NORTH PORT, Fla. — As Kirby Yates went to his car, leaving his wife and kids behind, he became emotional. He had departed home for work many times throughout his career, but this was different. This time, he was headed for a flight to Texas for his second Tommy John surgery, and the fear gripped him.
Yates knew he would miss the entire 2021 season, but he wondered something about his career: Is this ending? As much as he longed to be hurling a baseball off a mound, he didn’t know at that moment if he would ever pitch again. He didn’t expect this to hit him so hard as he left home and headed for his flight, but he found himself facing many emotions.
“I think that was hard because you don’t want it to end,” Yates said. “I wasn’t ready for it to end.”
