed with early stage rectal cancer, which has slightly delayed his arrival.

That will change on Saturday though. With his doctor’s blessing, Beasley will join the Rangers in Surprise, Ariz. and will continue undergoing chemotherapy for what’s described as a treatable form of the disease while performing his coaching duties.

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The team will be ready to embrace and support Beasley too. Especially Rangers manager and Beasley’s long time friend Jeff Banister, who survived a battle with bone cancer as a sophomore in high school.

“This morning was tough for me when I looked out over our coaching staff and one of our coaches was not there because for me it is still our family, our second family if you will.”

“I have known Tony for a long time,” Banister said. “I consider Tony family more than anything else because we have spent so much time together. This one has been a challenge emotionally.”

General manager Jon Daniels echoed Banister’s sentiments, adding that Beasley will have a lot of people in his corner ready to fight along with him.

“Obviously our thoughts are away from baseball and with Tony and his family,” said general manager Jon Daniels. “The good news is he is coming out here tomorrow with his doctor’s blessing. He’ll get his treatments out here and participate in our camp, which will be huge for him and it will be huge for us.

“We can wrap our arms around him and help pick him up as he fights through this. He is a big part of what we are doing, both with his history with [manager Jeff Banister] and the strong bond he has built with the players and staff. We are committed to help him get through this.”

The Rangers are hopeful Beasley will be with them when the season starts, but will be forced monitor his workload during the spring. That will mostly be determined by how Beasley is feeling, but the Rangers may also decide to find an interim replacement while he works back toward full strength.

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Aside from coaching third base, Beasley’s primary duty is baserunning, but he also dabbles in other areas and serves as something close to Banister’s right-hand man. There’s a lot of trust and respect between them, which became increasingly apparent while Banister spoke about Beasley on Friday.

Texas Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley congratulates Adrian Beltre following his home run on Aug. 16, 2015. (AP) “When you’re faced with this type of situation, you find a way to put up your fist and fight,” Banister said. “I know how tough Tony is and I know where his fist is at. I’ll be the support coach and the spirit coach. That’s where I will be with Tony.”

Beasley, 49, is entering his 28th season of professional baseball as a player and now a coach. He spent 10 seasons in the minors, but never made it to the big leagues. Beasley spent most of his coaching days with the Pittsburgh Pirates, serving as a coach, coordinator and minor league manager, before being adding to Banister’s coaching staff in Texas in 2014.

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