Tigers#1
03-10-2003, 10:39 PM
Tigers' Pettyjohn up and pitching
Lefty throwing again after life-threatening battle
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
Adam Pettyjohn has fought his way back from a life-threatening battle with colitis. (Jason Beck/MLB.com)
LAKELAND, Fla. -- A year after fighting for his life, Adam Pettyjohn is merely fighting for a minor league pitching assignment. And yet he's incredibly fighting for a pitching assignment.
The comparison between this year and last carries both extremes. In terms of priorities, his baseball career seems frivolous coming off a bout with colitis that had him in emergency surgery a year ago and caused him to lose 60 pounds.
But when baseball should seemingly mean nothing, what he's doing now means everything. The fact that he's pitching competitively after taking last season off -- not just from throwing, but any physical activity -- seems like a medical marvel.
And that journey to reclaim his promising career hit him Dec. 26, the first day he could throw a baseball.
"It felt like I had never even picked up a ball before," he admitted. "It felt so awkward, it felt like my arm was rubber. There was no muscle, nothing on it. I barely could even throw 50 feet. Never in my life had I ever felt like that before."
Two and a half months later, Pettyjohn threw to live hitters for the first time Sunday with full velocity and all his pitches. He's on track to pitch in minor league spring games on Saturday and possibly open the season on a minor league staff.
What he's doing has little to no precedent. Colitis is a disease more commonly associated with older people, but it also hits younger adults. The only well-known case history among athletes is former NFL kicker Rolf Benirschke. The closest case baseball had was Eric Davis, who underwent surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer in June of 1997. He returned in September of that year.
Colitis hit Pettyjohn during his honeymoon, following a 2001 season that saw him make his Major League debut. But Pettyjohn didn't just miss baseball for a year. At his worst, he weighed in at 135 pounds compared to his playing weight of over 190.
The toughest part, he admitted Sunday, was watching it happen before his eyes. "I looked at myself in the mirror all the time. That was the scariest part," he said. "When you can look at yourself in the mirror and literally see yourself from day-to-day getting skinnier and seeing your skeleton more defined, it was scary, depressing. It was emotionally the hardest thing to ever go through. ... I literally looked like an 80-year-old man."
The disease took four procedures to address, the last one coming around Thanksgiving and pushing back his physical rehab to December. He had less than two weeks of physical activity under his belt when he first threw a baseball. He thought then it would take four months to get back his strength, mechanics and location.
When he threw a seven-minute BP session Sunday, all that was missing was his location.
"Basically, I just wanted to feel strong all the way through," he said. "All we've done is bullpens and that's it, whereas now you have to throw your bullpen, get ready, and then go out and throw another seven minutes. And I felt strong the whole way through. Legs felt strong, kept the ball down, but the details of it now are the last to come."
His conditioning is a slower process. He works on the same program as all other pitchers, including distance runs. He just can't do it at the same pace yet. When asked his emotions on his first day of camp, it wasn't his pitching making him nervous. It wasn't his appearance; he looks like the same lanky pitcher everyone remembers. And it wasn't his health, since the disease is gone.
"More than anything, I didn't want to be the one lagging behind," he said. "I wanted to be able to do the work with everyone else and do it at a good pace. I couldn't, but the strength coaches and trainers have been very understanding of my situation and told me to take it easy. At the same time, it was exciting to get back out here, play the game, do the drills."
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"It felt like I had never even picked up a ball before. It felt so awkward, it felt like my arm was rubber. There was no muscle, nothing on it. I barely could even throw 50 feet. Never in my life had I ever felt like that before."
-- Adam Pettyjohn
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And that's not just talk. Pettyjohn loves drills, could do them all day. He loves all the minor nuances of baseball, in fact. While some players with season-ending injuries get away from the game when they're out, Pettyjohn soaked it in -- right down to his favorite sound, the pop of the mitt.
"That's a good sound," he said. "That is definitely what I missed about baseball last year. Just the little things. And I watched so many games. Probably 80 percent of the days, me and my wife were watching some game on TV. The first game we saw, the sound of the mitt, that's what I missed."
Said Tigers closer and Pettyjohn friend Matt Anderson: "I think going through what he's gone through makes him appreciate what he has. I think his mind is really strong."
His wife packs him a sandwich to eat between his morning workouts and lunch so he can maintain his weight. When he stepped onto the scale at a local supermarket last week, he checked in at just two pounds under his regular-season goal and 14 pounds heavier than when he arrived at camp.
The Tigers are still cautious in their plans for Pettyjohn and haven't said anything to him about it. Minor league director Rick Bennett said it's too early to tell, but he's hopeful he can start the season somewhere in the minors. Pettyjohn would love to return to Triple-A Toledo and work with his former pitching coach, Jeff Jones. But after a year away from competitive pitching, he could just as easily start the year in Class A.
When asked about a return to the Majors, Pettyjohn is almost afraid to ponder it.
"Part of me has to think about getting back there, because that's what motivates you as a player," he said. "But the other half is I absolutely don't want to think about it at all. I want to be grateful for what I have out here instead of always thinking the grass is greener on the other side.
"I don't want to be thinking that I want to be there so bad and not appreciate what I have here. Just the blessing of being able to come out here and play baseball and do this for a living, what an opportunity to do this. So I kind of just want to soak it up and enjoy it all rather than focusing on what I don't have."
