Landon Sims is back, but still working to be better than ever

In the spring of 2022, Landon Sims was on top of the world. He was a year removed from helping Mississippi State University to their first College World Series championship, was the No. 13-ranked prospect in the 2022 draft class, and had just been elevated from the bullpen and into the Bulldogs’ three-man starting rotation.

But after two outstanding outings and in just his third start, Sims tore his ulnar collateral ligament and after undergoing Tommy John surgery, his season was over and his baseball future was now entirely up in the air.

“I kind of knew right when it happened, but when they confirmed it was the UCL it was pretty tough,” Sims said. “I knew that I’d pitched my last outing in the maroon and white, and it was tough not getting to go out on my own terms.”

That was the bad news.

The good news was that despite the injury, the Arizona Diamondbacks were so impressed by Sims’ ability on the mound, they chose to take the then 21-year-old with the 34th overall pick in that year’s draft, signaling to the prospect the team’s confidence in him returning to his old form — if not better.

He hasn’t forgotten that, and now, as he continues to work his way back as part of the Diamondbacks’ organization as a member of the Hillsboro Hops, Sims said he does so with that fact in mind.

“They made an investment in me,” Sims said. “I constantly remind myself, not only do I owe it to myself and everybody that supported me in my whole baseball career, but I owe it to the organization to work as hard as I can to get to the point where I want to be.”

It’s been just more than two years since the surgery, and it’s been and continues to be a winding road.

Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient’s body, or with one from a deceased donor. It was devised in 1974 and named after the first baseball player to undergo the surgery, former major league pitcher Tommy John.

Over the last 50 years, the procedure has become relatively frequent amongst baseball pitchers and its success rate has risen exponentially, going from roughly one in a 100 experiencing success, to 85-92 percent.

Sims said that while he was confident he’d be on the right end of that metric, he’d be lying if there weren’t moments of significant doubt as he worked his way back.

Fear.

Uncertainty.

And of course, frustration in a recovery process that starts at square-one.

He started throwing after five-and-a-half months and said that in addition to the physical hurdles, the mental ones were, are and continue to be equally problematic.

“It was definitely a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be just trying to get over that fear of it snapping again,” Sims said. “Even to this day, and I’m over two years post-op, there’s some days where I still don’t feel normal. There are still days where in the back of your mind you wonder ‘what if?’ It’s a constant battle with trying to be confident that everything is going to be alright.”

Sims returned to action last summer and threw a total of 24.2 innings, the last 15.2 of which were with Single-A Visalia.

This year, he’s thrown 51 innings, more than half of which have been in Hillsboro where he’s pitched to a 1.37 ERA, while striking out 37 and walking 11. The righthander said he’s getting closer to his old self every day, and this year opposed to last is like night and day.

“Pretty much all of my starts last year and then moving into the offseason and then spring training, nothing felt normal,” he said. “So, there were plenty of times I had to look in the mirror and say something needs to figure itself out here. This isn’t enjoyable. So, finding that joy again this season, it’s been great. I’ve really been able to look at people and say I enjoy the game again.”

Certainly, Sims owes much of his recovery to hard work, but he’s also quick to point to his support system at Mississippi State, to his friends and family, and to the Diamondbacks organization that has carefully walked him through it all. But while not all the way back, he’s getting there—and for that he’s appreciative.

“There’s still some ground to make up, but I’m extremely blessed and happy to be where I’m at, and feeling as good and as confident as I do,” he said. “A year ago today, it was a complete 180, so it’s been a journey and there’s still a ways to go, but I’m really happy with where I’m at.”