Baseball helping Irving high school player beat cancer

IRVING, Texas - Friends, family and teammates are rallying around an Irving high school baseball player as he battles cancer.

At 15 years old, Irving Nimitz High baseball player Adam Salinas was hit with a curve ball out of nowhere.

“When they told me it was cancer, I just started bawling,” he said.

Now after 36 rounds of chemo, two bone marrow transplants and several surgeries, the teenager who battled neuroblastoma for two years feels like he's rounding third base. Adam’s cancer is now in remission.

"He is probably the strongest person I have ever known,” said Jennifer Burns, Adam’s mother. “Never mind, he's the strongest kid I know. He's the strongest person I've ever met in my entire life."

"I'm still able to do a lot of stuff I was able to do before, but baseball is the main thing I want to get back to,” Adam said.

Adam’s mom, stepfather and 2-year-old sister Anniston are his biggest fans. They point to an army of supporters who've become known as Team Adam, a group that even made moving stress-free.

"A bunch of his teachers, coaches and friends got together packed up all of our stuff while we were at the hospital, moved us into this house and set everything up for us,” said Detrick Burns, Adam’s stepdad. “The help has been amazing."

Adam’s teammates, major league players and even the Texas Rangers have rallied around him. And for the first time, he's preparing to slowly rejoin his team.

“I've been slowly practicing. But when I get to play, I don't even know how I'm going to feel,” he said. “It's all gonna come at once."

Adam is referring to not only his pitching and centerfield skills, but his emotions from getting past the toughest opponent of his life.

“Like five times I've been to the point where I don't want to do this anymore. But then I've everybody come around me so quickly,” he said. “It’s not easy. You have to be mentally strong. Baseball helped me a lot with that."