Life is full of peaks and valleys. Often, the up-and-down nature of life encompasses long stretches of each extreme, but every so often, a single day can bring a little of both.
Such was the case for Clemson pitcher Clate Schmidt on June 10.
That date marked the first of eight weeks’ worth of chemotherapy treatments for Schmidt as he began his fight against Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The right-handed hurler knew the day would change his life, but he had no idea it would happen again hours later when the Boston Red Sox chose him in the 32nd round of the Major League Baseball Draft.
“We were sitting on the back porch. We were listening to the radio, and that’s when we heard my name called,” Schmidt said in a radio interview with WCCP on Tuesday. “Right after that, we got a call from the Red Sox organization.
“They completely caught me off guard. It was incredible.”
That summer day began a journey for Schmidt and his family that has joined two diametrically opposite pursuits—the battle against cancer and the battle to remain on the baseball field—together. Even as he pondered the future path his life would take, Schmidt says he spent only about an hour deciding whether to pursue a professional career or return to Clemson for one final season.
“I knew that I wanted to come back,” he said. “I had unfinished business here, and I wanted to experience that with my brothers.”
Schmidt cites his athletic background as the foundation on which he has learned how to defeat life’s obstacles. Cancer, he says, is simply the latest test for which he can draw strength from his time in the game.
“It’s been the basis of my mindset throughout this entire process—just being able to understand you’re not going to be able to do some things, but you’ve got to be able to tough it out and attack whatever things you can attack,” he said. “You don’t need to push yourself to the point where you can’t do anything anymore, but you need to push yourself to the point where you’re just on the brink of not being able to do anything.”
Schmidt’s diagnosis received national attention when he was drafted, and he was given the opportunity to travel to Cincinnati for MLB’s All-Star Weekend as a part of the Stand Up to Cancer campaign. During the trip, Schmidt crossed paths with one of his childhood heroes—former St. Louis Cardinals shortstop and Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith.
“I literally had a shrine of him as a child,” Schmidt said. “It was unbelievable being able to meet him.”
The perk came in the midst of eight weeks of chemotherapy. Schmidt says he is almost finished with that portion of his treatment and is preparing for around three weeks of radiation. The entire process is grueling and saps an individual’s strength. For a high-level athlete used to operating at peak performance levels, that aspect can be tough to take.
For Schmidt, however, the loss of strength does not lead to frustration. Instead, it has established within him a greater appreciation for aspects of life that are often taken for granted—especially by young, able-bodied people.
“When someone takes the game that you love away from you,” he said, “you understand and you start to appreciate the little things, appreciate the graces you’ve been given by God.
“In a way, I’m grateful to go through this because I understand the little things you need to appreciate now that people don’t understand until they’re in the late points of their lives. I understand those things now at an early age.”
New head coach Monte Lee and pitching coach Andrew See have both talked with Schmidt about his situation heading into the 2016 season. Schmidt has set the bar high for himself, but now more than ever, he also understands the importance of seeing the bigger picture.
“My goal coming back is to be the Friday night starter, but whatever the team needs me to be, I will be. Whatever we need to do to get to Omaha, I will fill that role.”
In his classic novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens begins with a familiar line: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” June 10, 2015 embodied that statement for Clate Schmidt, as a day that began the most important battle of his life was punctuated emphatically with a phone call that made a dream come true.