Fans watching Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game coverage may have noticed that New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso and Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres offered shoutouts to Mets first base coach Wayne Kirby during the contest's "Stand Up to Cancer" segment:
#Mets Pete Alonso and #Padres Manny Machado each write current Mets first base coach Wayne Kirby during the All Star Game’s Stand Up To Cancer segment
— Nate Mendelson (@NateMendelson) July 20, 2022
Kirby coached Machado when he was with the Orioles and Padres pic.twitter.com/PixS1BTCEr
Jon Heyman of the New York Post provided more information early Wednesday morning.
Per Heyman, Kirby successfully underwent prostate cancer surgery Tuesday morning. The hope is that he'll return to the Mets at some point in the next few days.
As Colin Martin noted for SNY, Caylee Kirby, Wayne Kirby's daughter, confirmed that the 58-year-old learned about the cancer this past spring. The coach had hoped to delay a procedure until the end of the ongoing season but was advised to get things taken care of sooner than later by multiple individuals, including Mets manager Buck Showalter.
"Pretty awesome surgery," Kirby texted Heyman from the medical facility. "I’m walking the halls of the hospital and feeling good."
Kirby enjoyed stints with the then-Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers and Mets during his playing career, and he's worked as a coach since 2011. Meanwhile, the 58-35 Mets entered the All-Star break holding a two-and-a-half-game lead over the second-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings.
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