David Riske was a relief pitcher in 462 major league games
between 1999 and 2010.
David Richard Riske was born October 23, 1976, in Renton,
Washington, a suburb of Seattle. He attended Lindbergh High School, where he
lettered in baseball and golf, and graduated in 1994. He threw a no-hitter as a
high school senior, but played shortstop at Green River Community College until
his coach told him that if he wanted to have a chance to play professionally he
needed to go back to pitching and he reluctantly agreed. As a result he was
drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 56th round of the 1996 draft,
and he signed a contract with them on October 22.
David spent the 1997 season with the Kinston Indians of the
Class A Carolina League, pitching 72 innings in 39 relief appearances, with 90
strikeouts, 33 walks, and a 2.25 ERA. He spent most of 1998 with Kinston as
well, and became the team’s closer; he pitched 54 innings in 53 games, with 67
strikeouts, 15 walks, a 2.33 ERA, and 33 saves. He also made two appearances
for the Akron Aeros of the Class AA Eastern League. Before the 1998 season he
had filled out a questionnaire, in which he mentioned that he was a
switch-hitter (though he would only bat once in his professional career), he
was 6-2, 185, his off-season occupation was “salesman sports stores,” and his
hobbies were golf and hunting.
David started 1999 with Akron, and had 12 saves in 23 games
with a 1.90 ERA when he was moved up to AAA Buffalo of the International
League. He made 23 appearances with Buffalo as well, and did even better, with
an ERA of 0.65. Though he was almost exclusively a fastball pitcher, he did not
have overwhelming speed; he did it with control and a deceptive delivery. On
August 9 he was called up to Cleveland, and he made his major league debut on
the 14th: he pitched a perfect ninth inning in a 7-1 win over the
Orioles, retiring Mike Bordick and B.J. Surhoff, then striking out Albert
Belle. After that, though, he went through a rough patch, and when he was put
on the disabled list on August 31, retroactive to the 25th, he had
an ERA of 12.27. He was reactivated on September 10 and got into six more games
that season, ending up with an 8.36 ERA in 12 games, though with 16 strikeouts
in his 14 innings. The Sporting News
predicted that he would be in the Indians’ bullpen picture for 2000.
Late in spring training 2000, though, David was placed on
the disabled list, where he spent most of the season, at some point making
three appearances for Akron and two for Buffalo. His missed time was described
as being due to “back and shoulder problems.”
In 2001 he was back at spring training with the Indians, but
was sent to Buffalo just before the regular season started. With the Bisons he
had 15 saves in 38 appearances, and in 53 1/3 innings struck out 72, walked 17,
and had an ERA of 2.36. He was called up to Cleveland on June 22, made one
appearance on the 25th, pitching 2 2/3 hitless innings, then went
back to Buffalo before being recalled on July 22. He was an important part of
the Indians’ bullpen down the stretch as they won the Central Division title,
ending up with a 1.98 ERA in 26 games, despite an uncharacteristic 18 walks in
27 1/3 innings. On September 3 the Sporting
News said “Riske isn’t overpowering but moves the ball around and
challenges hitters,” and the next week they reported:
…David Riske has helped fill the void created by the loss of
Paul Shuey.
After missing most of last season because of back and shoulder
surgery, RHP David Riske has become a big part of the bullpen. His emergence
has come at an opportune time because RHP Paul Shuey likely is out for the
season, and Rocker can’t be trusted in any situation. Although Riske’s fastball
is usually in the low 90s, he can get his velocity up to 94 mph on occasion. He
also has a slider he can move around the plate and is working on a split-finger
fastball. Riske also keeps hitters from diving over the plate by working the
inside corner. Riske is proof a player can be almost an afterthought in the
draft and still make it to the majors. He was the Indians’ 56th
round pick in 1996.
In the playoffs, the Indians lost in the first round to the
Mariners, three games to two, as David got the only post-season action of his
major league career. He pitched in three of the games and did not allow a run
to score.
