Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya talked to the press before Tuesday night’s game vs. the Twins about the injury he suffered on Monday. As you might imagine from the way he was on his knees and holding his elbow because of the pain he was feeling, Zumaya thought that might be it for him.
“My first thought was that my career was over,” Zumaya said Tuesday, speaking to a large throng of reporters in the dugout prior to the Tigers’ game at Minnesota. "I’ve been through a lot, man, and I’ve never had an elbow problem like that. With all the stuff I’ve been through, that really took a piece out of me.
“I thought my career was done.”
As Jim Leyland put it, however, Zumaya and the Tigers might have received “the best worst news we could have gotten” with the diagnosis of a fracture to his elbow, and no damage to the ligament.
Surgery isn’t out of the question for Zumaya, but at least it won’t be a Tommy John ligament replacement procedure.
With that news, Zumaya doesn’t sound like he’s ready to call it a career:
“I have four months to heal, not a year. I am a hard-working guy and I won’t give up. I’ve got family members and I have a son who I want to see me play baseball. I won’t give it up. I thought that was my last bullet and I am happy I still have a chance.”