Almost missed the pitch on big story about young athletes
Imposing pitch counts on high school baseball players has been a hot topic the past week.
Under orders from its national chapter, an Illinois High School Association committee recommended juniors and seniors be limited to 115 pitches per game, 95 for sophomores and juniors, and that all be required to rest a yet-to-be-determined number of days after throwing.
We seized a compelling local angle - West Chicago's Ryan Hodgett, a star pitcher at St. Francis High School in Wheaton, had to undergo an increasingly common surgery named after former MLB pitcher Tommy John. Robert Sanchez's story on Ryan and how he represented the fastest-growing group - ages 15 to 19 - receiving the surgery ran at the top of Monday's front page, noting the IHSA's deliberations were to follow a day later.
Later in the week, we reported on those deliberations, talked to local coaches and such, while other media pursued the topic.
But here's an irony: Our initial story almost didn't happen.
I got a pitch from Lisa Stafford, representing Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, to write a column about the uptick (9 percent a year) in youngsters needing this surgery. She offered to put me in contact with one of their patients, Ryan.
Well, I somehow missed the initial email (not complaining, but my daily pitch count is in the 100s). Lisa followed up, asking again if I were interested. Yes! But it struck me as more of a news story than a column.
It was only after Robert interviewed Ryan's mom, Debbie, that he mentioned the reason I was contacted was because I did a column more than two years ago about Ryan. Debbie liked the column, and suggested me as a contact when Midwest Orthopaedics was getting the word out.
And, more ironically, the first column almost didn't happen as well. Debbie had written an email suggesting parents of athletes talk to their kids about how to talk to the media - for instance, to show a little humility when they're "bubbling over with joy from a victory." She showed the note to some friends, who discouraged her from sending it because the media want sensational quotes and such. But in cleaning out her email, Debbie hit "send" by mistake and it resulted in a column that allowed her to pass along a fantastic life lesson.
She says Ryan, now attending Bradley University and hoping to test out his new arm in some fall practice games, is a "pretty well-spoken kid and a good-looking young man. He interviews well." That might be why Midwest Orthopaedics picked him to be a representative. (A professionally produced video was posted on YouTube a few weeks ago).
Despite the successful surgery, Ryan has gone through some tough times. He had to watch from the sidelines as his St. Francis teammates finished third in the state tournament. The upside, his mom says, is he's been warmly welcomed by his new Bradley teammates and he's actually picked up some speed on his fastball, which now tops out at 91-92 mph.
Debbie's learned something, too: Ryan's life should be about more than baseball. Throwing all the time simply isn't healthy for young arms. I asked her what she thought of the proposed 115-pitch limit.
Debbie says flatly: "One hundred and 15 pitches are too many."
jdavis@dailyherald.com