David got off to a quick start for the Indians in 2002,
allowing no earned runs in his first eight appearances, but struggled after
that. On June 19 he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained
lower back muscle; at that point he had a 5.86 ERA in 33 games. On July 17 he
was reactivated, then after two appearances in the next three days he was
optioned to Buffalo. By the time he was recalled by Cleveland on August 15, he
had pitched in nine games and had struck out 17 batters in 9 2/3 innings. (At
some point in the season he also pitched in four games for Akron; I didn’t find
them but I’m guessing it was a rehab stint before he was reactivated in July.)
He pitched so-so the rest of the year, finishing with a 5.26 ERA in 51 games
for the Indians, who fell to third place in the division.
2003 was the year David put it all together, spending the
season as the right-handed setup man to Cleveland closer Danys Baez. In 74 2/3
innings in 68 games, he allowed just 52 hits, struck out 82 and walked 20, and
finished with a 2.29 ERA.
In 2004 Baez was gone and David started the season as the
Indians’ closer. Before the game of April 30 manager Eric Wedge announced that
he “had temporarily lost his closer’s job”—this was probably not a shock given
that David’s ERA for the month was 12.27. Pitching in a setup role he gradually
got the figure down to around 4.50, and was given another shot at being the
closer in July. He got three saves to bring his season total to five, then lost
the job to Bob Wickman, recently reactivated after close to two years on the
disabled list. Back in the setup role, David finished the season strongly and
wound up with a 3.72 ERA in 77 1/3 innings in 72 games, with 78 strikeouts; his
walks doubled, though, to 41.
David spent 2005 as he ended 2004, as a setup man to
Wickman. He seems to have continued to be injury-free, though he did have one
bump in his season. From an AP report from August 6:
Cleveland Indians starter Kevin Millwood was suspended for
five games Friday [the 5th] and reliever David Riske for four games
for intentionally hitting batters during a game against the Seattle Mariners
last week.
Indians manager Eric Wedge and bench coach Robby Thompson
were each suspended one game because the beanings came after plate umpire Chris
Guccione had issued warnings to both teams.
Mariners right-hander Shigetoshi Hasegawa was fined an undisclosed
amount but was not suspended for intentionally hitting Cleveland’s Grady
Sizemore earlier in the game.
Hasegawa plunked Sizemore in the seventh inning of
Cleveland’s 10-5 victory at Seattle on July 29. Guccione ejected Hasegawa and
warned both clubs.
Millwood retaliated in the home half by hitting Yuniesky
Betancourt in the hip with his first pitch. Guccione ejected Millwood and Wedge
as both teams’ benches and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown.
Riske hit Ichiro Suzuki in the back in the ninth inning.
Guccione then tossed Riske and Thompson, who had taken over managing duties for
Wedge.All four Indians also were fined undisclosed amounts.
David appealed his suspension and continued to play; on
September 1 it was reduced from four to three games and at that point he served
it. For the season he had a 3.10 ERA in 72 2/3 innings in 58 games; his walks
and strikeouts were both down significantly, to 15 and 48.
On January 17, 2006, David signed a new contract with the
Indians, then, ten days later, he was traded to the Red Sox with Coco Crisp and
Josh Bard for Guillermo Mota, Andy Marte, Kelly Shoppach, cash, and a player to
be named later. He pitched an inning in Boston’s second game of the season, on
April 4, but sprained his lower back and on April 12 was placed on the 15-day
disabled list retroactive to the 5th. On May 10 he began a rehab
assignment at AAA Pawtucket, and on May 22 he was activated. On June 11, after
making his eighth Red Sox appearance in the first game of a doubleheader against
Texas, he was traded to the White Sox for Javier Lopez. On June 20, in his
second appearance for Chicago, he was again ejected. From the next day’s AP
report:
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and reliever David Riske
were ejected in the seventh after Chris Duncan was hit with a pitch. The
benches had been warned in the bottom of the sixth after St. Louis reliever
Sidney Ponson hit two White Sox batters with the bases loaded.
“I’m not going to put my teammates in jeopardy to get hurt.
It looked like it was, but it wasn’t. It was never my intention,” Ponson said.
“Those guys are going to be mad and they have every right to
do that. I would be, too, if I got hit like that.”
Riske said the pitch got away from him. But last week White
Sox manager Ozzie Guillen had a dugout tirade when rookie pitcher Sean Tracey
failed to retaliate after Pierzynski twice had been hit with pitches in Texas.
