During late March of the 2016 season, Josh Sawyer took the mound twice in a home series versus TCU. The lefty pitched one shutout inning each time, and struck out five batters. When Texas beat then No. 6 TCU 2-0 in a Friday contest, Sawyer struck out the side using an explosive fastball that touched 96 MPH and a swing-and-miss, hammer curveball.
Describing his performance against TCU as dominant was an understatement; he walked off the mound with a confidence Texas hadn’t seen before, and TCU hitters had no chance in the batter's box. It was the best he looked at Texas.
Then, Sawyer - besides facing one batter in a game versus Oklahoma and throwing .2 innings versus Oklahoma State the final weekend in April - was gone.
Josh Saywer has worked for over a year to get back on the mound.
What followed was a long and winding road filled with two fluke injuries, three procedures, endless rehab, and, understandably, one question: Why me?
“Oh, yeah. Multiple times. It’s always out there, ‘Why me?’ I prayed about it. I asked the Lord about it all the time – why did you choose me? He chose me because I have resiliency to come back through three surgeries and get back,” responded Sawyer about asking why he kept being faced with injury after injury. Sawyer does have resiliency.
Most players in his position probably would have packed away their spikes, enjoyed college, and tried to figure out a future without baseball. That would have been the easy way out, and, frankly, no one would have questioned him. Not Sawyer, though. He dreamed of being a Longhorn, and the lefthander from San Angelo wasn’t about to give that up.
“Getting back was the goal from day one. I was born to play here,” said Sawyer about his mindset when his injuries first occurred. “I’ve loved this school since I was five years old. The first game I watched was the 2002 World Series. I moved down to Texas in 2001… it was the goal to play here. The injuries came along, and it was hard. But the goal was to get back because of everything they’ve given me. They spent a lot of time and money helping me out through surgery, rehab, being here in the summer and the trainer coming up early when I have practice. The goal was always to come back, and now that I’m back it’s a big sigh of relief.”
He is back. Sawyer threw 20 innings during the fall and didn’t experience any issues or setbacks. So far during the preseason, the redshirt junior has pitched well. Austin Todd singled out Sawyer as the pitcher that’s given him the most difficulty during the fall and preseason practices.
“My body felt great all fall. It was more the mental side getting back in the swing of things. My body feels 100-percent for the first time in a while. Mentally, with runners on base in scoring position I mentally checked out a couple of time. Just have to finetune that get back in baseball routine,” stated Sawyer.
The list of injuries Sawyer endured is lengthy. Even more frustrating for him, the injuries were flukes that doctors had trouble explaining and assessing.
“My junior year, I tore my bicep tendon. Kind of a freak accident in the bullpen in West Virginia. I had to have two surgeries to get that fixed. Last year in February, another freak accident. I tore my labrum in my hip. Doctors didn’t really know how it happened. So, I had surgery on that last February,” he said. “So, it’s been about two and a half years… rehab has gone great. Coaches were very supportive. They want me back, and I’m happy to be back.”
The coaches absolutely want Sawyer back. Throughout his journey back, the Texas coaching staff and current and former players have been very supporting of Sawyer. They’ve put some fuel in the tank to keep him going.
“They know. They know how dominating he can be,” responded David Pierce when asked about his players speaking so highly of Sawyer. “So, we want to protect him as he’s preparing but they understand he can be a difference-maker and I have to see how we benefit from him the best. I think he’s better off frequently than longevity. Him two times a week he could probably do better than an extended start. So, that’s what we’re looking at right now.”
From the coaching perspective, it’s not hard to understand why the Longhorns want him back. When Sawyer is right, he could be a true weapon in the backend of games out of the bullpen, or maybe even work his way back up to being a starter. Oh, and he’s lefthanded. The Longhorns don’t have many southpaws.
“Right now I truly think Josh and (Bryce) Verplank are the key to how everything works out,” David Pierce said about the season, making reference to the question mark in the bullpen being the most obvious thing Texas needs to answer. “I love the kid (Sawyer) because he’s a teammate. He’s very determined and very smart, and sometimes, his intelligence gets in the way because he’s too analytical at times. So, we try to dumb him down a little bit to trust himself and trust himself. But he’s a worker. I think his work and work habits has a little bit to do with hurting him because the overuse syndrome probably caught up to him. He’s really learned how to take care of his body. He’s a huge, huge piece of this group this year.”
Sawyer could play a huge role for Texas this year as a backend reliever.
This season and beyond, Sawyer doesn’t want to impact Texas just by what he does on the mound. He’s taken a leadership role, and has encouraged anyone that’s dealing with injuries to reach out to him.
