Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Kelly Walker: Welcome to episode 205 of Hustle and Pro. I'm Kelly Walker and we're at Riders Field in Frisco just days ahead of opening weekend. The field looks great. The ballpark finishing touches are happening, like signage going up, new nettings installed, batting cage construction has started, and much more. We got to spend a few minutes with left handed pitcher Avery Weems. His story so far in baseball is pretty inspiring. Can't wait for you guys to hear it. Enjoy this quick episode. More to come with the Riders soon.
Avery Weems. All right, left handed pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization. So you're returning here to Frisco, but you've had a strange last season or two, right?
[00:00:44] Avery Weems: It's been ridden with injury the past couple years. 23. I had Tommy John unfortunately and I rehabbed that and finished my rehab in spring training last year and broke with the Frisco camp in 24. And then I was only here a matter of two days and I ended up rupturing a tendon in my finger and I had to have surgery on that as well. And then I made it back for the end of season, rushed back a little bit and lucky or made a rehab stint in Hickory, North Carolina. And then I finished the season out in Round Rock.
[00:01:23] Kelly: You got, you got eight innings.
[00:01:26] Avery Weems: I did. I did.
[00:01:27] Kelly: Got eight innings in. That's a little. But did you, did you have some fall league action?
[00:01:32] Avery Weems: I did have some fall league action. Lucky enough. The Rangers were wanted to see me pitch a little bit more and that was really good for my development, especially coming off the finger injury. It was a little bit more different than Tommy John, a little bit more superficial. I dealt with, I think rushing back TJ is such a long process. I was in such a really good spot coming out of TJ because I rehabbed it. And the Rangers do a tremendous job with all their TJ guys. Yeah, the finger thing was kind of a like a freak thing. They hadn't seen it before really. So I was the first one, first one in the Rangers organization that they had heard this injury happen to. So there wasn't really like a protocol for it or like a timeline for it.
[00:02:19] Kelly: Can you tell me what it was?
[00:02:21] Avery Weems: So my A2 pulley. So you have flexor tendons that go down all the way down your forearm and they let your fingers move like this and then you have these things called pulleys that grow across your finger and like keep that tendon stable. I ended up rupturing the pulley and it flipped under my tendon so my flexor tendon was compromised and unstable. And they said if I had kept throwing and tore my flexor tendon, I probably wouldn't be playing baseball because that.
[00:02:54] Kelly: Could be repaired, but not at the level of, like, precision and power.
[00:02:57] Avery Weems: And plus, like, I use my fingers for everyday life, and I want to be able to utilize them for anything. Not just baseball, but baseball more importantly, because it's my job, you know?
[00:03:09] Kelly: Was that just using it or did something happen?
[00:03:13] Avery Weems: No, I. I was throwing a bullpen, actually here, and I didn't think anything of it. Nothing was really bothering me. Yeah, I just wasn't finishing my pitches, and I finished one pitch, and it kind of felt like I jammed it. But after that, every pitch that I threw after that went to the back net. And after I got done, I was like, man, my fingers kind of killing me. I looked down and it was like, tripled in size and kind of look like a sausage.
[00:03:40] Kelly: And that finger, too. Like, you just didn't have control to, like, finish your pitch.
[00:03:43] Avery Weems: Yeah, I didn't have control. Yeah, it was okay.
[00:03:46] Kelly: Sorry. I hate to talk about, like, I don't know, you're probably so tired of talking about your.
[00:03:51] Avery Weems: I mean, it gives people insight on my journey and how it's been, you know, and not everybody's journey is just like this, you know, Some people. Everybody. Yeah, everybody's timeline's a little bit different, for sure.
[00:04:07] Kelly: Most aren't, but I just, you know, you're more than that, too. Like, I'm sure your injuries kind of taken over. Yeah, a little bit, so.
[00:04:13] Avery Weems: Well, and that's the thing, too. You're out for two years, you're on the shelf.
People kind of forget about you. Forget about that you're in the system because you're out there in rehab grinding every day.
[00:04:25] Kelly: But talk about how the system, at least this organization has not forgotten about you. Right. Like you said, they've given you some of these invites and opportunities to stick with me.
[00:04:34] Avery Weems: Man, I can't. I can't thank them enough. They've.