David was suspended for three games and Guillen, who threw
him under the bus and denied any culpability, was suspended for one. David
initially appealed but then dropped it. He pitched in 33 games for Chicago,
giving him 41 appearances for the season; he had a 3.89 ERA in 44 innings.
At the end of the season David became a free agent, and in
December he signed a one-year deal with the Royals. When closer Octavio Dotel
began the 2007 season on the disabled list, David filled in for a while, but
soon returned to a setup role. He had an excellent year, with a 2.45 ERA in 69
2/3 innings in 65 games. After the season he turned down the option year in his
contract and became a free agent, and in December signed a lucrative three-year
deal with the Brewers. On March 27, 2008, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel introduced
David to Brewers’ fans:
Hide and heat-seekers
Riske’s hard-to-pickup fastball mows down hitters
Phoenix—Without fail, pitching coaches will tell you that
the best pitch in baseball is the fastball.
For the longest time, the fastball was the only pitch for David Riske.
Riske, who signed a three-year free-agent deal over the
winter to pitch out of the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen, never intended to be a
pitcher. The Washington state native was playing shortstop at Green River
Community College outside of Seattle when coach Dan Spencer offered some unsolicited
and unsettling advice.
“You don’t hit enough to play shortstop after college,” said
Spencer. “You don’t have enough power. You’re too small.
“If you want to get to the next level, if you want to play
professionally, you should get on the mound.”
Riske had intended to move on to Texas Tech but Spencer
convinced him to stay at Green River and become a pitcher. As a support group,
Spencer had scouts call Riske and tell him the best use of his strong arm would
come on a pitcher’s mound.
“I wasn’t happy about it,” said Riske. “I didn’t want to
pitch.
“But, when you’re 17, 18 years old and scouts are calling
you, you listen to them. You figure they know what they’re talking about.”
In those days Riske was a pitcher only in the positional
sense. He basically just reared back and threw the ball. One fastball after
another.
It made it easy on the catcher, who only had to exercise his
index finger.
“I really wasn’t a pitcher, I was a thrower,” he said. “I
just got on the ‘bump’ and threw it as hard as I could and tried to get
everybody out. Pitching kind of came later.”
That raw approach to mound work was good enough to get Riske
selected in the 56th round of the 1996 draft by the Cleveland
Indians. When some 1,700 players are grabbed ahead of you, the odds are hardly
in your favor, but the slightly built right-hander didn’t worry about such
things.
Still throwing nothing but fastballs as a late-inning
reliever, Riske got his first shot at the big leagues with Cleveland in 1999.
In 12 appearances, he compiled a 8.36 earned run average.
Back and shoulder injuries sidetracked Riske for a year, but
he resurfaced in Cleveland in 2001, and things went much smoother. In 26
outings, he went 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA.
Riske figured he couldn’t continue to get by throwing only
garden-variety fastballs, so he picked up a split finger fastball, more
commonly known as a “splitter.” Now hitters had something different to think
about.
“A couple of years ago, I was thinking, ‘Wow.’ I’ve thrown
my fastball probably 99% of the time,” said Riske. “That’s when I started
throwing my ‘splitty,’”
If Riske threw his fastball in the high 90s (mph), it might
be more understandable that he not only advance to the majors with that one
pitch but also prospered. But Riske throws mostly in the 88-91 mph range,
hardly qualifying for flamethrower status.
So, if the hitter knows a fastball is probably coming, and
Riske can’t match heaters with Felix Hernandez, why isn’t he thrashed within an
inch of his life on a regular basis?
Bullpen coach Bill Castro wondered the same thing when he
started breaking down film of Riske after he signed with the Brewers. For the
most part, Castro couldn’t believe his eyes.
“He gets a lot of guys to swing through his fastball,” said
Castro. “That’s surprising, especially for a guy who doesn’t throw
exceptionally hard.
“They must have a hard time seeing it. It’s the way he
throws it and the way he hides (the ball) with his arm, behind his head. Before
they know it, it’s on them, and they swing right through it. It’s amazing,
really.”
