SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rockies senior player development director Chris Forbes has spent more than half of his 53 years fighting cancer with a head-on spirit, meticulous study and -- a quip that mixes realism with optimism.
“I guess we’re trying to throw cancer first-pitch breaking balls – which is not uncommon in this present game,” he said before chuckling.
Forbes arrived for the start of camp, but left Wednesday for Tijuana, Mexico, where he is undergoing alternative treatments not available in the U.S. Having dealt with chemotherapy’s side effects: Such as an affected immune system, enlarged spleen and blood clots, Forbes thoroughly researched the information, and made it a point to talk to actual patients. The current plan is oxygenation therapy to reprogram cancer cells to cut off certain enzymes that help feed them.
“I’m betting on myself,” Forbes said. “I can’t stress that part enough.”
Since he was originally diagnosed, Forbes has fashioned a career as an assistant coach at Johnson Community College in Overland Park, Kan., at Kansas State, and at the University of Northern Colorado. He joined the Rockies' scouting department starting in 2007, and has headed the player development department since 2015.
Originally diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1999, Forbes survived two inoperable brain tumors and a gunshot wound to his stomach in 2000 when he escaped a carjacking while returning from a cancer treatment in Kansas City. The latest diagnosis came in 2023, when a dermatology checkup found skin cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes. He currently has a tumor that is against his spine, and surgery is too risky.
Forbes endures pain and sleeplessness, but when the sun rises he uses what he’s going through to be better at his job. The “patient-care committee mindset” Forbes has learned from doctors and researchers -- especially from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston -- sparks some of his player development ideas, like asking new Major League hitting coach Brett Pill to assess video of infielder-outfielder Roldy Brito. The team's No. 16 prospect, is coming off a combined .370 performance at the Arizona Complex League and Single-A Fresno.
Yet most prospects know little of Forbes’ health challenges.
“When you put it out there, they’ll know,” Forbes said.
But Forbes has been there for a prospect who is going through his own health scare.
After putting himself on the prospect radar with a strong season at High-A Spokane, infielder Braylen Wimmer, 24, was chosen for the Arizona Fall League. But in November, Wimmer was diagnosed with a golf ball-sized tumor (Grade 2 astrocytoma) on the left side of his brain and underwent a 3 1/2-hour surgery. Forbes flew to Oklahoma for the surgery.
Wimmer – who was hitting soft-toss two weeks after surgery – is in Minor League camp and hoping to begin the season on an active Minor League roster. He knew little of Forbes’ situation before his own situation, and had no idea Forbes is in Tijuana now.
“He just gets up, leaves, comes back and doesn’t say anything,” Wimmer said. “It’s incredible. That’s a good role model for me. I don’t want this to define me, and he’s the same way. He shows up to work and does what he does.”
Forbes said he offers what he can to Wimmer, but respects that all cancer battles have a solitary aspect.
“I can’t tell him how he’s going to feel, because it’s mentally draining,” Forbes said. “But I can tell him, ultimately, the sun is going to rise every day.
“It’s been a big part of my routine. You have a sleepless night, then you take a knee, get up, get a cup of coffee. I will literally stare at the sunrise from my back porch to give me the mindset of renewal for that day.”
Forbes said the Rockies have been supportive, adding that owner, chairman and CEO Dick Monfort and his son, club president Walker Monfort, are “unbelievable human beings, the way they treat people,” and new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta has been equally supportive.
Walker Monfort said he has watched Forbes put cancer on the back burner for so long.
“I check in with ‘Forbesie’ on how he’s doing,” Walker Monfort said. “He’s had health concerns for a long time. And I hate to say it, but he’s the man for the job. He doesn’t let it affect his work, and he’s keeping us up to speed. Our hope is he can get in a position where he is completely healthy at some point. But we’re here to support Chris.”
A native of Monument, Colo., Forbes said he leans on support from his mother, Diane, father, Al, and sister, Allison -- whether it’s to get through rough times or just discuss happier pursuits.
“I’m not stupid -- I know what can happen if this betting on myself doesn’t work,” Forbes said.”But everybody seems to be on board and supportive.
“I know there is a way through it. There’s no way out of it. We just need to find the right combination, collectively.”