MEANS: John Means of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dylan Buell\/Getty Images\/TNS<\/em><\/p>\nFew in baseball have lived the highs that pitching in the major leagues can grant more than John Means. Even fewer have experienced the lows.<\/p>\n
Means was an All-Star in 2019. He entered the history books in 2021 when he pitched the sixth no-hitter in Baltimore Orioles history.<\/p>\n
He took part in two clubhouse celebrations in 2023.<\/p>\n
But a promising career was temporarily paused because of a torn elbow ligament, requiring Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery in 2022.<\/p>\n
His return was delayed because of setbacks. And now he\u2019s facing the same arduous road back after going under the knife again for the same procedure.<\/p>\n
Speaking with the media Saturday for the first time since his surgery June 3, Means said, \u201cBaseball is beautiful and horrifying at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
And perhaps no one can attest to that more than Means.<\/p>\n
But the 31-year-old left-hander isn\u2019t going to give up now, hoping the revision surgery can fix his ulnar collateral ligament for good – \u201cget it right this time,\u201d he said – and return him back to the pitcher he was when he was Baltimore\u2019s ace during the rebuild.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I was going to get the second one no matter what,\u201d Means said when asked if he considered retiring. \u201cI still want to pitch, honestly. I would like to fail on the field before I give it up. I feel like if I go out there, I can still pitch. I still feel really confident in my ability, just got to hope the elbow can keep up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nThe stats back up Means\u2019 belief in himself.<\/p>\n
He owns a career 3.68 ERA across 401 big league innings, but he was even better after his first Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n
In eight starts since September, Means posted a 2.64 ERA and 0.790 WHIP, stellar numbers in a small sample that, if able to be extrapolated over a full season, would make him one of baseball\u2019s best southpaws.<\/p>\n
Means will be a free agent this offseason, adding a stinging element, as he would\u2019ve been due a solid payday had he remained healthy. Now, with his contract with the Orioles up at the end of the season, it\u2019s unclear what jersey Means will wear next and what opportunities he\u2019ll be presented.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to think about it right now. We\u2019ll just kind of see where it goes. Like I said, I feel really confident about my ability to pitch on the field. I just got to have the elbow keep up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nHe was 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA in four starts this year, including his final one in St. Louis.<\/p>\n
Means said his elbow had been bothering him before that outing, and he was hoping as the season progressed, his elbow would \u201cloosen up.\u201d<\/p>\n
He knew something was wrong in the bullpen that afternoon in late May, but he pitched through the pain to not \u201cscrew the bullpen\u201d in the middle of a difficult stretch with few days off.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t feel any better than the day after I pitched the last game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Means\u2019 second Tommy John surgery, which requires a 12-to-18 month recovery, came less than 26 months after his first. Shortly after Means\u2019 first surgery, the Orioles promoted catcher Adley Rutschman and suddenly became one of the best teams in the American League.<\/p>\n
Throughout Baltimore\u2019s magical 2023 campaign, Means methodically rehabilitated his elbow, hoping to return in the summer.<\/p>\n
An upper-back injury delayed that, but he came back in September and posted a 2.66 ERA in four starts to help lead the Orioles to their first American League East title since 2014. But his elbow flared up before the AL Division Series, and he missed the beginning of the 2024 campaign recovering.<\/p>\n
Elbow injuries have been on the rise this century, especially the past decade.<\/p>\n
The Orioles are far from the only ballclub dealing with a rash of pitcher injuries, and the news of Kyle Bradish\u2019s sprained UCL likely won\u2019t be the last ailment Baltimore has to overcome in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if there\u2019s one thing specifically,\u201d Means said when asked about the rise of elbow injuries. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of factors – the (velocity\u2019s) up, there\u2019s more pitches per plate appearance. There\u2019s a lot of factors that affect it. I think mine\u2019s kind of an anomaly: I throw 91 (mph) and my pitches don\u2019t move a whole lot. I think mine\u2019s pretty fixable, but who knows?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nThe first few weeks recovering from Tommy John surgery are the easiest, but Means is all-too familiar with the grueling, lonely and monotonous path ahead.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not sure whether it will be easier this time since he knows what to expect, or if it\u2019ll be harder because he has to do it all over again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, this one is a little easier,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll try to put a little less pressure on it this time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MEANS: John Means of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Saturday, May 4, 2024, in… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n
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