'Bump in the road' for Kaneland's Crosby
While the rest of us are layering up in winter jackets and trudging through snow, Casey Crosby is loving Florida's 80 degree and sunny weather right now.
What Crosby, the former Kaneland baseball pitcher who graduated last spring, is not loving now -- is having to sit out the next year recovering from Tommy John Surgery.
The always positive, always smiling Crosby, however, refused to put a negative spin on the situation.
"It is what it is," Crosby said from his cell phone in Lakeland, Fla., where he is rehabbing his shoulder. "It's just a little bump in the road."
Crosby, a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the fifth round of the 2007 draft, had elbow issues during his second outing in the Florida Instructional League in October.
He found out he needed surgery on his elbow last month and had the surgery last week in Birmingham, Ala.
"Everything went good," Crosby said.
Crosby is expected to spend the next year or so rehabbing from the surgery. He is currently wearing a brace.
Current research on the surgery suggests that more often than not, the player who has the surgery comes back stronger and throws harder.
Tommy John surgery, also known by doctors as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (or UCL), is a surgical procedure where a ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with a tendon from somewhere else in the body. The most common places it is taken is from the forearm, hamstring, knee or foot of the patient.
The surgery was named after Tommy John, also a left-handed pitcher, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the first to have it successfully done in 1974.
The list of former and current baseball players who have had the surgery goes on and on. Some of the more noted names on the list include Rick Ankiel, A.J. Burnett, Paul Byrd, Jose Canseco, Ryan Dempster, Eric Gagne, Kenny Rogers, John Smoltz and Kerry Wood.
Casey's mom, Denise, said the whole situation might be a blessing in disguise. Casey knows if this had to happen to him, now is the best time.
"If this was five years from now, it'd be worse, so it all works out," Casey said. "When you are younger, you heal faster from it."
Denise added that Casey's trainer said his work ethic has been "outstanding" and the road to recovery will be a good one. The 18-year-old is projected back in the spring of 2009.
Crosby will be back in the area for the holidays late next week until early January. After that, it's all business.
"I'll come back stronger," Crosby said. "Everything will work out for the best."
cbolin@dailyherald.com