Even now, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ken Dayley can go back through time and pitches to a day in Atlanta in late May 1987. He can bring that moment to life as if it were frozen in place: the sights, the sounds, the drama.
”It was like my first game in the big leagues. Your cleats don`t feel like they`re in the dirt. You feel you`re above ground, floating. I came in with a guy on second base. There was one out. Dion James was the hitter. He`s left-handed. I threw a couple of pitches. One was a good pitch, one was a ball away.
”The next pitch, I remember it was a 1-1, was a liner to Ozzie Smith, who doubled the guy off second. We got out of the inning.
”Sitting at my locker after the game, I just couldn`t believe it. I couldn`t believe it all had happened for me. I was back pitching in the big leagues. I couldn`t believe it. The tears were streaming down my face.”
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This was no ordinary relief appearance for Dayley. This was his crucible, a moment that might determine the future of his baseball career.
Dayley is one of Dr. Frank Jobe`s miracles. In 1986, when it looked as if Dayley`s days as a pitcher were imperiled because of a mysterious ache in his left elbow that wouldn`t go away and couldn`t be pinpointed, he turned to Jobe.
”I was hoping he had an answer,” Dayley said. ”I was tired of not knowing what was wrong. A lot of things go through your head. You`ve got a family at home, you`ve got to put food on the table and a roof over their head, and what was I going to do?”
Jobe had the answer.
”We`ll fix it in the morning,” the doctor said.
At 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 10, 1986, Dayley underwent surgery at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, Calif., in what has become known as the Tommy John procedure, so-called because of a method perfected by Jobe that salvaged John`s pitching career.
”I had already talked with the Man Upstairs,” Dayley said. ”I said some prayers and put it in His hands. If he wanted me to play baseball again, I`d play. If he wanted me to move on and try something else, that`s the way it would be. I had inner peace.”
The medial collateral ligament in Dayley`s elbow was torn. To rebuild the damaged area, Jobe moved the ulnar nerve, hanging it from a sling he constructed on one side of the elbow. He removed a tendon from Dayley`s right wrist, drilled holes in a bone, looped the tendon through the holes in the form of a figure 8 and sewed it together. The tendon takes over the function of the ligament. Jobe left the old ligament in Dayley`s elbow.
Jobe gave Dayley a choice. He told him he could use spare tendons from either wrist or ankle.
”He said it wouldn`t make a difference, but this fish wasn`t biting,”
Dayley said. ”I thought, `He`s already messing with my left elbow, no need to mess with my left wrist, too.` I`ve never noticed that the tendon is gone in my right wrist. I should have listened to him and spared problems.”
Dayley checked out of the hospital with his left arm in a cast, his right arm in a sling, ”and I couldn`t use either.”
The Cardinals were in San Diego, two days before the All-Star break, when the pain that had been Dayley`s constant companion for months intensified. He was frightened and confused.
”I threw a pitch for strike three to Tony Gwynn, and there was a real bad ache in my elbow. The next inning, I went to the mound, picked up the ball and went through my windup. When I let the ball go, I felt a tremendously sharp pain. The ball went only halfway to the plate. I thought, `Wow, whatever the problem is-it`s here.` I knew something drastic had happened. I knew my arm was hurting, but nobody could tell me why.”
Weeks of rest and no improvement led to the surgery, rehabilitation and a remarkably fast recovery. Seven months after the operation, Dayley passed the test in Atlanta with high marks.
Considering the uncertainty of 1986, Dayley was remarkable in the Cardinals` World Series season of 1987. His record was 9-5. He made 10 relief appearances before he gave up the first run.
A torn muscle in his lower back scarred 1988. This past season, he broke the club record for appearances by a left-hander with 71 and had 12 saves, a career high. His comeback appears complete.
Jobe has a picture of Dayley in his office. He`s been inducted into Jobe`s ever-expanding Hall of Miracles.
”My elbow has been just like brand new,” Dayley said. ”It took a year to lose certain sensations. After that, there have been no limitations. I understand my elbow. When it talks to me, I listen.
”I think I was blessed. Dr. Jobe was there to come up with the surgical procedure. The Good Lord was watching over it.
”I`ve learned not to take for granted throwing a baseball. Before, I did. I`d go out every day, pick up a ball and throw it. Throwing a baseball is an unnatural motion. There is a way to throw, but arms are fragile, and every day could be your last day. I`m taking it one day at a time.”
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