Let's wind the clocks back a couple years to 2008. There is a pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers named Benjamin Sheets. The scouting report on him? 96-98 mph fastball and a curveball that will make most big league hitters buckle at the knees. His filthy stuff and iced blood led him to near no hitters, a game that included 18 strikeouts and maybe one of the biggest cy young snubs in the history of the game. In 2004 Sheets posted an anemic 2.70 ERA with 264 strikeouts and only 32 walks. The Brewers gave him miserable run support, however, and he ended up with a 12-14 record that did not reflect the true performance he had. He would sign a four year 38.5 million dollar deal with the Brewers at the end of the season, the largest in the history of the franchise. He would be one of the most feared pitchers over the next four years, derailed only by several minor injuries.
At the end of the 2008 season Sheets tore a tendon in his elbow which would require flexor tendon surgery. This put off several suitors and he would have to go strenuous rehab. He worked with the Texas Rangers training staff as they nursed him back to health and in 2010 he signed a one year deal worth 10 million dollars with the Oakland Athletics. He had a mediocre season that probably didn't do justice to the 10 million dollars he was making, then on July 29th the Athletics announced that he had torn his flexor tendon once again. This time he would require Tommy John surgery and he missed all of 2011.
Sheets had pretty much given up on the game and had moved on to raising his kid after recovering from the surgery. He went to his doctor for a routine check up on his elbow and was encouraged there, by his surgeon, to throw again so he began throwing in his backyard with his son slowly. Ben started to throw harder incrementally and soon was throwing in the 80's. He help a couple open tryouts for major league clubs to watch him throw where he hit 92 to 93 mph. He was in the East Cobb area of Georgia with his son when he went to Georgia Tech for another major league tryout. Many scouts from around the league came due to the respect Sheets commanded from the numbers he put up while pitching with the Brewers. One club, the Atlanta Braves, took particular interest in him.
The Braves signed him to a minor-league contract on July 1, 2012, nearly two years after the Athletics announced he would need Tommy John surgery. He took the mound on July 15th for the Braves for the first time against the New York Mets. Expectations weren't high obviously as no one expected him to recover fully from the surgeries he had to undergo. He shocked almost everyone by pitching six innings in his return and not giving up an earned run. Many people called it a fluke, however, and were skeptical of him going into his second start since his return. All he did to back up his first performance was pitch an identical game, giving up no earned runs over another six innings. Three starts later he is 4-1 with a 1.41 ERA. His incredible recovery has been one of the great story lines in baseball this year and has been an inspiration to many fans anywhere. Ben Sheets is just one of the many reasons we love this game.
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