No one has been more amazed than Riske, who compiled a 2.45
ERA in 65 appearances last season for Kansas City. All he knows is what hitters
have told him over the years, that they just don’t see the ball well coming out
of his hand.
“They’ve always told me I have good deception,” said Riske.
“If I didn’t have that, I don’t think I’d be here. They say I throw it out of
my sleeve. It comes in at 90, 91 (mph) and they think it’s 96.
“I try to keep it down, then elevate it when I need to. You
can be successful in this game if you keep the ball down and challenge guys.
I’ve been blessed. I never thought this would happen.”
Though Riske, 31, might be unimpressive in terms of sheer
stuff, he falls under the category of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Pitching coach Mike Maddux and Castro aren’t about to try to change him at this
point, though Riske has dabbled with a few sliders this spring.
“Guys like that, you just leave them alone,” said Castro.
“You don’t change anything. He throws strikes, and he has good location. That’s
important.
“It’s still amazing, though. Do you know of any other
pitcher in the big leagues who throws just one pitch? You can get by for a
couple of innings, locating the fastball. That’s all he does.
“And National League hitters haven’t seen him. That should
help, too.”
Making Riske’s 2.45 ERA for 2007 even more impressive was
the fact he stumbled out of the gate with a 6.97 ERA in 10 April outings. Riske
is traditionally a slow starter, including spring training, a history he wanted
to shed after the Brewers gave him a guaranteed $13 million over three years.
“I did a couple of things over the winter, changed my
routine a little bit to see if I could get going earlier,” said Riske, who has
compiled a 2.35 ERA in seven spring outings. “I threw a little more, did a
little more long-toss.
“My arm speed usually takes a while to get going. I just
tried to get it going a little sooner. I’ve been feeling good. You always want
to do well with a new team, have your teammates confident in you.”
Riske often thinks of Spencer, his former coach, who now
heads the baseball program at Texas Tech. And he laughs when he remembers how
hard he fought the idea of becoming a pitcher.
“I owe him a lot,” said Riske. “Who knows where I’d be if it
weren’t for him?”
Three days later the Journal
Sentinel shared the following facts about David: “6-2 180, resides
Henderson NV. Owns more than 100 pair of Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes and
is a fan of the Seattle Seahawks.”
Pitching mostly in middle relief, David started the season
well until three straight poor outings from April 18 to 24 ballooned his ERA to
7.36. He had it down to 4.71 when on May 14 he was removed from the game with a
hyper-extended elbow. He was placed on the disabled list the next day. On June
17 he went to AAA Nashville for a rehab assignment; when he struck out all
three batters he faced that night it was decided he was ready to be activated. On
June 27 the Journal Sentinel gave him
a full-page player profile, with a photo and the following facts:
What’s your favorite scary movie? A: “Candyman.”
What is your feel-good movie? A: You know what movie I like
that not a lot of people like it? I like “Blue Chips.”
You collect a lot of shoes. What’s your favorite pair? A:
Jordan XI’s.
What color? A: The black and white. The black patent
leather. The originals. I have two pair, one for wearing and one just sits
there. I told my wife, if something happens to me, put them on me or put them
in my grave with me.
What’s your most embarrassing baseball moment? A: I fell
down on a pitch before. I threw a pitch and my ankle rolled. I fell and got all
dirty.
What song do you listen to to get pumped up? A: Anything by
Tupac.
When you signed your first contract, what did you buy? A: I
bought like a 1990 Honda Accord. It wasn’t brand new, but it was new for me.
If they did a David Riske movie, who would play David Riske?
A: It would have to be some kind of athlete. I would have to think about that
one.
Meanwhile David was doing just passably on the mound, his
ERA staying in the 4’s for the most part. The Brewers were fighting to get into
the post-season for the first time in team history, and on July 7 they made a
trade with the Indians for C.C. Sabathia, who was one of David’s best friends—a
trade that David had pushed for. Sabathia had a great half-season in Milwaukee
and led them to a one-game victory in the NL wild card race.
