By JOSHUA NATOLI
Sports Editor
Injuries are no joke, particularly when they are sports related. An injury can hinder a player’s abilities for a few games, and sometimes an entire season. Just ask Ryan Harper, a starting pitcher on the Golden Knights baseball team. Last season in his first year as a starter, Harper suffered a torn ligament in his elbow and received Tommy John surgery, a procedure that required him to miss the entirety of this season. “I tore it in my second start last year throwing a pretty good game,” said Harper. “I threw eight and a third innings; I went out in the ninth and struck out the first guy, got two strikes on the second guy and threw a slider and felt a pop in my elbow.”
The pop was something the 22 year-old had never felt before. He let out a small scream which alerted the coaching staff to the problem. Harper did not think much of the injury at the time and continued to pitch. As soon as he threw the next pitch Harper knew something was wrong and walked off the mound.
The injury came at such a pivotal point in Harper’s baseball career. Harper had just walked on to the team the year before as a closer. During that year he set the school single-season record for saves with ten. Being a walk-on was something Harper felt required a lot more effort than usual, “When I tried out I really wasn’t expecting to make the team because I had been cut the year before as a freshman,” said Harper. “It was a weekend tryout, and I remember the last day of tryouts came and our pitching coach brought us out to the fence and said we were just gonna run for a half hour. Not everybody was in the best of shape and he said if you have to stop running just go home. So I ran as hard as a could for a half hour and I think he saw how hard I was working that he had to keep me.”
Proving his worth is not something Harper shies away from. In high school Harper was cut from his varsity baseball team as a junior, the next year Harper was the very last player to make it. “Our coach told me I was the last person to make the team and that I might get a few scrap innings here and there and depending on how I pitched those I might be able to pitch later on in the season,” said Harper. “By the end of the season I was his ace and a starting pitcher.”
Even though Harper pitched so well his senior year, he was not able to pick up any scholarship offer. Baseball players usually pick up scholarship offers during their junior year of high school. This led Harper to choose The College of Saint Rose. The school has become sort of a family affair for Harper. His brother, aunt, uncle, and several cousins all went to Saint Rose as well.
Even though the recovery from Tommy John surgery is a long journey, Harper is ready to step up to the challenge. During the course of Harper’s career he has had to improve substantially at every level. The next level, however, will require the most improvement. Before last year’s season started Harper took to All-Stars Academy in the capital region to throw a bullpen session before baseball season started. “I threw for this guy who saw me throw only 50 pitches,” said Harper. “He asked me what my plans were for the summer and I said I was going to play in the Coastal Plains League and he told me after only seeing me throw 50 pitches ‘you’re not going to the Coastal Plains League, you’re going to be drafted by the end of this year.’” Those comments motivated Harper even more to improve his pitching not only going forward for the Golden Knights, but his future endeavors in getting drafted as well.
As for now though, that elbow needs to heal.
