GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP)—Chris Ramirez stood in the hot desert sun, smiling as he surveyed the pitchers tossing in front of him.

The teenager asked for a tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers a year ago after he had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. The Make-a-Wish Foundation fulfilled his request, not knowing Ramirez would overcome his cancer and return to spring training.

“It feels great. Things have turned out the best,” Ramirez said Saturday at Camelback Ranch.

The 18-year-old from San Francisco underwent chemotherapy and radiation after being diagnosed with glioblastoma following a seizure. His tumor has been reduced to the size of a pinhead and he is in remission.

“I’m so grateful he’s really healthy,” said his mother, Sara Beltran.

Ramirez still dreams of a career in baseball. He is a redshirt on the Skyline Junior College team in the Bay Area.

“This summer I’ll be playing a lot of baseball and hoping more scouts will come and see me play,” he said.

A year ago, Ramirez worked out with the Dodgers, throwing a bullpen session, fielding grounders, going through defensive drills and taking batting practice. He wore a team uniform and was given a locker in the clubhouse.

On Saturday, he took in the Dodgers’ 2-0 win over Cincinnati with his mother and 12-year-old sister, Erika.

“I still can’t believe the cancer I had. I got real lucky with the type of cancer that I had because it’s rare and you’re supposed to get it when you’re 60 or 70,” Ramirez said. “I feel lucky and the Dodgers gave me something to look forward to. They said I can always come back.”

Last spring, Ramirez got to meet Manny Ramirez(notes), his favorite player at the time who is now with Tampa Bay.

“I forgot about him,” he said. “I hope everything works out for him and hopefully he finds it again.”

James Loney(notes), Matt Kemp(notes), Rafael Furcal(notes) and Juan Uribe(notes) made Chris Ramirez feel at home this time.

He remembers being more shocked than depressed when he was told he had cancer.

“I never felt sick at all,” he said. “Like I told the doctors, I feel like there’s nothing wrong with me. I thought they got the papers mixed up (at the hospital). When they told me I had cancer, I was like, `Are you sure it’s me?”’

Beltran said that while she was deeply upset by the news, her son remained upbeat.

“He said, `Mom, maybe this is a way to grow up and be a better person,”’ she said, “but I said he’s never been a bad kid.”

Ramirez wants to pursue his baseball dreams as far as he can go. If a playing career doesn’t work out, he said he wants to stay in the sport through coaching or working in sports medicine.

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LOS ANGELES — Fortunately for the Dodgers, there’s always next year.

The past one, not so good.

From ownership uncertainty to Manny Ramirez’s demise, from Matt Kemp’s struggles to the bullpen’s meltdown, the Dodgers foundered to the point that a frustrated manager Joe Torre stepped down and turned over the club to Don Mattingly.

Coming off consecutive National League West titles and appearances in the NL Championship Series, the Dodgers finished in fourth place with their first losing record in five years.

Nonetheless, there were bright spots: Clayton Kershaw stepped up as the rotation ace at age 22; Chad Billingsley rebounded to provide an impressive 1-2 top of the rotation; Hong-Chih Kuo posted the lowest ERA in the game and took over as closer; rookie Kenley Jansen continued his meteoric conversion from catcher to closer-in-training; and veteran utilityman Jamey Carroll proved invaluable for his versatility and toughness.

But injuries took their toll. Opening Day starter Vicente Padilla was hurt twice and made only 16 starts, catcher Russell Martin broke his hip and missed almost two months, Andre Ethier was en route to a monster season until breaking his finger in a freak batting-practice mishap and Ramirez couldn’t stay on the field because of leg injuries.

The Dodgers’ top five story lines of 2010:

Looking back at 2010 MLB Year in Review • Game prospering • Final standings • Statistical leaders

5. Bullpen ineffectiveness was the biggest difference between 2009 and 2010.

It started in the spring with Ronald Belisario’s visa problems and — except for Kuo’s phenomenal season and Jansen’s arrival — the burden of Belisario’s unreliability caused a domino effect throughout the Dodgers’ bullpen that lasted all year. Jonathan Broxton losing the closer job was the most telling, but George Sherrill was a mess all season, Belisario later missed a month with personal problems, Ramon Troncoso’s sinker stopped sinking and Jeff Weaver struggled.

4. Instead of a rebound season from Ramirez, he lost power, health and eventually his job.

The Dodgers had $20 million riding that Ramirez would regain his 2008 impact after a 2009 season ruined by a drug suspension. Instead, Ramirez seemed uninspired and dour right from the time in Spring Training that he announced it would be his last season in Los Angeles. Leg injuries made playing time erratic, and when on the field, he never looked like he wanted to be. Ultimately, he was claimed off waivers by the White Sox, saving the Dodgers nearly $4 million.

3. Ownership uncertainty clouded the organization’s future.

Critics blamed the divorce of owner Frank McCourt and wife Jamie with financially handcuffing general manager Ned Colletti, who was mostly a bystander during free agency after the 2009 season. Colletti maintained it was business as usual, but the Dodgers’ payroll did drop by $10 million and the club went into Spring Training without an identified fifth starting pitcher or an established starting second baseman. Nonetheless, Colletti was busy at the in-season deadlines, acquiring Scott Podsednik, Ted Lilly, Ryan Theriot, Octavio Dotel and Rod Barajas in an attempt to jump-start a late surge.

2. Kemp finishes a roller-coaster season on a high note.

Coming off a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger 2009, Kemp in 2010 was prodded by the general manager, benched after blowing up at the bench coach and took the brunt of criticism for an underachieving club as his batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage slid and he topped his franchise record for strikeouts. All this while in a highly publicized relationship with recording artist Rihanna. He still had a career-high 28 homers, played every game and laid the groundwork for 2011 by homering in his last five games.

1. Torre steps down, Mattingly steps up.

In effect, Torre fired himself. He was frustrated that nothing he said or did unlocked the talent and potential of his young club. He halted talks of a contract extension in March and by September announced he would hand over the reins of the Dodgers to his protégé and hand-picked successor, Mattingly, saying the club needed a younger voice as manager in 2011, even though he had led the team to consecutive division titles and the NL Championship Series in 2008 and 2009.

Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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