David, though, didn’t get to play in the post-season. On
September 9 the Journal Sentinel
reported:
The meltdown of reliever David Riske continued Sunday [the 7th]
when he surrendered four runs in one inning in the 10-1 loss to San Diego. In
his last four outings covering only 1 2/3 innings, Riske has surrendered eight
hits, four walks and seven runs, ballooning his earned run average to 5.31 for
the season.
Riske was on the disabled list for a month and a half
earlier in the season and has struggled to regain his form. Asked if Riske was
still fighting his mechanics or if his elbow is bothering him again, [manager
Ned] Yost said, “Maybe a little of both.
“He’s battling through some things,” Yost added. “He’s doing
everything he can. He’s as good as anybody we have (when healthy) at throwing
down-and-away fastball [sic] on the black (of the plate). He’s been off the
plate.”
Asked how he would use Riske over the final three weeks,
Yost said, “You just go day-to-day. I don’t have a master plan.”
The next day, though, there was a new development:
Riske battling bone spur in elbow
Reliever has struggled in recent appearances
By Tom Haudricourt
David Riske has been trying to pitch with a painful bone
spur in his right elbow, which explains why the Milwaukee Brewers’ reliever has
been so bad of late.
“I got a shot in it (Monday)[8th],” Riske said
Tuesday. “We’re hoping that gets me through the rest of the season. But this
winter I’m going to have the spur taken out.”
…”It’s just a matter of finding the right medication to calm
it down,” said Riske, who said he would be ready to pitch again in a few days. “Not
only has it hurt my command, my velocity has been down, too.
“It’s not a big deal to have it removed. But I want to get
through the season first. It’s just one of those things you try to battle
through.”
David’s optimism didn’t last, though, as he didn’t get into
another game before having the surgery on September 22. His teammates lost to
Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs, three games to one.
When spring training 2009 began, early reports were that
David was healthy but was being brought along cautiously. On February 23 Tom
Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel
had another update:
Riske getting back to business
Reliever pain-free, eager for season
Phoenix—David Riske says Milwaukee Brewers fans have not
seen the real David Riske yet.
Yes, that was Riske wearing No. 54 in the bullpen last
season, his first with the Brewers. But Riske was not healthy most of the
summer, thanks to a bone spur in his elbow that at times caused excruciating
pain.
“I wasn’t myself last year,” said Riske, who signed a
three-year, $14 million deal in December 2007. “It started hurting me in spring
training. It was one of those frustrating things where you’ve just signed a
multi-year deal with a new team and you want to be out there so bad.
“I was kind of dumb about it. It was hurting mostly after I
pitched, so I just kept going. It made me a completely different pitcher. I
look back on it and wish I wouldn’t have done it.”
The 32-year-old right-hander struggled right out of the
chute, compiling a 6.94 earned run average in 11 outings in April. He went on
the disabled list with a hyperextended elbow for a month, beginning in mid-May,
and struggled to be productive from that point.
Riske finally was shut down in early September and underwent
surgery to remove the spur later in the month. In 45 appearances, he was 1-2
with a 5.31 earned run average, with 47 hits and 25 walks allowed in 42 1/3
innings.
The walk total was particularly revealing for Riske, who was
known as a control pitcher in previous stints with Cleveland, the Chicago White
Sox and Kansas City.
“I couldn’t even throw a strike for a while,” he said. “Usually,
I can throw the ball anywhere I want. Then it started getting in my head. It
changed everything.
“I only have a couple of things to count on. Deception and
location are big for me. I’m not a hard thrower. If I don’t have my best stuff,
I’m not going to get guys out.”
Finally pain-free, Riske is in good spirits this spring. He
is being brought along slowly after the surgery, primarily because there is
plenty of time to get ready for the season.
Once the bell rings, he said Brewers fans finally would see
the real David Riske.
“It’s feeling like it did a few years ago, so I’m really
excited,” he said. “I know when I’m healthy I’m going to put up my numbers I’ve
always put up.
“Believe me, I lost a lot of sleep last year. Everybody
pitches with some pain. It’s a matter of if it changes your deception or mechanics,
and it did mine. I’m just really excited to have it fixed.”
