Saying farewell to my left knee

I underwent replacement surgery for my left knee on Thursday, Jan. 23. As with many things in my life, a connection to baseball is involved.

In all my years as a kid and teenager playing baseball, only once did play come to a halt because I was injured. It happened when I was 11 years old, playing shortstop in my first year of Tris Speaker baseball, the Little League equivalent in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

I don’t remember the circumstances exactly, but I was in the field, crouched down awaiting any ball that might come my way. There were two outs, and the batter chopped a bounding grounder right at me.

Zipping past my glove, the ball smashed into my left knee and ricocheted forward. I was able to grab it and toss it across the diamond to the first baseman, just ahead of the runner to record the third out. As I followed through on my throw, my body pitched forward and I landed flat on my chest on the ground, clutching my knee.

I looked toward our team bench, and the coaches and players seemed puzzled, waiting a few seconds for me to get up. I did not.

The coaches (my dad included) jogged over to see what was wrong. They pulled me to my feet and, limping slightly, I walked off the field to the bench. I can’t recall if I was given an ice pack, but I was able to finish the game.

I’ve always suspected that minor injury was a trigger for my developing Osgood Schlatter Disease in that knee. Osgood Schlatter is a common ailment of adolescents, often when they’re active in sports and experiencing a growth spurt. I developed a lump below my kneecap that my surgeon told me I’ll still have with the new knee, which is bandaged and wrapped in an ice pack as I write this post.

The minor pains associated with Osgood Schlatter faded as I moved through my teens. In rhe photo topping this post, I’m the first player on the bench at right, four years after the injury. My left knee — clearly shown — was no longer troubling me at age 15.

Osteoarthritis developed over the last decade or two, and that’s what prompted the knee replacement. I’ll likely have the right knee replaced at some point, too.

I’ll be off work for a few weeks to concentrate on healing and physical therapy. I look forward to getting back to work and getting out to the ballparks once baseball season begins. 🧢