Rick Sutcliffe out of hospital after emergency hernia surgery
BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com March 2, 2013 9:16PM
Rick Sutcliffe, who won the Cy Young Award with the Cubs in 1984, has been a spring-training instructor. | Scott Stewart~Sun-Times
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Updated: April 4, 2013 6:58AM
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — After an emergency hernia surgery and four days in a hospital, Rick Sutcliffe knew where he wanted to go, even as he struggled to get in a cab upon being released Saturday.
A few minutes later, he was at Scottsdale Stadium, where he watched the Cubs-Giants game from the stands.
“Walking into the ballpark … it’s like they say, all your worries go away,” said Sutcliffe, 56.
He expects to have his stitches removed Wednesday and start a full schedule of World Baseball Classic coverage from the broadcast booth two days later.
Sutcliffe, the Cubs’ Cy Young winner in 1984, has been an instructor in camp. He wound up in a hospital after feeling abdominal pain Monday night and waking up in worse pain Tuesday. Tests showed the area of re-attached colon from his cancer surgery in 2008 had become blocked and torn.
“After my colon cancer, I didn’t think my colon would give me any more trouble,” he said. “I’m just lucky.”
Even as he showed the marks from his IVs and spoke in weary, pained tones, his humor was intact.
“I came here hoping, as always, to lose a little weight,” said Sutcliffe, who dropped 20 pounds in four days. “I said I’d do anything to lose 10 or 15. I lied.”
