Surgery is a word that no athlete ever wants to hear but least of all a starting pitcher on a college baseball team hoping for a professional future.  Not only from the aspect of losing time with your team, or time in front of scouts, but that there is no way to know if you’ll get back to the level of your former self.  This is a fact that senior pitcher Brett Abell had to face after an elbow injury forced him from the top of the mound to the end of a knife last year. 

Athletes, including Abell, put their bodies on the line to perform at the top of their game and sometimes the body fights back. In Abells’ case it did. On March 16, 2012 he underwent Tommy John surgery, a procedure performed to replace the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow by using a tendon taken from somewhere else in the body. This procedure is not without risk.

Tommy John surgery used to be a procedure that was directly related to failure.  Failure to recover, failure to produce and ultimately failure to be effective playing baseball, but that is not the case anymore. 

“My arm is way better but my velocity isn’t where it used to be. Stamina is fine,” said Abell. 

After a history of surgeries with substandard results, the doctors performing these procedures have become experts.  They have pulled off miracles to stars across the sporting realm from Adrian Peterson to Stephen Strasburg.  They are able to repair injuries that were formally untouchable, but the success still comes down to the participant and how much they want it.

“It was supposed to be a 12 to 24 month thing but I was fully recovered in nine months,” said Abell.  “Rehab is hard but if you are stubborn and focus on your technique with your exercises I feel like you recover a lot faster.”

Recovery was really important.  It was important to him being that he was going to be a senior, and the upcoming season would be his last shot to play college ball.  It was also important to the team he had been a leader for. 

“As experienced and as talented as Brett is, he not only brings a high level of competitiveness to the rotation, but also acts as a leader to the younger guys,” said junior pitcher David Reese.

A leader by example on and off the field, Abell is respected by his teammates for more reasons than one. 

“An incredible work ethic and desire,” said Reese. “He wants to put our team in the best position to win.” 

Winning was an issue never far from the mind of a top of the rotation starter coming back from injury. It was the driving force.

“It means a lot to me to be able to play,” said Abell.  “The coaches welcomed me back with open arms, but the most important thing for me is being able to be part of a brotherhood for another year.” 

For this brotherhood of players embarking on a new season, it seems there is no such thing as low expectations.

“I just want to be the best teammate I can be and give my team the best chance to win,” said Abell.  “I expect to win plain and simple.” 

This is a common thought process in the Lion dugout.  With a determined and talented group, led by Abell’s left arm, the sky could be the limit for the Southern baseball team.