The first 3 months post-op were exciting in the sense that everything was new and changes were dramatic.  Things returned to normal rather quickly, and it was all building up to that fateful day when I would chuck that pill again, even if it was only for 30 feet at first.

Surgery Day

I was in and out of the O.R. in about 75 minutes, and I had minimal pain and wasn’t overly groggy or out of it.  I had a prescription for Vicodin and a sling on my arm that I was to keep on for two days.  I was told I could move my hand and arm around in any way I wanted, and I could squeeze a soft ball.  I went home and did all of the above, though I only had the strength of an infant with low blood-sugar.

I was worried about my arm not being immobilized, as I had previously mentioned, but I dealt with it, and I was quite nice after those two days passed and I had only an Ace bandage left covering my incision.

Week 1

I was given 4 different Thera-Bands  at my 7 day post-op visit and was instructed to perform 4 exercises with them every day.  I was to start light and move up once I could perform 2 sets of 20 reps with each exercise. The four, which I still do daily 9 months later, are: Wrist Flexion, Extension, Supination and Pronation.  I also continued to squeeze a soft ball.

Weeks 2 to 3

My other goal, beside strengthening my forearm, was to extend my arm.  As soon as the brace was off I was on my own to do this as tolerated.  All day I would just flex and extend, flex and extend, flex and extend.  The first 150 degrees or so of extension came within about 2 weeks, but the last 30 and then 15 degrees were tough to get.  By about 3 weeks I could fully extend my arm, but upon awakening It would usually be a little less than straight until a week or two later.

Since Dr. Morgan views glenohumeral internal rotation deficiency (GIRD) as a chief factor in elbow problems, I was instructed to resumed sleeper stretches and hip flexibility exercises at week 3.  Addressing and correcting flexibility problems before throwing was a necessity.

One of the most helpful exercises in getting my arm to extend was to prop a pillow under my tricep and hold a 1 lb dumbell in my hand, allowing gravity and the weight to extend it.

Weeks 3-6

At the week 3 check-up I was given the green light to start conditioning again, as my incision was closed and sweat would no longer cause an infection risk.  So I started running, doing Bikram yoga, and lifting weights to the extent I could without using my right arm.  I also started with light scapula exercises, which I also performed with Thera-Bands.

Slightly Swollen Elbow at Week 3

I was able to squat using a Top Squat attachment, and I did a lot of sled dragging with a harness, and body weight and weighted vest exercises.  I was happy to be active again.

Weeks 6-12

I was cleared to lift weights to my heart’s content at week 6, but again, I had to start light.  I started with wall pushups and worked up (or down) to floor pushups. Holding a 15 pound weight  would make my forearm nearest the elbow pretty tired, but over time that effect would only occur with heavier and heavier weights, until around week 10 I could hold 50s in each hand with no problem.  Most of my upper-body work was done with light dumbbells and bands until my strength was back up.  It was crucial to get my overall body strength up before the throwing phase started at week 12.

I also resumed my rotator cuff circuit at week 6.  This was the Orioles shoulder workout and is very extensive.  It takes about 30 minutes to complete 2 cycles.  I credit this with the fact that my shoulder has been perfect and very strong since.  Many pitchers return from elbow surgery just to tear a labrum or rotator cuff afterward because they neglect their shoulders while rehabbing their elbows.  While injuries are never totally controllable and preventable, I did everything I could to avoid any further arm problems.

What the doctor told me was that my elbow was fine, and that I could lift and run around and fall on it if I wanted.  I didn’t really believe this, but an important event took place around week 8 when I started running agilities and sprints with the team.  Within ten minutes in the first session of agilities I clipped a cone, slipped, and caught myself as I fell with my throwing arm.  I got up, finished the drilled, looked down at my arm, and let out a big sigh of relief.  It was a big moment, because I didn’t really trust my arm before that fall.  But fall I did, and nothing happened.  No pain, no soreness, no stiffness, nothing.  It was a blessing in disguise, and I trusted my arm from that point on.

At week 10 it was swelling-free and ready to go

At Week 10 I was feeling pretty strong, with full range of motion and no swelling left in my arm.  It felt normal and ready to go.

At week 12 I had another check-up and was cleared to start throwing.  It was exciting yet nerve-racking at the same time.  It was the next step, and I was physically ready for it, but mentally was a slightly different story…

The standard over-the-right-shoulder camera view on the pitcher tracks the ball brilliantly as soon as it leaves the hand.  Seemingly, we would pick up everything thats going on, but this is far from the truth.

Countless times have I heard, “how did he miss that pitch? It was right there.  Maybe it was, or maybe it wasnt.  Thing is, what the baseball does when being thrown 85+ mph is crazy, especially by the Major League pitch-smiths.  Ever watched Greg Maddux pitch?  If you have, you have probably watched his fastball start at a lefty’s hip and mozy on back over the inside corner of the plate.  That is how it is shown on television.

Reality?  Maddux’s fastball darts, sharply and lately.  Imagine a bird flying directly at you and then suddenly changing direction right before slamming into you. Thats the kind of movement he has on his fastball.

Fastballs from most pitchers look pretty much straight, or have a nice gently tail to the arm side, but this is, again, a deception by the camera.  Very few major league pitchers throw straight, and the ones who do (and are successful) throw in the upper 90s.  

Sharp movement on the fastball is crucial to success, and it makes sense when you consider that the difference between a long fly ball and a homerun is maybe an inch on or off the barrel.  The batter barely misses that pitch that moves off his barrel at the last moment.  This is how Mariano Rivera has made living throwing nothing but cut fastballs, ones that the TV camera really doesnt even display.  Think about how late breaking and sharp his cutter must be if he can throw it every single pitch over 15 years, and every hitter knows it.  

Human eye reaction time is such that a hitter cannot watch the ball travel the last 6 feet or so to the bat, and so his swing is really just a well-vectored guess.  So, if a pitcher can make his pitch move in that last 10% of its travels, then the batter’s barrel won’t contact the ball where he intends.  Thats why Mariano Rivera gets everyone out, even when they know what pitch is coming.  It’s beyond their perceptual abilities to square it up.

And its not just the fastball.  Changeups look straight, curveballs look loopy and round.  Good curveballs even in college baseball literally spike themselves into the ground when viewed from the plate.  The round, looping curves that the camera shows us are really some of the most diabolically sharp-breaking, physics-defying pitches you will never get the (dis)pleasure of facing.

This is all stuff that fans who have unfortunately never played at a high level may not understand about the game.  The pop of the mitt and the blur of the ball at the ballpark gives fans part of the picture, but they still only watch as if through a keyhole, never truly seeing the game as it actually is.   When you are privileged enough to play against players with that kind of talent and potential you realize how frighteningly difficult it is to have success hitting in the Major Leagues.