Mel Stottlemyre was in hospital due to reaction to medicine, wife says

Former New York Yankees pitcher Mel Stottlemyre has returned home from a recent stay in the hospital due to abad reaction to his chemotherapy medicine.

Stottlemyre's wife, Jean, told the New York Daily News on Friday that her 75-year-old husband is "getting closer to being back to normal."

Mel Stottlemyre announced in 2000 that he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood marrow. His five-day stay in a Seattle-area hospital brought much reaction from Yankees fans, after his son, Todd, wrote on Facebook that his dad was "fighting for his life."

"It wasn't the cancer that put him in the hospital," Jean Stottlemyre told the Daily News. "It was the reaction to his medicine. But everyone was worried about an infection, which would have been bad.

"They gave him antibiotics and tons of fluid because they were having a hard time keeping his blood pressure up. At one point, it was 58 over 35. It got scary. But he's home, and he's improved a lot, especially the last couple of days."

Stottlemyre had stem cell transplant surgery in 2000 that eventually sent his cancer into remission. The cancer returned in 2011, and he has been receiving some form of treatment since then.

Stottlemyre was a three-time 20-game winner for the Yankees, as well as a five-time All-Star. He played 11 seasons in the Bronx, from 1964 to 1974, and compiled a career record of 164-139.

He was the Yankees' pitching coach for four World Series titles (1996, 1998-2000). He also was the pitching coach on the Mets' 1986 world championship team.