Lefty throwing again after life-threatening battle
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
Adam Pettyjohn has fought his way back from a life-threatening battle with colitis. (Jason Beck/MLB.com)
LAKELAND, Fla. -- A year after fighting for his life, Adam Pettyjohn is merely fighting for a minor league pitching assignment. And yet he's incredibly fighting for a pitching assignment.
The comparison between this year and last carries both extremes. In terms of priorities, his baseball career seems frivolous coming off a bout with colitis that had him in emergency surgery a year ago and caused him to lose 60 pounds.
But when baseball should seemingly mean nothing, what he's doing now means everything. The fact that he's pitching competitively after taking last season off -- not just from throwing, but any physical activity -- seems like a medical marvel.
And that journey to reclaim his promising career hit him Dec. 26, the first day he could throw a baseball.
"It felt like I had never even picked up a ball before," he admitted. "It felt so awkward, it felt like my arm was rubber. There was no muscle, nothing on it. I barely could even throw 50 feet. Never in my life had I ever felt like that before."
Two and a half months later, Pettyjohn threw to live hitters for the first time Sunday with full velocity and all his pitches. He's on track to pitch in minor league spring games on Saturday and possibly open the season on a minor league staff.
What he's doing has little to no precedent. Colitis is a disease more commonly associated with older people, but it also hits younger adults. The only well-known case history among athletes is former NFL kicker Rolf Benirschke. The closest case baseball had was Eric Davis, who underwent surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer in June of 1997. He returned in September of that year.
Colitis hit Pettyjohn during his honeymoon, following a 2001 season that saw him make his Major League debut. But Pettyjohn didn't just miss baseball for a year. At his worst, he weighed in at 135 pounds compared to his playing weight of over 190.
The toughest part, he admitted Sunday, was watching it happen before his eyes. "I looked at myself in the mirror all the time. That was the scariest part," he said. "When you can look at yourself in the mirror and literally see yourself from day-to-day getting skinnier and seeing your skeleton more defined, it was scary, depressing. It was emotionally the hardest thing to ever go through. ... I literally looked like an 80-year-old man."
The disease took four procedures to address, the last one coming around Thanksgiving and pushing back his physical rehab to December. He had less than two weeks of physical activity under his belt when he first threw a baseball. He thought then it would take four months to get back his strength, mechanics and location.
When he threw a seven-minute BP session Sunday, all that was missing was his location.
"Basically, I just wanted to feel strong all the way through," he said. "All we've done is bullpens and that's it, whereas now you have to throw your bullpen, get ready, and then go out and throw another seven minutes. And I felt strong the whole way through. Legs felt strong, kept the ball down, but the details of it now are the last to come."
His conditioning is a slower process. He works on the same program as all other pitchers, including distance runs. He just can't do it at the same pace yet. When asked his emotions on his first day of camp, it wasn't his pitching making him nervous. It wasn't his appearance; he looks like the same lanky pitcher everyone remembers. And it wasn't his health, since the disease is gone.
"More than anything, I didn't want to be the one lagging behind," he said. "I wanted to be able to do the work with everyone else and do it at a good pace. I couldn't, but the strength coaches and trainers have been very understanding of my situation and told me to take it easy. At the same time, it was exciting to get back out here, play the game, do the drills."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It felt like I had never even picked up a ball before. It felt so awkward, it felt like my arm was rubber. There was no muscle, nothing on it. I barely could even throw 50 feet. Never in my life had I ever felt like that before."
-- Adam Pettyjohn
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And that's not just talk. Pettyjohn loves drills, could do them all day. He loves all the minor nuances of baseball, in fact. While some players with season-ending injuries get away from the game when they're out, Pettyjohn soaked it in -- right down to his favorite sound, the pop of the mitt.
"That's a good sound," he said. "That is definitely what I missed about baseball last year. Just the little things. And I watched so many games. Probably 80 percent of the days, me and my wife were watching some game on TV. The first game we saw, the sound of the mitt, that's what I missed."
Said Tigers closer and Pettyjohn friend Matt Anderson: "I think going through what he's gone through makes him appreciate what he has. I think his mind is really strong."
His wife packs him a sandwich to eat between his morning workouts and lunch so he can maintain his weight. When he stepped onto the scale at a local supermarket last week, he checked in at just two pounds under his regular-season goal and 14 pounds heavier than when he arrived at camp.
The Tigers are still cautious in their plans for Pettyjohn and haven't said anything to him about it. Minor league director Rick Bennett said it's too early to tell, but he's hopeful he can start the season somewhere in the minors. Pettyjohn would love to return to Triple-A Toledo and work with his former pitching coach, Jeff Jones. But after a year away from competitive pitching, he could just as easily start the year in Class A.
When asked about a return to the Majors, Pettyjohn is almost afraid to ponder it.
"Part of me has to think about getting back there, because that's what motivates you as a player," he said. "But the other half is I absolutely don't want to think about it at all. I want to be grateful for what I have out here instead of always thinking the grass is greener on the other side.
"I don't want to be thinking that I want to be there so bad and not appreciate what I have here. Just the blessing of being able to come out here and play baseball and do this for a living, what an opportunity to do this. So I kind of just want to soak it up and enjoy it all rather than focusing on what I don't have."