Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery, more commonly known as Tommy John surgery, is a procedure that no baseball player wants to become familiar with during his career. The surgery is most common among pitchers and involves harvesting a tendon from another part of the body and weaving it through holes drilled in the ulna and humerus bones of the elbow. The Baltimore Orioles’ top prospect, Dylan Bundy, underwent the procedure this past Thursday.
The surgery was performed by the highly respected Dr. James Andrews, who found no additional problems or damage in Bundy’s forearm or elbow areas. So what does this mean for Orioles’ fans? Unfortunately, it’s going to be a waiting game. The normal recovery period for Tommy John surgery is around 12 months, but obviously each individual case is different. Chances are very good for recipients of the surgery in today’s medical environment. When the procedure was first performed on southpaw pitcher Tommy John in 1974, he was given a one percent chance at a full recovery; his first year back after the surgery, John won National League Comeback Player of the Year.
Thirty-nine years later, the chances of a full recovery are higher than 85 percent. Assuming Bundy makes a full recovery, he will join other big name pitchers such as Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and A.J. Burnett to undergo the procedure and continue to have success. Coming back stronger after the surgery is definitely a possibility, considering the season that Zimmermann is having so far in 2013. He is 11-3 this season with a 2.28 earned run average and a remarkable 0.92 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched).
Only time will tell if Bundy comes back stronger than before, as recovery is a long process. About this time next year, we should have a good idea if the procedure will be considered a success. Until then, the Orioles will have to find a way to keep pressing on without him. After completing a sweep of the New York Yankees at Camden Yards, they remain in second place in the American League East, two and a half games back of the Boston Red Sox.
They were really looking to forward to Bundy’s arm helping them to stay in contention in the best division in baseball. The Orioles’ team earned run average of 4.46 ranks 29th out of 30 team in the majors, so Bundy would have been a welcome addition to the pitching staff. However, injuries will always be a part of sports, so Orioles’ nation will have to patiently wait for their up and coming star to log significant innings in Baltimore.