On March 2 he pitched batting practice for the first time,
and on the 11th he got into his first exhibition game, allowing a
home run on the first pitch but then getting through the inning. He continued
to get hit hard in games, and on April 5 the Journal Sentinel reported:
Riske stays: Though reliever David Riske has been roughed up
throughout the exhibition season, general manager Doug Melvin said there was no
talk about leaving him in extended spring training under the guise of his elbow
not being 100%.
Riske, who had a bone spur removed from his elbow last
September, had an 8.18 earned run average in 10 spring outings, allowing a
whopping 21 hits, including four homers, and 10 earned runs in 11 innings.
Opponents were batting .404 against him.
“He’s always been physically healthy this spring,” said
Melvin. “It’s just a matter of getting his work in.
“It’s tough when you’re a reliever to get out of a slump.
You only get to pitch one inning at a time. You’ve got to keep pitching them.
Relievers have the least chance of breaking out of a slump of any position.”
David pitched in the third game of the regular season,
allowing two earned runs on four hits in one inning; those would be his final
stats for the season. On April 16 he was placed on the 15-day disabled list due
to tightness in his right elbow, retroactive to the 10th.
On the 22nd
Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel
gave Milwaukee fans the latest bad news:
Second opinion just as bad as first
Elbow surgery a possibility for Riske
Philadelphia—The odds of reliever David Riske pitching again
for the Milwaukee Brewers this season are not good.
In fact, there’s a possibility he won’t pitch for the
Brewers again, period.
The second opinion Riske sought on his ailing elbow from Los
Angeles specialist Lewis Yocum confirmed the diagnosis by team physician
William Raasch. There is laxity, or looseness, in the ulnar collateral
ligament, a very bad thing for a pitcher.
Riske will try to strengthen the elbow with three to four
weeks of physical therapy. If that fails, Riske will undergo “Tommy John”
surgery to replace the ligament with a transplanted tendon.
Pitchers who undergo that procedure normally need at least a
year of recovery time before returning to action.
Riske, who signed a three-year, $13 million free agent
contract prior to the 2008 season, had surgery to remove a bone spur in the
elbow last September. As it turned out, that spur prevented the laxity in the
ligament from being symptomatic.
“Apparently the bone spur prevented him from extending his
elbow, which prevented the laxity from being exposed,” said assistant general
manager Gord Asch…
On May 17 the Journal
Sentinel reported that David had pitched off a mound for the first time and
…felt no discomfort in the elbow during the 30-pitch
session.
“It went really well,” said Riske, who had surgery to remove
a bone spur from the elbow last September. “I’m really pleased.
“It’s all about getting the inflammation out of there. Right
now, it feels like it’s gone.”
Riske said he threw only fastballs during the session, but
added, “That’s all I throw, anyway.”
There was talk when Riske went on the DL of the possible
need for “Tommy John” reconstructive surgery should the throwing program fall
short of getting him ready to pitch again. Riske said he didn’t see it coming
to that.
“I don’t know where that (talk) came from,” he said. “Nobody
said anything to me about it.”
On May 20 it was announced that David would be sent to
Arizona to pitch in extended spring training. On May 27 the Journal Sentinel reported:
Riske to see Yocum: Reliever David Riske’s attempt to work
through his elbow issues in extended spring training in Arizona did not go well
and he will see specialist Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles to determine the next
step. Riske faces the possibility of having “Tommy John” reconstructive elbow
surgery.
“He pitched in a game and felt pain with each pitch,” said
assistant general manager Gord Asch. “Obviously the conservative approach we
took with physical therapy and a throwing program didn’t work.
“He’s going to see what Yocum has to say and there’s a
likelihood he’ll have to have reconstruction. That’s still to be determined,
but it’s looking like that.”
Tom Haudricourt reported on June 3:
Riske out for rest of season
Surgery reveals ligament tear
Miami—Unfortunately for reliever David Riske and the
Milwaukee Brewers, his elbow surgery became a worst-case scenario Tuesday.
Los Angeles specialist Lewis Yocum performed “Tommy John”
reconstructive surgery on Riske’s elbow, eliminating any thoughts of a return
to action this season. It usually takes a full year, at least, for a pitcher to
return.