They never forgot about me. They always checked in on me, checked in on my rehab, how I was doing, how I was feeling, especially in the TJ process. Like, that was. That was pretty fresh because I was supposed to go to big league camp for my first year in 23, and the whole TJ process thing happened, so.
But like I said, they're really good at that. And then 24 happened, this little freak injury, and I had a lot of people reach out to me, and the Rangers, they.
They've stuck with me through these past two years with these injuries, and I can't thank them enough for putting me in this position and allowing me to still chase my dream and go to the fall league and get some innings and do all that fun stuff. Yeah.
[00:05:24] Kelly: And you're here. We're opening weekend in Frisco this weekend. So you're back. How's the elbow? How's the finger?
[00:05:31] Avery Weems: Everything's really good. I'm in a really good spot mentally, physically.
I got married this off season.
[00:05:38] Kelly: Yeah, I didn't know that. That's great. Congrats.
[00:05:40] Avery Weems: November. Thank you. Congrats.
[00:05:42] Kelly: Was that back home? Arizona?
[00:05:44] Avery Weems: Yeah, Arizona. Queen Creek, actually.
[00:05:47] Kelly: Well, that's exciting new, like, pep in your step.
[00:05:49] Avery Weems: It was a little bit of a normal off season, like, TJ was like I was doing my TJ process, my throwing process, getting ready to, like, go into spring training, all that stuff.
And then I had the fall league, which was nice. Allowed me to get some innings, allowed me to get my feet under me, get back in the game, get used to all this stuff again. But it was a nice change of pace to get to get married, spend some time with my family, my now wife, and just enjoy that. And I think that just put me in a really good spot mentally and physically.
[00:06:24] Kelly: I love it. Is she here in Frisco with you now?
[00:06:26] Avery Weems: She's not yet. She'll be here for opening weekend, but she'll be joining me, I think, at the end of April.
[00:06:33] Kelly: Yeah. I know it's tough being a. Being a baseball wife, especially in the.
[00:06:36] Avery Weems: She was a teacher before and this guy walked into her life and it kind of changes her whole world, you know, so she's had to learn. I've had to learn and.
But she plans on joining me out here. She's amazing and couldn't ask for any more. She's sacrificed a lot in the, like, pretty much two years, two and a half years that we've been together and her whole world changing. Man, she's taking it like a champ.
[00:07:06] Kelly: Sure.
[00:07:07] Avery Weems: So I can't ask for anything more from her.
[00:07:10] Kelly: That's great. Yeah. Well, congrats on that.
[00:07:11] Avery Weems: Thank you.
[00:07:12] Kelly: Exciting. Didn't realize that. Okay, lastly. So you're good, you're feeling good, you're. You're in a good spot.
What. Is there anything since we haven't seen you lately like, that we can expect to see from you different, like pitches or what are you expecting, like, velocity wise? Like, what are you expecting out of.
[00:07:29] Avery Weems: First and foremost, I just want to have a healthy season, healthy career. I had a really good spring and like I said, I'm in a really good spot mentally and physically.
So if I just keep that same mindset wherever I'm at, whether it be here, Round Rock, or hopefully Arlington one of these days, you know, just anything that I could do to help, whatever ball club I'm on win, then that's. That's all I can ask for while being healthy at the same time. So Arsenal is still the same Velo. I'm hoping the Velo goes up a little bit. I've been 92, 93, mostly pretty comfortable and repeatable in my delivery. I'm hoping I did flash four to six back in the Fall league and I think just the more comfortable I get and even in spring, like, I mean there was nerves and stuff, but I, I pitched really well in spring, but even my first day yesterday coming back here, like I was still a little nervous because I think the history of here and I think it was like a year ago yesterday was when the finger thing happened. I had a live bp, so I think I was a little bit more nervous. I was just like, just stay know all those things. But I'm excited for this year and we'll see what's in store.
[00:08:54] Kelly: Congrats on the wedding and the off season and have a good season.
[00:08:57] Avery Weems: Thank you so much.
[00:08:58] Kelly: Thanks for joining us for this episode of Hustle and Pro. Subscribe on YouTube and check us out on Instagram and we'll see you next episode.
