Baseball - Bryan Bullington Returns For Pirates Int

When right hander Bryan Bullington came out to pitch after undergoing a Tommy John elbow surgery, pitching coach Jim Colborn had no expectations from him. Colborn himself is former player from the Major League and he is well aware how difficult it to return to form after undergoing an operation.

However, Colborn was in for a surprise after Bullington pitched in the intrasquad game. Bullington threw 10 pitches in one inning; he walked one batter and did not concede any hits. Colborn thought that Bullington pitched well specially since there were doubts about Bullington pitching ever again.

Bullington was the Pirates no. 1 pick in the 2002 draft and after being out for over a year, he was satisfied with his performance. When Bullington was picked there were expectations from him. Had it not been for his injury, he would have fulfilled those expectations by now.

According to Colborn, a pitcher invariably has to make a mental recovery after injuring his arm and undergoing surgery. Many pitchers worry about hurting themselves again and end up with incorrect pitching dynamics. In Bullington’s case, this was not the case, especially after what he has been through since September 2005. He had not pitched enough to have any doubts. Bullington has been practicing from the offseason as if nothing was the matter with his arm and that has paid off dividends as was evident in the intrasquad game.

Bullington said that he started throwing practice in the offseason as if he was healthy and he just practiced thinking it was the regular season. Bullington feels it is because of this he has not had any setbacks or mental blocks.

Bullington’s performance in the Pirates intrasquad game proved that he well on the way to recovery after the elbow surgery.