Some athletes would view a significant injury as a setback rather than an opportunity.
Two seasons after undergoing ulnar collateral reconstruction (known as Tommy John surgery), Hooks pitcher Colton Gordon can now see how the time away ultimately helped him.
And now he is sitting among the Texas League leaders in numerous categories — earned-run average, strikeouts and batting average against — midway through the 2023 Double-A season.
“Getting healthy, first and foremost, was huge,” said Gordon, a 24-year-old Bradenton, Florida native. “Coming off TJ, the rehab process, and (knowing) what it took to be at full strength again, that was the most important. After that happened, I really started to put together some good outings, commanding pitches, competing and just getting back into game situations and game mode.”
Since a difficult start this season, Gordon has settled in and over his last four starts he has allowed three earned runs with 27 strikeouts.
Gordon said the year away made him a better player — physically and mentally.
“The time it gives you … you have a year to work out, get as strong as you can,” Gordon said. “A lot of time you don’t have when you are playing every day. When it became time to play, I was so much more prepared.”
Gordon was drafted from Central Florida in the eighth round in 2021 and spent his first season rehabbing before returning to the field in 2022, a season that saw him climb from the FCL to Fayetteville and Asheville, going 2-1 with a 2.35 earned-run average in 53.2 innings.
Now another year removed from surgery, Gordon said he feels all the way back. He has tossed 79.2 innings for the Hooks this season.
“I think in a perfect world, I’d love to throw harder, I think that comes with time,” Gordon said. “As far as competing and from a personal standpoint, how all my pitches look and how I feel in a game, I feel like I’m absolutely back, as good as I was before surgery, if not better. I think I have become mentally sharper, engaged and aware of the game. It has helped me physically do some things on the field as well, just be able to manage myself in the game.”
World Baseball Classic
While many were easing into the season, Gordon opened up his campaign playing in the World Baseball Classic.
Gordon, along with current Hooks teammate CJ Stubbs, represented Israel at the event, an experience he labeled “unbelievable.”
“It was awesome. The opportunity to compete in the World Baseball Classic and meet the guys we were with and be able to pitch there and experience the atmosphere … it was an awesome experience and an honor to be able to do it,” Gordon said.
Gordon started one of Team Israel’s four games in the WBC, pitching an inning against Puerto Rico.
The left-handed pitcher said the atmosphere of the games and representing a country stood out along with the opportunity to learn from long-time big leaguers.
“(I remember) sitting in the locker room before Game 1. I had a locker next to Joc Pederson and it set in early … how big of an opportunity this was for each of us, not just personally in our baseball careers but as a whole, representing a nation,” Gordon said. “How much more that meant to people than just another baseball tournament. Coming from the back fields a couple of days before and going to that, it was welcome to baseball season, here we go.”
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The Next Step
Gordon said now that he is healthy, he is working to be as consistent as possible.
“I try to take something away from each outing positive and negative, whether it is something to build off of or something I need to get better at for next week,” Gordon said. “It is a constant evaluation and that is my mindset stemming back from rehab.”
Although he knows his trajectory towards playing in the majors was changed due to the surgery he had before he was drafted, Gordon “wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Being in it now, trying to be in the moment, it really has allowed me to grow personally and on the field as well, from a mental and physical standpoint, way more than I would have if I would have come in healthy,” Gordon said. “It gave me an appreciation that we are lucky to play baseball. I’m not content with where my career is right now, by any means, I want to be there and help the big league team win as soon as possible, but at the same time it is good to sit back and think ‘I had that surgery. I accomplished rehab. I’m back pitching.’
“The balance of appreciating where you are while also knowing it isn’t where you want to be, is a perfect combination and something the surgery gave me.”
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi Hooks pitcher Colton Gordon back to form after injury