BRADENTON, Fla. — The term "anniversary" didn't seem appropriate to Sean Rodriguez, yet he didn't know a better way to describe the milestone. In his opinion, the word's positive connotation didn't accurately depict what occurred exactly one year earlier.
On February 14, 2017, the Pirates' 32-year-old veteran underwent a four-and-a-half hour surgery by Dr. James Andrews to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, a torn rotator cuff, and bicep tendon relocation, which were the result of a terrifying accident where a stolen Miami police cruiser ran a red light and struck the SUV he was driving with his wife, Giselle, and their two sons.
"I guess it is technically the anniversary, though. My wife reminded me of that," he said hours before the club's first formal workout of spring training at Pirate City. Although Rodriguez didn't intend to celebrate, the one-year mark caused some nostalgia to creep in.
He thought of the seven-hour-a-day rehab sessions with Braves performance therapist Pete Cissanelli, returning to the field only five months after surgery, and of course, his walk-off home run in his first game back with the Pirates on Aug. 6.
However, he's not done writing his comeback story.
"You don’t really truly get to see the character of a man until he’s fallen flat on his face and he has to pull himself back up," Rodriguez told DKPittsburghSports.com. "Then you really see what he’s made of and I felt like that’s how I took it. I wanted to show people what I truly am and can be. I wanted to beat the odds."
He's already accomplished that. After recording career highs in hits, home runs and RBI for the Pirates in 2016, Rodriguez signed a two-year, $11.5 million contract to be an everyday player with the Braves last offseason.
The accident occurred five weeks later. Rodriguez doesn't remember what occurred after his vehicle was struck. He saw a video that showed him holding his hands on top of his head before he crumbled to the ground in pain.
For two weeks, he limped around the hospital with his arm in a sling, more worried about the health of his wife and children than how or when he'd continue his baseball career. It wasn't until his family was home from the hospital that Rodriguez decided to investigate what exactly was wrong with his shoulder.
The damage was so extensive that Dr. Andrews told Rodriguez that if he were left-handed his baseball career would be over. After surgery, Rodriguez stopped by the Braves spring training complex in Kissimmee to meet with team doctors and trainers.
There, he spoke with then-general manager John Coppolella.
"I told John, 'I'll be back,'" Rodriguez recalled. "He said, 'Hopefully you'll be back in September.' I stopped and told him, 'No, All-Star break. I already did the math and talked to Dr. Andrews, when should swelling me down, range of motion. I already have my timeline.' He gave me a look like, 'Yeah, OK.'"
Thus began Rodriguez's mission to prove he wasn't done making an impact on the field. His work with Cissanelli began with simple range-of-motion exercises such as moving a towel with each of his hands over a pane of glass. In addition to needing massages to treat scar tissue in his shoulder, Rodriguez's rehab included hyperbaric oxygen therapy and aqua therapy, including running on a treadmill underwater and using bands for resistance workouts underwater.
Rodriguez didn't have feeling in three of his fingers for months after surgery, the result of minor nerve damage, and he didn't "officially" start swinging a bat until Dr. Andrews cleared him to do so in May.
"I’ll be honest with you, those first three months I felt like they went really, really slow," Rodriguez said. "They went really slow. The days were long. But it needed to be. It needed to be technical, very reassuring that everything that needed to get attention was getting attention. It was making sure the nerves weren’t damaged because obviously with that much work done, you never know."
When the Pirates arrived at SunTrust Park — the Braves new home ballpark — in late May, Rodriguez was on the field hours before most of his teammates, running sprints in the outfield before performing agility drills.
He also hit in the batting cage before returning to the field to meet with many of his former teammates. Everyone was aware of the timeline doctors gave Rodriguez. September was viewed as a best case scenario, but he was more likely to miss the entire season.
Less than two months later, he made his long-awaited debut for the Braves. However, Rodriguez now admits he came back far too soon. His shoulder wasn't healed, but he was being paid by the organization to play and he thought he could perform well enough to at least earn his paycheck. Additionally, his range of motion would take time — and more swings — to improve. Hitting in the cage could only do so much for Rodriguez's progress. He needed high-intensity swings to strengthen his shoulder.
The results showed. He batted .162/.326/.351 with three extra-base hits in 15 games with the Braves. On Aug. 5, Rodriguez received a phone call from Neal Huntington, who informed Rodriguez that the Pirates claimed him off waivers from the Braves and that they re-acquired him in a trade.
"I told him that I’m coming back obviously sooner than expected, but I still know I can contribute," Rodriguez said. "[I told him], 'Do I think I can be the guy I was in ’16? It won’t be easy and I’ll obviously give you everything I’ve got. I know you guys believe that. I don’t want you guys to think I’ll be that guy. I’m not going to be.' ... I told him you’re going to get a whole lot more than what you see."
Rodriguez asked for the Pirates' patience and Huntington obliged, reaffirming his confidence in Rodriguez' ability to help the club in 2018. The utility man proceeded to create one of the more memorable moments in a forgettable season for the Pirates, when he hit a walk-off home run in the 12th inning of his first game.
He appeared in 38 more games for the Pirates in 2017, batting just .168/.255/.274 with two home runs and four RBI. However, Huntington and Clint Hurdle expressed confidence that, with a full offseason program, Rodriguez would be able to contribute like he did for the club in 2015 and 2016.
"Even though he wasn’t completely healthy last year, that shows the type of guy he is," Josh Harrison said. "He wants to play. He wants to win. I’m excited for him because he’s healthy. He wasn’t even supposed to play last year. The man wasn't even supposed to play! What’d he do his first game back? He hit a walk-off. You can't write that. I’m excited for him, man."
Hours after Rodriguez spoke of his one-year "anniversary," Hurdle told reporters that he already saw signs that Rodriguez' swing was back to normal, and Rodriguez demonstrated that progress on Monday by belting a home run over the wall in left-center field at LECOM Park in the Pirates' 13-2 loss to the Red Sox.
Last season, Rodriguez's left shoulder was too high because his rotator cuff was not properly holding onto his arm, which negatively impacted the fluidity of his swing.
There's reason to believe his production in his first stint with the Pirates wasn't a fluke, when he hit .260 with 22 home runs in 279 games. Playing seven different positions in 2016, he set career highs in batting average (.270), home runs (18), RBIs (56), OBP (.349), slugging percentage (.510) and games played (140).
More important, his BABIP was .320 or higher in three of his four seasons prior to the car accident.
"Our desire to reacquire him was based on the man that we know and the way he can impact and help you win a game in various ways. ... A good re-acquire for us," Hurdle said. "He’s loved in that clubhouse. He’s a voice of reason in a lot of different ways and he still plays with a tremendous edge and angst and enjoys the competition. Loves to win."
Rodriguez also loves to prove people wrong. He holds no ill will toward the Braves, but he wants to prove they made a mistake in giving up on him so soon. It's what fueled his decision to begin working out in late October and why he's determined to thrive again in 2018.
"I didn't want to beat obstacles; I wanted to hop over them like no one else has," he said.