BLOWN
By
Zachary Osterman
· Thursday, April 17,2008 11:51 p.m.
Tommy John surgery. It’s a term thrown around a lot in modern-day sports circles, a sort of “wonder cure” for pitchers unfortunate enough to tear their ulnar collateral ligament, a band in the elbow necessary for throwing at competition speeds. Major League All-Stars such as John Smoltz and Mariano Rivera have undergone the procedure, returning as strong as or better than they were before. But when senior right-hander Chris McCombs, a pitcher on the IU baseball team, had to undergo the procedure at an alarmingly early age – his junior year in high school – he certainly didn’t see it as a medical miracle.
