He had the surgery during his junior year at Bridge City High School. He sat out the season but rushed to get back the following year, his senior year.

The following summer, when he should have been taking it slow, Haymon entered a showcase event and threw well enough to catch scouts’ attention. He got calls from Baylor University, the University of Arizona and other schools. He signed in November 2005 to play for McNeese State University.

Though he took some classes there last fall, he was already scheduled for another trip to Dr. Lintner for a second ligament replacement.

Haymon said he is disciplined this time around, as he still hopes to throw college ball

“I overdid throwing too hard too early after the first surgery,” he said. “This time I went by the book.”

During his most recent recovery Haymon has taken classes at a small college and worked with his younger brother’s Little League team.

He said he worries about some of the young pitchers he sees, especially those who throw hard but don’t have the proper techniques to keep from getting hurt.

“They don’t have the mechanics to be throwing like that right now,” he said.

Haymon said he is pleased with Little League’s new rule this season that limits the pitches a player can throw in a game, and how soon after that game the player can return to the pitcher’s mound.

“I wish I would have had that when I was little,” he said.

Randy Griffith is a CNHI News Service Elite Reporting Program Fellowship recipient. He writes for The Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown, Pa.