“I try to help all of our freshmen. Cole (Quintanilla) came in with Tommy John; Tristan Stevens; Donny (Diaz) had Tommy John this year. I’m always there for them. I tell them all the time if you ever need to talk, I’m here for you,” the lefty said. “I’ve been through a lot. Any of our guys. If you have a tweaked muscle and are out for a couple weeks, I know what it’s like. I’m always open just to hearing them because it does help to talk to someone about it.”
Fortunately for Sawyer, one thing he didn’t need to learn was how to pitch again. When he returned from injuries and began throwing again, Texas went to compare his mechanics on film to his pre-injury, dominant form. To be a fly on the wall during that initial discussion would mean possibly being swept away by gigantic, collective sighs of relief.
“Actually no, I did not,” responded Sawyer when asked if he had to change anything mechanically after rehabbing through multiple injuries. “I watched a lot of film from me before just because I hadn’t thrown on the mound in about two and a half years. Everything looked normal. We had film from before and film from after the fall and everything looked the exact same; the arm-slot was the same, everything was back to where it was before. Didn’t have to change anything at all.”
The rehab process did change Sawyer’s repertoire, though. And in a good way. Because of his bicep injury, the lefty learned a changeup while the curveball had to stay on the shelf.
“I feel like I’ve actually gained a changeup,” said Sawyer, who described himself as a late-inning, bullpen guy to begin the season. “For a year with what they did with my bicep tendon, the doctors didn’t want me to pronate or rotate my wrist like throwing a curveball. Literally for a year I was fastball/changeup. When I started throwing curveballs, my curve was back. So, I do think I have another weapon this year.”
Fully healthy, back in the same arm-slot, a changeup added… it’s not a surprise that Sawyer is as excited as he’s ever been about baseball.
“This is probably the most exciting day since my first day on the 40 Acres. To be back out here with the team again. It’s been a lot of hard work – two and a half years of rehab to get back to this moment,” he stated. “I feel great. I feel unbelievable. Emotionally, it’s going to be a lot. Pretty emotional for three surgeries and come back. But the fall really helped. Threw 20 innings in the fall, and felt great.”
Sawyer threw just 6.0 innings in 2016. He hasn’t thrown an inning since. Through perseverance, the lefty made it all the way back to a position to pitch again for his beloved Longhorns; his dream wasn’t going to end in 2016.
“I have so many people to thank for it. Every single person on the coaching staff; every player I’ve ever played with; old guys like Tres (Barrera), Morgan (Cooper), Boz (Bret Boswell) they still call me all the time. I’ve had a lot of support along the way. It’s been a long ride, but I’m ready to be back,” he said.
Not only is Sawyer back, but he’s in a position to play one of the most important roles on the team. After all he’s been through, betting against him isn’t a wise move.
Describing his performance against TCU as dominant was an understatement; he walked off the mound with a confidence Texas hadn’t seen before, and TCU hitters had no chance in the batter's box. It was the best he looked at Texas.
Then, Sawyer - besides facing one batter in a game versus Oklahoma and throwing .2 innings versus Oklahoma State the final weekend in April - was gone.
Josh Saywer has worked for over a year to get back on the mound.
What followed was a long and winding road filled with two fluke injuries, three procedures, endless rehab, and, understandably, one question: Why me?
“Oh, yeah. Multiple times. It’s always out there, ‘Why me?’ I prayed about it. I asked the Lord about it all the time – why did you choose me? He chose me because I have resiliency to come back through three surgeries and get back,” responded Sawyer about asking why he kept being faced with injury after injury. Sawyer does have resiliency.
Most players in his position probably would have packed away their spikes, enjoyed college, and tried to figure out a future without baseball. That would have been the easy way out, and, frankly, no one would have questioned him. Not Sawyer, though. He dreamed of being a Longhorn, and the lefthander from San Angelo wasn’t about to give that up.
“Getting back was the goal from day one. I was born to play here,” said Sawyer about his mindset when his injuries first occurred. “I’ve loved this school since I was five years old. The first game I watched was the 2002 World Series. I moved down to Texas in 2001… it was the goal to play here. The injuries came along, and it was hard. But the goal was to get back because of everything they’ve given me. They spent a lot of time and money helping me out through surgery, rehab, being here in the summer and the trainer coming up early when I have practice. The goal was always to come back, and now that I’m back it’s a big sigh of relief.”
He is back. Sawyer threw 20 innings during the fall and didn’t experience any issues or setbacks. So far during the preseason, the redshirt junior has pitched well. Austin Todd singled out Sawyer as the pitcher that’s given him the most difficulty during the fall and preseason practices.
“My body felt great all fall. It was more the mental side getting back in the swing of things. My body feels 100-percent for the first time in a while. Mentally, with runners on base in scoring position I mentally checked out a couple of time. Just have to finetune that get back in baseball routine,” stated Sawyer.
The list of injuries Sawyer endured is lengthy. Even more frustrating for him, the injuries were flukes that doctors had trouble explaining and assessing.