Yocum went into the surgery not knowing how extensive it
would be until he got a look inside the elbow. The ligament was torn,
necessitating a transplant of a tendon to replace it…
“We don’t know about next year,” said general manager Doug
Melvin. “It’s unfortunate. He had been very durable when we signed him.”
In December it was reported that David was expected to be
ready to pitch again for spring training 2010, which would be only about nine
months after his surgery. On February 7 the Journal
Sentinel reported that he
…is likely to open the season on the DL or in the minors,
rebuilding arm strength.
But the 33-year-old righthander is a bit ahead of schedule
in his rehabilitation program and hopes to be ready to pitch in the majors by
opening day…
Riske had surgery to remove a bone spur on Sept. 23, 2008
and really hasn’t been healthy since. Mainly a fastball pitcher, he believes
his problems started when former pitching coach Mike Maddux coaxed him into
throwing a curveball.
“I just wish I wouldn’t have tried to throw a breaking ball,”
he said. “I think that’s what triggered my injury. I had been healthy before I
signed that contract.”
When Riske attended the Brewers’ “On Deck” event last
Sunday, it was the first time he had been around teammates in months. He
admitted the downtime was depressing.
“Being away for a whole year, you don’t even feel like you’re
part of the team,” he said. “When your kids say, ‘Dad, when are you going to be
on TV again?’ it’s tough. I want to compete again. You miss being around the
guys and you miss the competition.”
On February 25 David threw his first bullpen session. On the
28th the Journal Sentinel
reported:
There was a familiar site [sic] in the clubhouse when
reliever David Riske’s young sons, Payton and Maddox, ran around in their
miniature Brewers’ uniforms, replete with their name and dad’s number 54 on the
back. It had been awhile since the youngsters were around because Riske missed
most of the 2009 season after undergoing Tommy John reconstructive elbow
surgery. Asked who was happier to be back, Riske pointed to his sons and said, “Them.”
On March 20 David was scheduled to throw batting practice
for the first time the following week, but on the 25th he was placed
on the 15-day disabled list. On April 3 he was sent home for a week to rest,
then he returned to Arizona for extended spring training. In mid-May he began a
rehab assignment with the Brevard County Manatees of the Class A Florida State
League, where he pitched four innings in three games and allowed three earned
runs. Then he moved on to the AAA Nashville Sounds, where he pitched nine innings
in eight games with a 4.00 ERA. On June 8 he was activated by the Brewers, and
on June 22 Tom Haudricourt had good news for once:
Back to Riske business
Pitcher’s elbow like new after surgery, rehab
For much of the time since signing a three-year, $13 million
free-agent deal with the Milwaukee Brewers in December 2007, reliever David
Riske has been missing in action.
Now, club officials as well as the team’s fans are seeing
what they had been missing.
Since returning from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery
earlier in the month, Riske has been a welcomed addition to a revamped bullpen.
In five scoreless appearances covering 4 2/3 innings, the 33-year-old
right-hander has allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out four
batters.
“It feels good to be back, but it doesn’t surprise me,”
Riske said of his early success. “That’s what I feel I should do, get people
out.
“In my own mind, I feel I should be able to get every single
batter out. Obviously, that doesn’t happen. But that’s how I try to go about my
business.”
For the past two years, Riske was unable to go about that
business as expected. Things went well in the early weeks of his first season
with the Brewers in 2008, but his effectiveness gradually decreased, resulting
in a 5.31 earned run average in 45 appearances.
As it turned out, there was a reason for that slide. Riske’s
elbow began hurting him, making it nearly impossible to get full extension on
his pitches. He finally shut it down in early September and had surgery to
remove bone spurs from the troublesome joint.
Riske expected to report to training camp the following
spring ready to go, but it didn’t take long to realize the elbow still wasn’t
100%.
“I knew I had the bone spurs taken out, so I thought it was
just a little soreness I had to work through,” he said. “The doctor told me
after the surgery that the ligament was fine.”
When the Brewers went to San Francisco to open ’09 season
[sic], Riske was playing catch during a workout and remembered saying to
himself, “Wow. Something’s different, not right.”
Inserted into the third game of the series, Riske was tagged
for four hits and two runs. He would not throw another pitch for the remainder
of the season.
