Mike Burrows returns home after long road back
Burrows getting back into the groove of things after layoff due to Tommy John
Mike Burrows is competitive and driven. To go along with that, he simply loves baseball.
For anyone, waiting 436 days between doing the thing they most love is pure punishment. Add on top of that, the pain that comes with elbow UCL replacement, it’s piling on insult to injury.
“Rehab is grueling, especially when you have 16 months in front of you,” Burrows said. “Getting to throwing was probably the hardest part, then getting to the bullpen phase. Each step just kind of go shorter as we went.”
Burrows considers a big part of his identity as being a baseball player, who has a gift of throwing in the mid-to-upper-90s. The rehabilitation process put that into question as he had to gain that ability back with daily, taxing work.
However, he was also able to learn a tremendous amount about himself. Burrows already knew that he was a tireless worker to improve on the mound. Through the process, he was able to learn that ethic carries over whether he has a baseball in his hand or not.
“For a good chunk there, I didn’t even know what I was,” Burrows said. “I was just a guy rehabbing. It was weird at first before picking up a baseball, because you’re not a baseball player in that time period anymore.”
For Burrows, the long months of inactivity and questioning were eradicated when he got back to his natural habitat — 60 feet, 6 inches from the opponent.
“It felt like we were right back at the office again,” Burrows said. “The second I was on the mound again, out of Florida and back here, it felt like a blink of an eye and all of the rehab part was gone in two seconds.”
Since returning to Indianapolis, Burrows has appeared in eight games. He has performed to a 4.03 ERA, with 31 strikeouts in 29 innings.
Burrows has made small mechanical adjustments in his return, but admitted that it can be difficult to not defer back to natural muscle memory when the adrenaline starts pumping in a game.
While he has already come a long way, in capping off his comeback this year, Burrows has one goal: “make the Major League team.”
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Really pulling for this guy and hoping he can be a contributor next year.