CHICAGO – Two years and a month, almost to the day, since the last time Tejay Antone stepped on a big-league mound, he was back. This time at Wrigley Field. In the eighth inning of a close game, against the heart of the highest-paid lineup in the division.
The next few minutes, which included strikeouts of Alex Bregman and Seiya Suzuki, wrapped around a catch at the wall by TJ Friedl, marked an emotional, satisfying culmination of all that work Antone did since choosing to try again – for a third time – to come back from Tommy John surgery.
“It felt great. All the emotions,” said Antone, who got Bregman and Suzuki both on called third-strike breaking balls. “Super pumped in that moment.”
After a few moments of back pats and high fives in the dugout afterward, another rush came over him as he got to the end of the dugout.
“It kind of hit me. A couple of tears. I had to step away for a second,” he said. “Wow. Just an amazing night.”
The Reds didn’t win the game, losing a third consecutive heartbreaker to the Cubs since arriving in Chicago.
But the moment wasn’t lost on teammates or manager Terry Francona, even before the game when Francona saw Antone arrive at the clubhouse the day after what had been a long night of roster planning after a tough loss and injury to his closer.
“He walked in, and I said, ‘On the heels of a sh—-y night, seeing you walk through the door was kind of uplifting,’ “ Francona said. “It’s good for him. I hope it’s really good for us. But that’s a pretty cool story.”
The last regular-season day Antone spent in a big-league uniform was the day he walked off the mound with a catastrophic elbow injury for the third time in his baseball career, April 7, 2024, after just one pitch.
“It’s awesome, man. It’s really cool,” he said of the emotions of fighting all the way back again to become just the third pitcher in big-league history to return to the majors after a third Tommy John surgery — joining Jonny Venters and Jason Isringhausen.
Long before the Reds’ pregame work, Antone took time in the dugout to soak up the emotions and to stroll the field with his iPhone raised and running.
“Took a little recording, sent it to my family,” he said. “Wrigley’s a really cool ballpark, really iconic, and it’s really cool to be back.
“It’s been a long time,” he added, appearing to hold back emotions at times as he talked. “And I’m excited to do it. Excited to be back.”
He does it with just enough gray in his beard to suggest a level of perspective, if not appreciation, that belie his still otherwise youthful-looking 32 years.
The decision to put Antone on the roster after a second two-year recovery/rehab process was part of Francona’s late night, which also included other team officials, including general manager Brad Meador.
It also included shifting left-hander Brandon Williamson (shoulder fatigue) to the 60-day injured list to create room on the 40-man roster.
When healthy, Antone has shown impact ability with a career 2.47 ERA in 76 2/3 innings across parts of four seasons. And since returning to the mound late last season, he has shown at least good health, including a good performance in spring training before being sent to AAA Louisville to open the season as bullpen depth in the wings.
“I really wanted to come back, but I didn’t want to say I was expecting it,” said Antone, who produced a 2.25 ERA in 12 appearances for Louisville with 15 strikeouts in 12 innings. “I wasn’t on the roster. I was just pitching the best I could, just hoping for an opportunity.”
He returns with a cutter and new slider added to an impressive array of pitches.
“D.J. questioned having six pitches out of the bullpen,” he cracked, referring to pitching coach Derek Johnson. “But I’m riding the hot hand. Whatever pitch is working that day, it allows me to be able to audible and use whatever is working that day.”
Because he’s leaving nothing on the table. Not that he ever has. But definitely not this time.
“I wanted to do this round to the best of my abilities,” he said. “This is my last chance. No one’s going to sign a guy with four Tommy Johns, right?”
He keeps doing anything close to what he did in his season debut, and that’ll become a moot point fast.
Antone, who is writing as book on his journey, has now written the most significant chapter to date.
“And it’s cool to continue writing it,” he said. “It’s not over. It’s just getting started again. I want to keep going out there and doing that and giving our team a chance to win every time I get the ball.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds’ Tejay Antone ‘excited to be back,’ ready to make MLB history
Reporting by Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