Riske embarked on several weeks of physical therapy with
poor results. It still hurt to throw the ball, so he finally conceded to allow
Los Angeles specialist Lewis Yocum do [sic] exploratory surgery on June 2.
“I didn’t want to have another surgery,” Riske said. “But
something had to be done. I tried doing rehab, but it would go back and forth.
Bad one day, OK the next.
“Dr. Yocum told me he didn’t know for sure it would be Tommy
John. He wanted to go in and look at it, maybe clean it up. But he went in and
said the ligament was a mess. He also said I had a huge calcium deposit on the
ligament. He said it was record-setting, that’s how big it was.”
Yocum removed a portion of tendon from below Riske’s left
knee and transplanted it into the elbow, replacing the frayed ligament. After
coming to in the recovery room, Riske knew what he’d be doing for the next
year, and it didn’t include pitching in the major leagues.
“They tell you it’s probably going to be a year, maybe 10
months if you’re lucky,” Riske said. “Obviously, it involves a lot of hard
work. It becomes tougher mentally than physically. Basically, you have to let
the calendar turn.”
Riske did most of his physical therapy at a facility near
his home in Las Vegas. The good news was that he got to spend time with his
family, including newborn daughter Myla, that a player normally isn’t afforded
during the season.
“Everything happens for a reason, I guess,” he said. “It was
great spending time with my little girl.”
Riske also has two young sons, Payton, 6, and Maddox, 4. They
weren’t accustomed to having daddy home that time of year but still had just
one thing on their minds: baseball.
“I had to spend a lot of time playing catch left-handed with
them,” Riske said. “That’s all they want to do. That’s non-stop with them. We
watched all the games on TV. At first it was hard, but I like to see all my
friends and how they’re doing.
“But after a while, it was, ‘Daddy, when are you going to be
back on TV?’”
The answer: not for a while. It did help to be back in
uniform with the Brewers in spring training as Riske embarked on a conservative
throwing program designed to have no setbacks. His elbow felt good enough to
pitch then, but Riske knew he needed more time to return to action.
After a 30-day stint in the minors, Riske finally rejoined
the Brewers on June 8. A day later, he pitched a perfect inning against the
Cubs at Miller Park, barely able to keep his heart from pounding through his
jersey.
“It has been very humbling,” he said. “When I got back, that
was awesome. It was emotional. I was very excited and nervous. If I didn’t have
that feeling, something would be wrong after all of that time.”
Each time out, Riske has felt stronger. Finally able to get
full extension again with his elbow, he has resumed throwing split-finger
fastballs, providing another weapon to attack hitters.
“The way he’s throwing it now compared to what I saw in
spring training last year is a huge difference,” manager Ken Macha said. “He
was up with everything, couldn’t finish his pitches.
“Whatever was bothering him in that elbow, he did the right
thing getting it fixed because he had a hard time getting anybody out. That
makes a big difference, getting that finish on your pitches.”
This is what the Brewers had in mind when they gave Riske
that three-year deal at the winter meetings in ’07. You can never forecast
injuries, especially with a pitcher, but the team can finally get a return on
that investment over the remainder of this season.
Better yet, Riske can throw a baseball without wincing and
actually look forward to continuing his career beyond 2010.
“It has been one thing after another,” said Riske, who
recently reached the 10-year mark in the majors, which fully vests a player’s
pension.
“Nobody wants to get hurt. You don’t want to go through
something like that, but you can’t say, ‘Stop hurting.’ You want to be healthy.
“There were only two things I wanted to do. I wanted to
throw a baseball without pain, and I wanted results. I don’t care about
anything else.
“I feel like my arm is getting better each day. They say it
takes 18 months to get back to full strength. When you come back, you want to
be back to stay. So far, it feels great.”
On July 15 David made his 13th appearance of the
season, and at that point he had an ERA of 2.25. However, things went downhill
after that. One month later, after pitching ten more times, his ERA stood at
5.01, and on August 23rd he was released. Manager Macha said “simply
that Riske was not in the team’s plans for next season.”
David went to spring training 2011 with the Orioles, and it
was reported that he was pitching well enough to have a chance at the opening
day roster, but on March 28 he was designated for assignment and he retired
from baseball.
