AOTW: Troy’s Wassel on the mend from last year’s injury
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
TROY — There he was, Troy pitcher John Wassel, on the mound at Comerica Park last season.
He was on the same mound as Major League Baseball MVP Justin Verlander, with 40,000-plus seats around him, soaking in the experience of a lifetime.
And Wassel’s arm popped.
“I’ve never felt pain like that before,” he said. “It wasn’t the soreness you face every day; I honestly didn’t know what was wrong.”
It happened on just one pitch. Two outs, middle of the inning, all eyes on him waiting for the next delivery.
So what else could he do? Call the coach out to pull him from the Tigers’ mound in the middle of an inning?
“On a stage like that, I didn’t want to be taken out of the game,” Wassel said. “You have adrenaline and everything, so I was just playing through it.”
So he finished the inning and went in knowing he wouldn’t go back in anyway — the Colts wanted to pitch as many players as possible.
He told coach Jim Ellis that something was wrong. Ellis said that he didn’t have to go back out if he didn’t want to.
No, Coach. Something’s wrong.
And so Wassel embarked on a journey no athlete ever wants to go through. He went to the doctor and learned that he had inflammation in his rotator cuff and labrum.
Physical therapy. Two months. End of season.
“That was kind of the kicker,” Wassel said.
The Colts had half the season to go, and Wassel couldn’t even play catch in a single game.
To go the second half of the season without throwing was devastating. But that wasn’t the only setback.
After Wassel had worked his way up from one-pound weights over a month of physical therapy, the doctor said he could try light catch. But that brought the pain back, sending him back to the one-pound weight room. He later wrote a college essay about the experience. But in the meantime, it was rehab for his shoulder, trying to get ready for his senior season.
Judging by his performance so far, it was worth it.
Coming off the injury, Wassel has put together a remarkable 2012 campaign, teaming up with junior Michael Thomas to take over the mound for the Colts.
He first dipped his toes into the water with a brief one-inning cameo in the first game of the season. So far, so good.
But then, Wassel dove into the pool with a 92-pitch outing against Bloomfield Hills Lahser.
He struggled with his control — six walks — but made it through 4 2/3 innings and gave up just three runs.
Most importantly, he was back on the mound and he won.
Wassel got on a roll from there. A complete game (five hits, one earned run, and a loss) against Auburn Hills Avondale. A one-game blip against Bloomfield Hills Andover, then two more complete games at Lahser and Troy Athens. Wassel’s stamina has been solid less than a year removed from injury.
“I know I can do something to help the team,” he said, adding that it’s been especially great to get back to pitching, one of his favorite positions.
Wassel was knocked out early in a 10-0 mercy loss to Bloomfield Hills Andover April 23. Without that game, his ERA in four starts is 2.55, even if he is only 1-3 in those games.
The fact that he’s doing it after inflammation in his rotator cuff is a credit to his off-season work ethic. Wassel went from one-pound weights to light tosses to long toss to half-speed pitches to sliders to complete games in eight months.
Finally, it’s coming. On May 28, Wassel will make his return trip to Comerica Park to take on Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook again. He’ll just try to make the most of an opportunity he didn’t really get last year.
Jake Lourim is a junior at Troy High School and a member of the AdaVan Media Group / www.northoaklandsports.com Student Correspondence Program. He is publisher of website www.troycoltsportsupdate.com and a member of the Troy school newspaper editorial staff. He can be reached by e-mail at j.lourim@comcast.net
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