After undergoing Tommy John surgery, Shrewsbury's Griffith returns to mound for Bravehearts

WORCESTER ― It was an indelible and, for anyone who knows Ben Griffith, an inevitable moment.

The 6-foot, 175-pound right-hander from Shrewsbury came on in relief and pitched a scoreless inning to earn the win as the Worcester Bravehearts defeated the Futures League Road Warriors, 7-3, on June 8 at Fitton Field.

It was not only Griffith’s debut with the Bravehearts, but the first time he had pitched in a game since undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow 14 months earlier.

“A lot of emotions,” Griffith recalled Sunday afternoon. “Definitely some nerves, but I had a lot of confidence considering all the work I put in.

“I knew it would all pay off, and it just felt amazing to be back out there again and compete against real batters.”

Griffith, in his first season as a rotation regular, was named to the T&G Super Team as a junior after going 5-1 and recording two saves as Shrewsbury High advanced to the Division 1 state semifinals in 2022.

But he missed his senior season with the Colonials and his freshman season at Binghamton University, where he’s a Division 1 scholarship athlete, after making the decision to undergo surgery.

“I wanted to be at my best (going forward), and I knew Tommy John surgery was best for me,” said Griffith, who continued to be an active and involved member of the Colonials and Bearcats during his rehab.

Dr. Michael Joyce of Orthopedic Sports Specialists in Glastonbury, Connecticut, performed the surgery April 17, 2023. Griffith began physical therapy the next day at Move Strong Physical Therapy, which is located inside Cressey Sports Performance, in Hudson.

What began as small arm movements slowly progressed to regaining and building muscle in the back, shoulder and forearm to strengthen everything around the UCL.

Griffith worked with Cody Brown at Move Strong PT and then with the training staff at Binghamton once he began classes in New York. (He’s back doing physical therapy at Move Strong for the summer.)

“It was a great process,” Griffith said. “Cody was awesome; they were all awesome. I’m thankful for all these people getting me back on the mound.”

After three months, Griffith got the go-ahead to shed his arm brace and begin a throwing program where progress is measured in feet. After starting out at 30 feet, he’s back to being able to uncork a baseball 250 to 300 feet.

Then came throwing sessions on flat ground and in the bullpen with the volume and intensity level increasing each time. Griffith began facing live hitters late this spring.

Patience was paramount throughout the process.

“With Tommy John, there are going to be setbacks,” Griffith said. “I talked to other people who had it, and the setbacks happen.

“I had a few where the arm wouldn’t feel great one day. You just have to listen to your arm and take that time off.”

Griffith, who is on a 55-pitch limit per outing for precautionary reasons, has since made two more appearances for the Bravehearts.

He threw three innings in relief, allowing one hit and striking out six while not issuing a walk or yielding an earned run to earn the save on June 13 and made his first start five days later, giving up three hits and two earned runs in three innings.

So, three strong outings — and counting — and one impressed bench boss.

“Anyone who has gone through something like that, it’s a long road,” Bravehearts manager Alex Dion said. “Just mentally being able to keep yourself in a space where you have the end in mind and you know you’re going to get back on a mound eventually, that’s not easy to do.

“So for him to be able to do that and basically step right back on a mound and have success is awesome. Hopefully the rest of our summer continues to go this way, and he can take that back to school and find some success there because I think he has a really promising future.”

Composed and confident, Griffith’s velocity has returned to the 89- to 91-mph range it was prior to surgery.

He’s also added a changeup and a sinker to augment his fastball and slider, understanding that being a two-pitch pitcher in college was unlikely to lead to positive results.

“I’ve definitely refined a lot of things,” Griffith said. “The big thing is it’s a different game. High school you can get away with missing a spot or throwing a fastball middle-middle or hanging a slider where at this level you really have to mix your pitches.

“I have a lot more options to attack hitters. It’s a different game, but the challenge is the best part about it. I love the challenge of facing college hitters, and that’s why I’m really glad I was able to play for Worcester this summer and get that experience before heading off to school.”

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @RichGarvenTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: After undergoing Tommy John surgery, Shrewsbury's Griffith returns to mound for Bravehearts