Farewell Salute to Jessie Litsch

 

With all the major Blue Jays off-season roster news heading into 2013, one significant headline may have flown under the radar of many fans.  That is the disappointing departure of Jessie Litsch from the Blue Jays organization. My piece yesterday about the miraculous recovery of Steve Delabar reminded me that there's an (ex) Blue Jay who's fallen on hard times, and is hoping for a miraculous recovery of his own. Jessie has become the fluke victim of serious medical complications, and has been forced to become a free-agent while rehabbing his damaged shoulder.  Although Jessie is hoping to return to baseball someday in the not-so-distant future, he may have played out his final days with the Blue Jays without fans really getting a chance to salute him.

 Jessie Litsch is the first baseball player that made me feel old. When I was a youngster, Major League Baseball players were men playing a mans game.  The youngest of the young were still  grown men in my eyes. Watching the affable Litsch breaking into the league in 2007, I remember thinking, "I really like this kid, I hope this works out for him. Wait a second... I'm calling a baseball player a kid... uh oh, I'm getting old".  Yup, watching Jessie, the enthusiastic youngster with a baby-face, I realized I was getting old.

I remember 22 year old Jessie Litch's major league debut May 15,2007.  Roy Halladay was out with an unexpected appendectomy.  Jessie, the former Tampa Bay Rays batboy who still looked young enough to be a batboy, got the call and raised some eyebrows as he played much more mature than he looked. He went 8.2  solid innings allowing only 4 hits, 2 walks and 1 run in his Major League debut. Manager John Gibbons was clearly impressed:

"That was a dominating performance," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "The kid was outstanding. He works fast, throws strikes. And you saw the defensive plays behind him — it's the same thing when Doc is pitching." There was no bigger compliment on the club at that time than to be compared to Roy Halladay.

 

Litsch endeared himself to fans quickly with his unbridled enthusiasm: "It is the best day of my life," Litsch said. "It's awesome. It's a great deal and I love this feeling. I'm very, very happy with myself right now."

Although Litsch was shipped back to the farm a few games later, he had already made himself a household name with TO fans. Over the course of the season, he was again returned to the majors when AJ Burnett went down with an injury, and Litsch continued on to post a solid line for his rookie season: 7–9 with a 3.89 ERA and 50 K/36 BB over 20 starts.

Litsch returned with the big-league club to start 2008. On May 24, 2008, Litsch showed off his whole tool-box as he pitched the first complete game shut-out of his career.  He had fans believing by that point that he was going to be a big part of the Blue Jays club for years to come. The 23 year old finished that 2008 season with 13 wins, a 3.58 ERA and 179 innings pitched. We had every reason to think the Jays farm system had produced another star pitcher.

In an unfortunate twist of fate, however, Jessie requiredTommy-John surgery in 2009.  From that point on, Jessie struggled to return through a number of injuries and set-backs with his hip and shoulder. Although he was able to produce respectable numbers through 75 innings in 2011, He never quite seemed able to return 100% healthy.  He suffered the worst set-back of all when receiving a 'platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection' in February 2012.  His shoulder became infected in connection with that injection and the cartilage in his shoulder was completely destroyed as a result. Jessie is now the subject of experimental treatments and rehab, and is reportedly struggling to simply return to a condition in which he is able to perform daily routine activities with his shoulder. It's unfair for someone like myself to speculate on his chances for a return to baseball.  But I do know that Litsch was forced into free agency as of October 10, 2012, and is not technically part of the Jays organization at the moment

 
Jessie Litsch was one of my favourite players these past few years, and one of the guys I've been rooting for.  He was a bright-spot during some times when the Jays were lacking bright-spots, and he kept my interest piqued as a fan with his positive can-do attitude and professional approach.  It's really too bad to know Jessie is struggling with his health, and I hope that Jessie can overcome the adversity he's facing and later tell a Steve Delabar type story of recovery.  If that story happens though, there's no guarantee it will unfold in a Jays uniform.  So in place of applause during an on-field hat's-off salue that Jays fans don't get to give him, I'd like to salute his departure from the Jays with this article as a thanks. Not like Jessie will ever read this post... but just in case:

Thanks for all the entertainment Jessie, and I (we as fans) wish you all the best with your recovery.