Dravecky Will Have Left Arm Amputated : Cancer: Former pitcher who made dramatic comeback has been in pain recently.

SAN FRANCISCO —  Former San Francisco pitcher Dave Dravecky will have his left arm amputated next Tuesday to alleviate chronic infection and nerve damage in the arm, the Giants announced Wednesday.

The surgery will be performed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Dravecky, 35, the author of one of baseball’s great comeback stories, has underdone three previous operations to remove cancerous tumors from the arm, most recently in May 1990.

“It is likely that the cancer has recurred in Dave’s arm,” said Dr. Murray Brennan, who will perform the surgery which is to remove the arm at the shoulder. Brennan said the treatment will relieve the pain Dravecky has been experiencing in recent weeks and is required by a recurring staph infection.

Brennan said the cancer has not spread beyond the arm.

“My wife, Jan, and I are at peace right now,” Dravecky said in the statement.

On Aug. 10, 1989, just 10 months after undergoing his first surgery when doctors removed 50% of the major pitching muscle in his left arm, Dravecky pitched seven shutout innings and beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3, in his first outing of the year.

But five days later, Dravecky broke his left arm while pitching against Montreal.

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