Ever seen "The Rookie" featuring Dennis Quaid as
former Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jim Morris (if not, maybe you should)? Steve Delabar's story is a lot like that... except with a shattered elbow surgically
repaired using a metal plate and screws.
Of all the injuries a pitcher is likely to return from, you wouldn't
think that one would top the list. But that's exactly what Delabar has
done. Not only has he returned to
pitching action, this aberration of sports medicine is throwing harder than
ever.
Before his injury, the former 2004 San Diego Padres draft pick with a
fast-ball in the mid-high 80's (at the time), seemed like his career might have
plateaued progressing no further than single-A ball. Plateaued, that is, until
his career seemingly ended with a horrible in-game injury in 2009. His elbow,
which shattered mid-pitch in 3 places, had to be surgically repaired using a
metal plate and 9 screws. For someone who may have been struggling with his
career in 2009 anyway, I'm sure rehabbing that injury with expectations of a
return to the minor leagues was far from Steve's wildest imaginations. He
embraced his forced-retirement, and went to work as a substitute teacher in his
hometown of Elizabeth, Kentucky.
While enjoying leisurely pursuits, like assistant coaching
high-school baseball and playing slo-pitch softball, Steve did rehab his arm.
He adopted a new training program introduced for the high-school players by the
high school head coach he worked along-side at the time. In short, this velocity improvement program strengthens
the shoulder without the traditional injury risks associated with throwing...
because it doesn't involve throwing per-se.
The program is based on not releasing the ball, but keeping a grip on
the ball throughout the delivery. As Delabar progressed through his rehab training,
not only did he match his pre-injury velocity of mid 80's, he progressed to the
point he was pitching into the mid-90's; a feat he had never before
accomplished. Seattle Mariners scouts caught wind of Delabar's astounding
recovery, and signed him to a minor league deal. In no time, he shot through
the Mariner's farm system, and on Sept 11, 2011, he pitched his very first
major league game.
I was apparently so tightly wrapped-up in the microcosm of
the Toronto Blue Jays that I completely missed the fairy-tale feel-good story
of 2011 that Seattle fans were witnessing.
By skimming Seattle news headlines from that time though, you can see
that Seattle fans were totally appreciative of the medical-miracle they were
witnessing. Armed with a solid mid-90's fast ball, and hard splitter, Delabar
didn't just make it - he was impressive at the MLB level. Alas, after less than
a year with Seattle, Mariners brass had decided that Delabar was giving up the
long-ball a little too easily, and handed him to the Toronto Blue Jays in
exchange for promising outfielder Eric Thames; which is where Steve Delabar's
feel-good story enters on the radar of Jays fans. Any Jays fans who hadn't done
their homework at the time of the trade got the full-story on August 13th 2012;
Steve etched himself into the TO record books by striking out 4 batters in a
single inning. Not only did he make the Blue Jays books, but he had a new MLB
record by doing it in an Extra-inning; no one in MLB had ever struck out 4
batters in a single extra inning before.
So here we have a reliever in a Blue Jays uniform with a
Hollywood comeback story and a MLB record (a positive one). In less than 2 full major league seasons, he
has some respectable numbers with an ERA 3.7 and WHIP of 1.11. But get this:
his K's per 9 innings...is 12.2. Brandon Morrows K/9 innings is 9.6 if you need
a measuring stick. At 28 years of age, the sky is the limit for Delabar right
now if he stays healthy. Even if he never plays another day, he'll already have
an incredible story. Even if he falls flat on his face, and his numbers
sky-rocket into the stratosphere, he's done enough to have a movie made about
him (at the very least a made-for-TV movie starring some 'Saved by the Bell'
characters). But how much further could we reasonably expect to see the tale continue to unfold
before our eyes? Given his great numbers and relative youth, Jays Fans could
potentially have front-row seats for the continuation of this great story in
2013. How would Delabar look sporting a World Series ring? With the team he's
playing on in 2013, the prospect is not one of total fiction. This is one of
the stories I'm most looking forward to following in 2013. So watch for the late-reliever with the gruesome-looking scar on his throwing elbow (Steve had a the outline of his surgery scar enhanced with a tattoo). I can't wait to see
this guy coming into the game in relief of RA Dickey... how poetic would that
be?
On a side-note, I came across an interview where Brett Cecil
has admitted he's currently trying Delabar's velocity improvement program. I'm
really looking forward to seeing the results.
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