Now that there are only three
Photo credit – Justin White
Laguna Hills, CA – While the 2012 baseball season is well underway, our family continues to patiently wait for the enlightenment that John Lamb will resume his professional career between the foul lines. Rest assured he continues to work hard through good health on the Kansas City Royals complex in Arizona, as directed by the club. Now that there are only three days left from being one year removed from the Tommy John procedure, nobody is more anxious than my son to pitch in a ballgame. This has been an arduous path through the rehabilitation process from the reconstruction surgery on the throwing elbow. This process has added more than a year of maturity to my son. It has opened his eyes to the limited opportunity for living a childhood dream of playing professional baseball. The chance to play in a Major League Baseball game is still a dream at this point but the path of working through the farm system is almost upon him. Family, friends and fans are more than ready to hear about John Lamb toeing the slab for his team.
In three days the calendar will acknowledge last year’s early morning trip to Los Angeles for my son’s surgery. Although we were comforted by the profound experience of the surgeon we could not be more concerned with seeing John taken away for the attempt to repair his left arm. He was not the only patient that Friday morning whom had concerned family and friends in the waiting room. It is easy to reflect on the fear from that day almost a year ago but I’m happy to say that all seems to be going well with John during his continued rehab work on the Royals complex. Even though others have pitched in games quicker off of their surgery that’s not was is most important. The process to begin the grind of a professional baseball schedule is as unique as the athletes that play the game and the Royals control this procedure. My confidence remains high about my son through his hard work, athletic ability and desire to overcome this career obstacle. Soon we will know when the ball leaves his hand how the time was spent after the surgery. Many other players around baseball have experienced long careers after the Tommy John surgery and the Lamb family hopes to see John fall into this category as well.
In three days the calendar will hit the eve before this year’s Major League Baseball First-Year player draft. Many young men, family and friends will be anxious with the forthcoming selections that will follow the Monday through Wednesday event. Our family has had the wonderful experience of seeing their son receive a phone call and announcement of their selection to play professional baseball. All the various emotions throughout the entire baseball draft process are special to everyone in their own way. I was overwhelmed with tears of joy for my son and surely other dads are soon to experience similar feelings of sheer happiness for their little boy’s opportunity to play professional baseball. Despite the new rules that govern the draft the feelings remain the same. The amateur baseball world will officially label the new prospects around the game through the draft and new stories will begin to unfold.
Today the Lamb household remains in a holding pattern filled with anticipation but hopefully very soon there will be good news with an assignment somewhere on the Kansas City Royals farm for John Lamb. My son is more than eager to resume playing the game of baseball and trying to carry out the strength and knowledge from this past year pause in his career.
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James Lamb
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Mr. Lamb,
I am a die-hard Kansas City Royals fan and a big fan of John. I knew it had been around 12 months since the surgery and I searched the internet for an update on his recovery. Long story short, I stumbled across your blog and was taken back by the dedication and emotion your put into this site. You obviously are very proud of your son, and I have enjoyed reading your past entries. There is no doubt that John will make a full recovery and eventually work his way to KC. While I admire John’s fastball and change-up, it’s his calm demeanor and great character that sticks out. After reading this blog, it is obvious he gets this from his parents. Thank you for creating this site and keeping all of us updated on his progress. The future is very bright for the Lamb family.
Brian,
I too bleed Royal blue for obvious reasons but I’ve also been a fan of the Kansas City organization since my youth … still have the dirty hat to prove it. We’re very proud of John’s efforts to connect with the fans and happy to hear he understands the importance. Thanks for the visit and kind words about the efforts on this site. GO ROYALS!
Big fan of the Royals and John Lamb. Can’t wait for him to start hitting the mound again in AA (maybe A+ to start). It seems like all pitchers seem to have to go through this surgery at some point, and I think he might be “lucky” in the long run to have it this early in his career. I can’t wait to see where his velocity is in 2-3 months, as usually guys come back strong.
Big fan,
All the best.
Hey Bob – we appreciate your visit and kind words. We too hope to see him in a Royals farm uniform soon to help contribute with a team. Thanks again 🙂
Best of luck to John and the Lamb family. Hard work pays off and I can’t wait to see John out there pitching again with a healthy arm!
Brian – thanks for the well wishes. John should be on the Royals farm very soon wearing a uniform. Take care and please keep in touch…
I read that John will make his first game appearance the first week of July, I assume in Surprise. Hope all goes well and that he finds that the worst part is behind him now
Yes, that’s true based on what we talked about yesterday on the phone. It’s been a long road and I know he is eager to participate again with helping get outs for his team. Our fingers are also crossed from the West coast that the arm is healed and now it’s time to fight for a roster spot. Thanks for the comments and support …
After Danny Duffy sustained the same elbow injury, and with Mike Montgomery continuing to struggle in AAA, many Royals fans are anticipating the healthy return of John Lamb – one of the 3 prized left-handed prospects from several years back and one who has been somewhat forgotten in the past year.
Now that he has recovered, many fans are looking for him to emerge onto the Major League scene at some point in the future and help the Royals compete. There are a lot of good young players on the Royals and a few more to be called up at some point – hopefully your son can make a difference and propel the Royals to a pennant.
Good luck to him and your family…
– Mike
Mike – we appreciate your kind words and optimism. We also share the hope that John can come back and contribute to helping the Royals win games. He is gaining on his return to the farm system and the chance to play again. Thanks again for your visit and comments!
It’s been fun to follow John’s early career through your words, so good on you for sharing. One learns that even the best experience bumps.
I have a vested interest in John, having drafted him 2 years ago in a deep keeper strat-o-matic league, so my interest is doubled. I read somewhere that John would be pitching by early July, but haven’t seen his name on any boxes. Is he okay?
Hey Jake – I appreciate your follow and confidence with my son’s professional baseball career. He continues to work through some minor hiccups during the arm rehab process which have obviously delayed the start of playing in a game but very happy to say none of which are arm related. The most recent hurdle involved a tendinitis condition in his left ankle from apparently too much extra running during his work in Arizona. I know he is back to bullpen work and trying to simply endure the occasional flare up with the ankle pain. Some updates about his progress will be posted following a trip to the Phoenix area this coming weekend. Thanks again for your comments and I hope John can add value to your draft selection in the very near future.
Must be frustrating for you, as I assume you don’t get to see him all that often.
Can’t be a picnic for him either – from the few videos I’ve seen, it looks like he drives pretty hard off that leg so it has to sting. He looks like enough of an athlete to push through it though. Before he knows it, he’ll be throwing peas for the Royals and of course my strat team.
Best to both of you.