Reds’ Antone to put comeback expertise to work
Three days after Cincinnati Reds reliever Tejay Antone suffered the third devastating elbow injury of his career, he was able to find a silver lining.
He’s scheduled to have right elbow surgery on Friday, and Antone plans to attempt a comeback. Whenever his pitching career does end down the road, he’s interested in coaching pitchers who are coming back from significant elbow injuries.
“I have a competitive edge,” Antone said.
“I’ve been through it now for a third time.”
Few know the process better than he does, and Antone wants to be a part of a solution to a “pandemic” that’s spreading around baseball.
The story of the young MLB season has been the alarming number of elbow injuries for pitchers.
High school and college pitchers deal with similar injuries, and Antone said that many of those younger pitchers don’t have the same resources as the big leaguers who injure their elbows.
High school and college pitchers don’t have the same training facilities, the same weight rooms or the same rehab progress after they get injured.
‘I want to be a resource’
Antone already has experience coaching. He’s the founder and CEO of KOVA Sports, which is a pitching training facility in Alvarado, Texas. Antone views KOVA Sports as a way to pay forward what he has learned to the next generation.
“There will continue to be a lot of elbow injuries in this game,” Antone said. “When that does happen, I want to be a resource for kids and a resource for other athletes going through it so they can come back stronger.”
After Antone had his first Tommy John surgery, he increased his fastball velocity from 96 mph to 100 mph. He strengthened his elbow, became a different style of pitcher and earned a callup to the big leagues.
When his playing career is over, Antone
wants to give more pitchers a chance to have that experience.
“To be able to help another kid go through a valley and come out stronger than they were before, it’s one of the best feelings in the world,” Antone said.
Antone’s partner at KOVA Sports, Jeremy Kivel, is a reconditioning pitching coach with the New York Mets and focuses on working with pitchers coming back from significant injuries. Antone
said that he and Kivel are a strong “tag team” of coaches for pitchers who are starting their comebacks.
Not giving up on playing career
Before Antone fully delves into coaching, he plans to make it back to the big leagues.
While he’ll miss the rest of the 2024 season as his elbow recovers, he’s not giving up.
“I have an opportunity and a responsibility to do this, not just for myself but for other kids out there dealing with this,” Antone said.
“There are kids out there in high school or in college that hurt their elbow and don’t have the best medical attention. I have the opportunity to be the person that makes it back from three (surgeries).”