Garrett Richards passes first test on road to recovery, ready to rejoin Angels
FRESNO — The last time Garrett Richards ran over to cover first base in an actual baseball game, the result was catastrophic, both to his blossoming career and to the World Series hopes of the Los Angeles Angels.
It was an August night and Richards, having fully arrived as the Angels’ ace, took a tumble as he made his way to the bag. His left knee buckled. He fell to the ground in agony. His teammates huddled around him. Eventually, he was carted off the field and doctors told him he needed knee surgery. His breakout season was over, as was his Cy Young candidacy.
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On an April night eight months later, during a Triple-A rehab start for the Salt Lake Bees, Richards was faced with the same type of play. Nolan Fontana of the Fresno Grizzlies had chopped a ball to the first baseman and Richards did what pitchers practice so many times. He raced over to cover the bag.
First game back, same situation. Talk about confronting your own past.
There was a moment where Richards looked iffy, as if something could be wrong. He pulled up like he was favoring his left leg. His teammates gathered to pat him on the back. Eventually, he walked back to the pitcher’s mound. He was fine. His body knew this, but his mind was still coming to the realization — yes, he was ready to play baseball again.
“My first couple steps, I have to remember everything’s cool and I can just run over there,” Richards said after the game. “It’s very much a mental thing, not a physical thing.”
Physically, he says, he’s ready to go. His rehab start was his final test. Richards felt good during spring training, but the Angels didn’t want to risk anything by rushing him back for opening day.
Now Richards tells Yahoo Sports that he’s getting on an airplane Wednesday and re-joining the big-league club. The team has a roster spot open for him after sending Drew Rucinski to the minor leagues following their loss Monday night. He’s expected to start this weekend. The Angels, 3-5 in this early stretch of the season, will be happy to see their best pitcher return. Especially if Richards is as effective as he was last season.
“Everything feels good. I feel like I’m ready to go. I don’t think I need anymore rehab starts,” Richards says. “To be out in a completive environment and compete against guys and have a game actually mean something puts me into that game mode.”
Truth be told, the results were mixed Tuesday night. The box score wasn’t outstanding — Richards gave up five earned runs and seven hits in five innings, departing from the game after allowing a leadoff single in the sixth inning. But he threw 91 pitches, 57 of them for strikes and struck out five hitters.
There were a couple tough innings. Like the third, in which he gave up a two-run double to L.J. Hoes. And the fifth, in which Preston Tucker took Richards deep on an 0-2 slider for a two-run homer. But these are the types of jam big-league pitchers have to work around, so better for Richards to stick his toes in that water now.
Richards’ slider looked crisp, his fastball sat at 95 mph early, and he was still buzzing at 93 and 94 as the game went on. There’s not much question about Richard’s arm or his stuff. His knee was most worrisome.
Talk to him and he’ll tell you he left the game confident in everything.
“The knee held up the whole game,” Richards says. “I was able to throw 100 pitches full effort. My two strikes pitches need to sharpen up a bit. I hung an 0-2 slider. But my slider was good for strikes and for punchouts. Moving the ball in and out, fastball command was good.”
There’s still the matter of making his brain remember that his injury is a thing of the past, but that’ll come. He certainly won’t be the first athlete to have to comeback from an injury mentally as well as physically.
“This far along, I know in my heart that my leg is ready to go,” Richards says. “Mentally, though, is another thing. That’s just something that I’m going to overcome with time.”
In his first game back he conquered the very play that put him on the ground eight months ago. If Richards is keeping score in his head — and it sure sounds like he is — he can chalk that up as a win.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