“My junior year, I tore my bicep tendon. Kind of a freak accident in the bullpen in West Virginia. I had to have two surgeries to get that fixed. Last year in February, another freak accident. I tore my labrum in my hip. Doctors didn’t really know how it happened. So, I had surgery on that last February,” he said. “So, it’s been about two and a half years… rehab has gone great. Coaches were very supportive. They want me back, and I’m happy to be back.”
The coaches absolutely want Sawyer back. Throughout his journey back, the Texas coaching staff and current and former players have been very supporting of Sawyer. They’ve put some fuel in the tank to keep him going.
“They know. They know how dominating he can be,” responded David Pierce when asked about his players speaking so highly of Sawyer. “So, we want to protect him as he’s preparing but they understand he can be a difference-maker and I have to see how we benefit from him the best. I think he’s better off frequently than longevity. Him two times a week he could probably do better than an extended start. So, that’s what we’re looking at right now.”
From the coaching perspective, it’s not hard to understand why the Longhorns want him back. When Sawyer is right, he could be a true weapon in the backend of games out of the bullpen, or maybe even work his way back up to being a starter. Oh, and he’s lefthanded. The Longhorns don’t have many southpaws.
“Right now I truly think Josh and (Bryce) Verplank are the key to how everything works out,” David Pierce said about the season, making reference to the question mark in the bullpen being the most obvious thing Texas needs to answer. “I love the kid (Sawyer) because he’s a teammate. He’s very determined and very smart, and sometimes, his intelligence gets in the way because he’s too analytical at times. So, we try to dumb him down a little bit to trust himself and trust himself. But he’s a worker. I think his work and work habits has a little bit to do with hurting him because the overuse syndrome probably caught up to him. He’s really learned how to take care of his body. He’s a huge, huge piece of this group this year.”
Sawyer could play a huge role for Texas this year as a backend reliever.
This season and beyond, Sawyer doesn’t want to impact Texas just by what he does on the mound. He’s taken a leadership role, and has encouraged anyone that’s dealing with injuries to reach out to him.
“I try to help all of our freshmen. Cole (Quintanilla) came in with Tommy John; Tristan Stevens; Donny (Diaz) had Tommy John this year. I’m always there for them. I tell them all the time if you ever need to talk, I’m here for you,” the lefty said. “I’ve been through a lot. Any of our guys. If you have a tweaked muscle and are out for a couple weeks, I know what it’s like. I’m always open just to hearing them because it does help to talk to someone about it.”
Fortunately for Sawyer, one thing he didn’t need to learn was how to pitch again. When he returned from injuries and began throwing again, Texas went to compare his mechanics on film to his pre-injury, dominant form. To be a fly on the wall during that initial discussion would mean possibly being swept away by gigantic, collective sighs of relief.
“Actually no, I did not,” responded Sawyer when asked if he had to change anything mechanically after rehabbing through multiple injuries. “I watched a lot of film from me before just because I hadn’t thrown on the mound in about two and a half years. Everything looked normal. We had film from before and film from after the fall and everything looked the exact same; the arm-slot was the same, everything was back to where it was before. Didn’t have to change anything at all.”
The rehab process did change Sawyer’s repertoire, though. And in a good way. Because of his bicep injury, the lefty learned a changeup while the curveball had to stay on the shelf.
“I feel like I’ve actually gained a changeup,” said Sawyer, who described himself as a late-inning, bullpen guy to begin the season. “For a year with what they did with my bicep tendon, the doctors didn’t want me to pronate or rotate my wrist like throwing a curveball. Literally for a year I was fastball/changeup. When I started throwing curveballs, my curve was back. So, I do think I have another weapon this year.”
Fully healthy, back in the same arm-slot, a changeup added… it’s not a surprise that Sawyer is as excited as he’s ever been about baseball.
“This is probably the most exciting day since my first day on the 40 Acres. To be back out here with the team again. It’s been a lot of hard work – two and a half years of rehab to get back to this moment,” he stated. “I feel great. I feel unbelievable. Emotionally, it’s going to be a lot. Pretty emotional for three surgeries and come back. But the fall really helped. Threw 20 innings in the fall, and felt great.”
Sawyer threw just 6.0 innings in 2016. He hasn’t thrown an inning since. Through perseverance, the lefty made it all the way back to a position to pitch again for his beloved Longhorns; his dream wasn’t going to end in 2016.
“I have so many people to thank for it. Every single person on the coaching staff; every player I’ve ever played with; old guys like Tres (Barrera), Morgan (Cooper), Boz (Bret Boswell) they still call me all the time. I’ve had a lot of support along the way. It’s been a long ride, but I’m ready to be back,” he said.
Not only is Sawyer back, but he’s in a position to play one of the most important roles on the team. After all he’s been through, betting against him isn’t a wise move.
