Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Tejay Antone has an incredible comeback story, and it’s all thanks to God.
Over the course of his career, Antone has suffered three Tommy John surgeries, one of the toughest surgeries to come back from in baseball.
According to MLB, he underwent his first in 2017. At the time, he was in the minor leagues, and that surgery cost him the entire 2017 season. The year prior, he had gone 14-7 with a 3.45 ERA.
The second surgery came in 2021, when the recovery time expanded to 15 months. Antone missed all of the 2022 season. When he returned in 2023, the pitcher needed to have a platelet-rich plasma injection for a flexor strain in his forearm, which delayed his return even more.
In 2024, he made the Reds’ Opening Day roster, but in just his fourth appearance, Antone threw one pitch in the sixth inning against the New York Mets and felt the familiar pain. The third surgery came on April 12, 2024, and this time also included a flexor tendon repair. At this time, he wasn’t sure what his career in baseball would look like.
But God stepped in and guided the athlete through the whole process.
“Every single day, when you’re coming back from three Tommy John surgeries, they’re not great. It’s not like you feel great every single day. So even when I did feel like crap, I trusted His plan. Even when I felt great, I trusted His plan,” the relief pitcher said in a video from Jesus Won Apparel.
Related: 6-Foot-10-Inch MLB Pitcher Has an Even Bigger Faith: ‘Baseball Is Just a Platform’
“I knew that no matter where He’s put me, if He was going to end my career and make me a coach or just take me out of the game altogether, like wherever He directed my steps, I would trust in His plan because I knew that His plan is better than my plan,” Antone continued. “And lo and behold, He got me back to this field, and it’s been amazing. I just continue to trust Him in all that I do.”
For the first time since 2019, Antone pitched an entire season with no issues, a feat he can only praise God for.
He uses his story to encourage other athletes who experience setbacks like he did. His book, The Tommy John Protocol: How to Rebuild Your Arm, Your Mind, and Your Faith, explores the “unfiltered reality of returning from not one, but THREE Tommy John surgeries while fighting to reclaim his career at the highest level of baseball. Blending personal stories from inside professional baseball with practical rehab principles and mental performance strategies, Antone’s journey back to the MLB field serves as both a roadmap and a lifeline for athletes navigating injury.”
However Antone’s career unfolds from here, his faith and perseverance are already an inspiration for anyone facing unexpected setbacks.
Read Next: Arizona Diamondbacks Pitcher Ryan Thompson Keeps Career Centered on Christ
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
