Jameson Taillon continues to inspire.
One day after the Pirates officially announced Taillon had an unexpected Tommy John surgery — the second of his career — Taillon took to Instagram to express his thoughts. It'd be reasonable to assume he'd post something sad and gloomy. After all, Taillon won't play baseball this year. Or next year. His projected return is 2021, and even that could get stretched out depending on how his rehabilitation progresses.
It's not ideal on any level for Taillon or for the Pirates organization — and that's without considering the fact he's already returned from Tommy John surgery once in 2014 and battled back from suspected testicular cancer in 2017.
All that, and Taillon was still the Pirates' opening-day starter this season and projected to serve as the team's "ace" throughout the year. Then, he landed on the injured list in early May with a strained right elbow flexor tendon. That injury dragged on as doctors and specialists evaluated the situation before the team decided it was time for surgery.
While that procedure would shut down Taillon for 2019, it wasn't the lengthier, more involved Tommy John surgery many expected, so hopes and spirits were relatively high. And then ... yeah. Mid-procedure, Dr. David Altchek determined Taillon did, in fact, need a second Tommy John surgery. The Pirates' and Taillon's worst-case scenario came to life.
It all came together to paint one seriously bleak picture.
But then there's this:
Yep. That's Taillon in his hospital bed post-surgery ... smiling. Because of course he is.
Taillon's shown time and again he can and will battle back from adversity. While this latest turn is undoubtedly the sharpest of his career to date, he's handling it all with a positive mindset, eyes forward and prepared to conquer yet another peak.
It comes as no surprise to those close to Taillon.
"We know that Jamo’s capable of coming back," Trevor Williams was telling our Dejan Kovacevic in Anaheim, Calif. "I’ve already got him penciled in to be our 2021 Comeback Player of the Year. It’s going to be a long, tough road ahead. He’s done it before. He’s more than capable of pulling himself out of this and coming back stronger.”
Even former teammates and fellow Pittsburgh athletes chimed in.
"Keep going brotha! Back [better] than before," Steelers running back James Conner, who knows a thing or two about this type of obstacle, commented.
"Driven is an understatement," former teammate Gerrit Cole added. "I have known no one else that has the ability to respond to adversity quite like you do. Through the ups and downs of your career, you have always thought of others and you have always used your story to motivate other people. You always seem to find a way to make people around you better regardless of your situation. It is because you have these special qualities that I know we will see you out on the field sooner than expected, more ready than ever to blaze your own path and leave your own mark. I can’t wait to see you overcome these odds stacked against you once again. Love you."
