The 2023-24 off-season had been magical for Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber.
Thanks to his hard work at Driveline, he had managed to get the fastball velocity he lost in 2023 back, as well as that ‘zip’ in his knucklecurve.
He looked marvelous in the winter and the spring, and even delivered 12 scoreless innings to open the 2024 campaign, with 20 strikeouts.
However, the joy had an abrupt ending, as he suffered elbow ligament damage that requires Tommy John surgery.
At one point during one of those starts, he knew something felt off.
However, he didn’t want to believe it and chalked it up as pitching in competitive environment and other things.
In other words, he was in denial.
He explained it himself to Chris Rose.
Shane Bieber says he was “in denial” about his injury pic.twitter.com/9lwiv8L1qX
— Chris Rose Sports (@ChrisRoseSports) January 6, 2025
He named several potential factors he thought of to justify what he was feeling: cold weather, adrenaline, Opening Day, and others.
But he conceded he knew something didn’t feel quite right.
“I knew the feeling”, he said, reminding those hearing that he had addressed similar issues via rehab.
At one point in April, however, he knew it was something he needed to repair surgically.
Losing Bieber was a shame for the Guardians, especially given how good he was looking: his fastball velo was back and he was missing bats at a rate similar to his Cy Young season in 2020.
Cleveland didn’t really miss him that much in the regular season, but his absence was notable in the postseason as it was evident the Guardians needed length from their starters.
He returned to Cleveland on a short-term deal and will become available again around mid-season.
NEXT: Some Guardians Pitchers And Catchers Are Already Reporting To Goodyear
