Type 1 Diagnosis Delays Pro Baseball Career

A top pro baseball prospect has backed out of signing with the Milwaukee Brewers after learning in a routine physical he has type 1 diabetes.

Dylan Covey, 19, was a first-round draft pick of the Brewers, but will instead attend and pitch for the University of San Diego, near his home of Pasadena, Calif.
He tells the blog Baseball Beginnings that learning how to live with diabetes would be easier while playing at the college level.

The Brewers were prepared to sign Covey in spite of the diagnosis, Covey’s father, Darrell Covey, tells USA Today. The news came as a shock, Darrell Covey also said, adding that none of Covey’s relatives have had diabetes for generations.

The diagnosis helps explain a slump Covey experienced late last season, Covey said in the Baseball Beginnings interview. There had been rumors that Covey suffered a shoulder injury, but now he suspects diabetes played a role. Indeed, the Brewers physical gave Covey a clean bill of health excluding the diabetes diagnosis.

Covey talked with Toronto pitcher Brandon Morrow, who also has type 1, on Sunday night, before making the decision to stay amateur, he also said in the interview.

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