Josh Cohen (Fall, 2016) vs. Josh Cohen (today)

OAKLAND, NJ—The game of baseball has its way of creating poetry in motion, and occasionally can be described as Shakespearian in its comedies (see: Bartolo Colon) and its tragedies (see: Mets fans), but can still come full circle. Littered with instances of metaphorical justice, triumph, and perseverance—baseball is forever etched into players, coaches, and parents alike as a beautiful thing.

Few can understand the magnitude of all of these emotions quite like Josh Cohen. He is your typical teenage baseball player – with aspirations of playing at a high level in college, performing on the field, and helping his team win, and the spring and summer of 2016 was no different. Hailing from Oakland, NJ, Cohen was well on his way to becoming the next legitimate college baseball prospect out of the F.L.O.W. area (Franklin Lakes, Oakland, & Wyckoff) – and after his sophomore season in 2016, Cohen was doing all the right things to create some noise for himself.

After the spring season ended, Cohen went on the typical summer circuit with his travel team, the PS2 Crusaders. He went to showcases, played in tournaments, and was around the game day and night. It was, and still is, his passion. The first thing that comes to mind in all the struggles of teenage life is “when is my next game” and “when can I pitch again?”

In June of 2016, the lanky, athletic 6-foot-2, 180-pound right-hander possessed a fastball that touched 87 MPH and a two-plane curveball that complemented his heater. He was strong, athletic, and had room to fill out—a prototypical pitcher’s build as far as college coaches are concerned.

And he enjoyed the first part of that summer, playing with his friends, hanging out and playing baseball—the dream of all prospective players.

On July 4, 2016, Cohen noticed something was a little off. He was hanging out with his friends at a barbeque, taking pictures for ‘the [insta]gram’ as all teenagers do, when one of those pictures caught his eye.

“There was one photo from that night that I zoomed in on and noticed something different with the side of my face. I didn’t think too much about it, but it just looked different.”

At dinner a few nights later, his sister noticed it and it got the attention of his mother, too.

“My sister asked, ‘Josh what’s up with your cheek?’”

 

Cohen on July 4th, 2016 vs. Cohen Today

The family went to numerous doctors, from pediatricians to radiologists, to find out what was causing his cheek to protrude out farther than it normally would, but to no avail. After several visits, Cohen and his doctors could not find anything medically wrong.

Doctors advised a CT Scan to delve into the tissues on his face to finally put to rest the worry of Cohen and his family.

Two weeks later, Cohen was playing XBox when the phone rang. His mother answered and immediately burst into tears—so much so that Cohen dropped the controller and ran to his mother. After repeated attempts to ask what was wrong and with no answer other than tears, Cohen thought that something was up. He called both his sisters to ask if anything happened. He called his step-father to see if everything was all right at work—and everything was fine.

Still without a response from his mother, Cohen sat in his living room and waited. His sister came home and immediately went to see what was wrong with Cohen’s mother. Both his sister and his mother emerged from the adjacent room and sat down next to him, and told him the news.

Ewing’s Sarcoma. A rare bone cancer typically found in the pelvis and lower extremities, had metastasized in his cheek bone.

At a loss for words and thought, Cohen rose up from his seat and went outside to his wiffle ball field, straight to the pitcher’s rubber and yelled “Why me?” at the top of his lungs.

A once promising path to college baseball was now halted, albeit, temporarily.

Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and blood transfusions started just 10 days after the diagnosis. In a time of despair, one thing remained on his mind: baseball.

“The first thing I asked the doctor when I saw him after the diagnosis was ‘when’s the next time I can pitch again?’”

A long, arduous process would unfold for Cohen, lasting from July 20, 2016 through April 7, 2017—a sizable chunk of his junior year, and would undoubtedly put him out of baseball indefinitely.

“I went through 14 rounds of intense chemotherapy, 31 rounds of radiation therapy, and more than 20 rounds of blood transfusions. It was hell,” Cohen said. “From July until April, it was every other week with chemotherapy that lasted between two days in the hospital to a full week. And after the week long chemo rounds, I would have to go back for blood transfusions.”

“My lowest point was right in the middle of it all. The doctor explained to me that my blood counts were so low that if I was an adult going through the same process, I would have died of a heart attack.”

The doctors at Hackensack Hospital were able to use Radiation Proton Therapy, which as Cohen described was essentially a proton beam aimed directly at the tumor in his face. The process would take five to 10 minutes each time, effectively destroying the cancer cells, but also destroying the other cells around it.

“If you look closely when I grow out my beard, it only grows on the left side of my face. All the hair follicles on the right side of my face are dead.”

Without any symptoms, it was extremely difficult for Cohen to wrap his head around at first.

“My diet was good, I was always outside running around, and always happy. This whole thing was a complete surprise.”

