Under The Knife 6/22/22

Finding Vasiliy

I’ve written extensively about Tommy John over the years, even having the honor of speaking with Dr. Frank Jobe on several occasions before his passing. One of the things that often came up was the question of not who was first, but who was second. It’s a good trivia question that Brent Strom, currently the pitching coach with the Diamondbacks, was the second pitcher to have Tommy John surgery, but in between John and Strom, there was a blank.

That second athlete was, in Dr. Jobe’s words, a “young Russian javelin thrower.” (He actually said ‘javeliner’ and immediately paused and laughed. “That’s not right. What’s the term?” We had to think about it.) Jobe didn’t know the name, though he had said he’d looked through records years back without luck. He mentioned that he was very young, that he did come back, and that he knew almost nothing about his rehab.

Vasiliy Yershov, a Ukrainian then competing for the USSR, was an Olympic level javelin thrower. He competed, but did not make the finals, at the Montreal games, but was the leading Soviet thrower for a period of several years. While getting records is difficult, Yershov was a late bloomer, in his late-20s at his peak. He was a four time Soviet champion, all happening in the lead to the 1976 Olympics, and appearing in few competitions ahead of those necessary to even make the team. Even his name is listed as both Yershov and Ershov, as it is in this video of his Olympic throw:

Sadly, I can’t see if Yershov/Ershov has that trademark scar on his throwing elbow, though it’s remarkable that there’s video at all!

What’s most intriguing is that there’s very few records of Yershov’s early competitions. Most were likely lower level competitions in the USSR as well as training within their disciplined system. He and others like him wouldn’t have made many trips outside the USSR unless they were at a sufficiently high level, one of the best Soviet athletes. There are a couple in 1973 and 1974, but almost none in late 1974 or 1975.

Yershov’s gap in 1974 and 1975 is suggestive that he may well have been Jobe’s forgotten patient. The surgery happened a few months after John’s September ‘74 surgery, so late ‘74 or early ‘75. While we know absolutely nothing about the rehab and there’s no record I can find even stating a surgery happened, the timing is suggestive.

However, that’s not the end of the story. In 1978, Yershov tested positive for steroids and was banned for eighteen months, a severe penalty at the time and unusual. Yershov never competed at a high level again, shifting into coaching. Use of steroids, we know now, was systemic and wide spread in Soviet-sphere athletics, so it’s unclear why Yershov was caught when so many weren’t.

Yershov died in 2000, in his home of now-war torn Zaporizhzhiya. It’s going to be next to impossible to find more information that what I’ve dug up so far, but if Yershov is the second man to ever have the surgery, then to come back and make the pinnacle of his sport, even with assistance, it’s a darn good story and one more success in Jobe’s extensive resume.

I can’t be sure that Yershov is the correct man, the correct patient, but this is the best evidence I’ve seen in decades of searching. Sadly, all this came about because of a war, with a town being destroyed along with its athletic records. My worry is that any records or contemporary accounts are now destroyed and that we’ll never have final confirmation. For now, let’s get to the injuries:

MAX SCHERZER, SP NYM (strained oblique)

This is a surprise. After one short sim game, which was ahead of schedule, Max Scherzer headed to Double-A for a rehab start. It’s going to be limited, but not only will Scherzer have everything he needs, he’ll got his normal Mets catcher, with James McCann also going on rehab. Part of the reason for Double-A is simple geography. Binghamton is closer and Scherzer’s unlikely to hang out with the Rumble Ponies, even with dollar dog night tomorrow.

Scherzer went 65 pitches over 3 1/3 innings, striking out six. A scout on hand said he had good velocity but didn’t seem to be at full effort and didn’t show any signs of hesitation or discomfort. This is about as good a report and I’ll tell you that this scout knows his pitchers, so this report carries weight.

The healing of that deep tear in his oblique has been good. While the unusual tearing pattern was thought to be more serious, it’s turned out to be a pretty clean heal, per sources and looks very good on images, as well as not losing much in the way of flexibility. Scherzer’s felt good for a while, but the Mets let the healing continue until everyone, including some outside doctors, were confident.

Assuming Scherzer has no further setbacks, it’s hard to see why he’d need another rehab assignment. That could put him back with the Mets as soon as next week. That might be a bit of a rush and some rotation shuffling will happen to make sure Scherzer is put in with the right rest and the right backup.

By the way, Jacob deGrom faced live hitters. A rehab assignment for him won’t be as short, but it’s coming shortly.