Better Than Mitre?
Well, the Red Sox offered him a contract last month and then pulled it off the table:
“The Red Sox said they really wanted to sign me,” said Hess, a determined left-hander with a steely will. “Their doctor looked at me and said I’ve done a really good job of looking after myself and my replacement hip. But this is a new thing in the sport. It’s the same type of obstacle faced by Tommy John.”
John is the former major league pitcher whose career was thought over until he took a chance on a then experimental elbow and ligament surgery in 1974 that salvaged his career. Pitchers, and athletes in several sports, now routinely get Tommy John Surgery to save their careers.
“But he [John] was already well known and in the majors and so the team [Dodgers] was willing to take that chance,” noted Hess.
“I have to start from scratch. I have to keep pitching well in the minors and putting up numbers to have an opportunity. But this is not over. They [Red Sox] are working on the insurance implications. Everybody wants to see this happen. All I can do is go out and pitch well for Victoria. That’s all I can control. Everything else is out of my control.”
In the past, Hess has said that he will sign a waiver that says he won’t hold a team liable for any long-term health effects, etc. So, what’s the problem here?
You think the Yankees would give the kid a shot, right? Heck, they sign every kid coming out of school who is in need of Tommy John Surgery, is this any different? O.K., is it all that much different?