Throughout the whole ordeal, Cohen received support from his family, friends, teachers, and coaches—even from former New York Giants Linebacker Mark Herzlich. Herzlich, as it turned out, is a survivor of the same type of cancer. Cohen was able to meet with Herzlich one day at practice in East Rutherford to talk about the journey he went through, and provide any advice.

“Mark helped me out a lot. We sat down for some lunch and he took one look at me and said ‘you have to eat.’”

Cohen had dropped from 181 pounds in early July to 164 pounds my mid-fall.

“Most people lose weight when they go through chemo with how much of a toll it takes on your body. I actually gained weight after meeting with Mark.”

Herzlich explained that eating everything in sight was the biggest help for him—it just kept his body strong enough to take on the hits of chemotherapy and radiation.

Cohen gained a staggering 44 pounds in a two-month period, bringing his weight to 208 pounds, the heaviest he’s ever been.

“I would eat everything that I saw,” Cohen said after meeting with the Giants linebacker. “The added weight gave me the strength to power through.”

But as the chemo and radiation wore on, there was still that one thought in the back of his head that kept permeating to the surface, even at his lowest points: baseball.

Cohen, at the point of meeting Herzlich, hadn’t been in school a single day. The school recognized that education came secondary at this point and gave Cohen the option: receive homeschooling or take as much time as he needed off from school. Cohen chose the latter.

“I said, ‘who wants to do work when dealing with something like this?’”

Cohen took much time as he needed—the entire 2016-2017 school year, in fact. This put him out of baseball for a pivotal part of the recruiting process.

In the middle of the whole thing, Cohen spoke to baseball coach George Hill and Athletic Director Lorenzo Baratta about his eligibility. Baratta appealed to the NJSIAA for a newly granted year of eligibility, something that as Cohen says, went relatively smoothly.

“Mr. Baratta and Coach Hill had said the appeal was easy. The NJSIAA gave me another year to play because of medical reasons.”

So, even though the classmates he’s been going to school with since elementary school are now seniors, Cohen is considered a junior both in baseball and in academia.

The turning point for Cohen came in early January of 2017—when the doctor brought Cohen aside to encourage him to keep moving forward.

“The doctor told me just to keep moving and that I was coming along nicely and that the end is in sight.”

Three months later, on April 7th, 2017 Cohen received his last therapy session, and on May 1, 2017, he was declared cancer free.

“It was an amazing feeling to wake up on May 2. I’d gained perspective on life and all the things I had taken for granted. I was ready to get back to my old self.”

Barely two months removed from his last chemotherapy session, Cohen was back on the pitcher’s mound.

“I played summer ball that year and right after I was declared cancer free, I started working out like a maniac” Cohen said. “I threw one inning in my first outing back and struck out the side. It was awesome.”

All of this brings us to May 1, 2018. A game between sister-school rival Ramapo, with none other than Cohen toeing the rubber for the Braves.

“It just so happened that the timing worked out that I would be starting against one of our biggest rivals on the one-year anniversary of my cancer free diagnosis.”

“What was also cool is that on April 7 of this year, I made my first ever varsity start, which was the year-anniversary of my last chemo session.”

Timing is everything in baseball, and it couldn't have been drawn up better in a movie script it seems. Facing a cross-town rival on your cancer-free day, making your first varsity start on your the anniversary of your last chemo session puts it all together nicely for you, Steven Spielberg.

Cohen owes all of the success in his journey to his mother and his family for all the support. “My mom is an amazing person. She was there every single step of the way for me. All the doctors visits, everything. She and I have a special bond that can never be broken.”

As far as the baseball game was concerned, Cohen showcased well. He fell victim to some misplays in the field, but battled through some tough spots in the game. His fastball sat 85-86 and featured a breaking ball with big 11/5 break at 67-69 and a swing-and-miss changeup at 73-74 with late armside fade and fastball spin.

?Uncommitted ‘19 Alert?

RHP Josh Cohen (Indian Hills HS, NJ) is 85-86 early in this game. Flashes a true swing and miss changeup at 73-74 that he will throw to all batters in all counts and an 11/5 breaker at 67-68. pic.twitter.com/YKkX816pEs

— PBR New Jersey (@PBRNewJersey) May 1, 2018

As for Cohen, he’s happy to finally be back on the field playing the game he loves, while competing against Bergen County’s best.

“As corny as it sounds and as cliche as it is, it helped incredibly to stay positive through it all.”

“I didn’t worry about surviving, I knew i was going to survive the whole time. All I wanted to do was pitch again.”

 

UPCOMING NJ EVENTS
Summer Preview North – Open to 2019s – 2021s >>

Summer Preview South – Open to 2019s – 2021s >>

 

More NJ News