Greenlawn's Corey Phelan, pitcher in the Phillies' minor-league system, dies at 20

Corey Phelan’s goal from a young age was to play baseball at the highest level, and he was always making plans to get there.

It all began to come together in the summer of 2020 after he graduated from Harborfields High School. The Philadelphia Phillies offered the 6-2 lefthanded pitcher from Greenlawn a contract, and he opted against a commitment to attend Flagler College in Florida to sign his first professional deal.

This past April, when Phelan reported to the Phillies' minor league spring training complex in Clearwater, Florida, he began feeling discomfort in his chest. He called his father, Chris Phelan, who advised him to speak with the Phillies training staff. An EKG exam revealed nothing irregular but an appointment was made for the next day with a cardiologist. As he was readying for that appointment on April 14, Phelan collapsed in the shower. He called 911 and was rushed to a local hospital. A CT scan of his chest revealed a nine-inch mass pressing on his heart.

Phelan died on Wednesday at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia surrounded by family after a six-month battle against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, his family said. He was 20.

“He loved to be around his friends and family and he loved playing baseball,” his father said. “He was the one who was sick, but he couldn’t bear the idea that we would suffer knowing how much pain he was in the last few months. He hid it from us to spare us. . . . He was always thinking about those he loved.”

Corey Phelan appeared in five games in 2021 with  Philadelphia’s Florida Complex League affiliate, pitching 9 2/3 innings and allowing one run.

“This was a kid who did everything right; on the ball field and in everything else,” said Jim Clark, the director of the Titans Baseball program that Phelan played for every summer. “He was the genuine article. That’s why this cuts so deep."

The Phillies on Thursday issued a statement reading, in part, “The Phillies family is extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Corey Phelan. Corey’s positive presence and selflessness influenced everyone around him. While he was incredibly passionate about the game of baseball, his love for his family and his strong faith superseded everything else.”

Phelan combined talent with a tireless work ethic and blossomed after he developed physically in the last years at Harborfields, despite his senior season being canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The transformation happened pretty fast when he developed physically, putting size and strength behind the strong form he developed,” said Tom Downey, a Phillies scout based on Long Island and also is involved in Titans baseball. “As a sophomore and early in his junior year he might have been [throwing] 78 or 80 [mph] but in a matter of maybe 10 months he was 88 or 89. . . . And he was very competitive, unafraid to go after hitters.”

Downey recounts a phone call he got on a Saturday night six or seven years ago from a number he didn’t recognize. It was Corey Phelan demanding that his father be removed as coach of his Titans youth team.

“He told me, ‘He took me out in the sixth inning of a no-hitter,’ and he has to go,' ” Downey said. “I didn’t realize he was calling from the back seat of their car until I heard Chris in the background say, ‘Maybe you could have stayed in if you hadn’t walked those three batters.’ ”

“That was Corey: so competitive,” Chris Phelan said.

Corey Phelan handled his devastating diagnosis with grace, tapping into his devout Christian beliefs. “God’s got me,” Downey recalls him saying.

“He was such a faithful person,” Chris Phelan said. “He would tell me ‘God has me’ or that ‘This is God’s plan and it’s a beautiful plan.’ ”

Chris Phelan said the Phillies organization provided enormous support for his son and the family during the six-month battle. The team was constantly in touch with and at the side of the Phelans, helped get Corey into Children’s Hospital where he underwent experimental treatment and had him into the clubhouse to visit with the team before home games when he was able. Senior advisor Larry Bowa was at the hospital for Corey Phelan’s final hour.

Phelan is survived by his parents, Chris and Christie, brothers Connor, 21, and Colin, 18, and sister Caleigh, 16.

Visitation at Nolan Funeral Home in Northport is scheduled for Monday, 2-4 p.m., and Tuesday, 2-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. A funeral mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Centerport.

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.