When Anthony Rizzo was diagnosed with cancer nearly seven years ago, he sought support from someone who’d been through it before.
While in Boston for his first round of chemotherapy, then-Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein invited Rizzo to Fenway Park to visit with Jon Lester.
Lester, two years removed from his own cancer diagnosis, spent an hour talking to the 18-year-old prospect.
“He told me when you feel good, go out and play, go out and do what you need to do normally and don’t let this restrict you,” Rizzo says of that conversation.
Now the two players are Cubs teammates after Lester signed a six-year, $155 million contract this offseason.
Rizzo’s story will be shared on MLB Network Presents at 8 p.m. today.
Here’s a preview of the episode. Included are interviews with Lester, Epstein, Rizzo and Rizzo’s father John:
