Typically a Tommy John surgery takes 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the severity. When it takes three hours, you know there’s a problem.
Chandler Giovinco, a 2019 graduate of Newfield HS, was pitching outside for the first time last season in a non-league game against League I playoff-contender Longwood. He was excited and feeling strong as he finished his warmup.
Five pitches into the game, that changed.
“I felt it and I heard it,” said Giovinco in regards to the injury he sustained. “I thought I just cracked it so I kept throwing. Five pitches later I looked at my coach and said ‘I’m done.”
In that moment, he feared the worst.
“My baseball career is over – I thought to myself,” he said. “Then I thought maybe I can hit the rest of the season and not throw,” he added. After seeing a doctor, surgery was recommended immediately. He went to see Dr. James Paci., who not only confirmed the injury but painted an even bleaker picture.
“He looked me in the eye and said ‘your arm is all messed up’, it was a 100 percent tear,”
One month later, he went under the knife for UCL repair – Tommy John surgery, as it is colloquially known. While the typical surgery takes 45 minutes, Dr. Paci told him it took three hours due to the damage that was done. They took a ligament from his leg and replaced the damaged UCL in his right elbow.
He wasn’t quite out of the woods yet.
Giovinco stated that he couldn’t move his fingers on the day of the surgery, and it wasn’t until a week later did he fully regain movement.
Once the dust was settled, Giovinco began thinking about his future with his father. He was supposed to be heading to Hofstra University in the fall to begin his collegiate career but the injury convoluted those plans. After careful discussion with his father, they chose to de-commit from Hofstra in order to save money on tuition and attend Suffolk CC. Hofstra was willing to honor the athletic scholarship if he decided to come back.
He now had to watch from the dugout and miss his senior year, one that started with such promise as he was named pre-season All-Long Island by Axcess Baseball.
The previous year had been the best season of his life, as he helped lead Newfield to the postseason for the first time since 2005 along with senior pitchers Kyle Johnson and Bobby Vath. He parlayed that success into a great summer with the Long Island Titans playing for renowned coach Paul Parsolano.
The highlight of the summer, he said, was throwing six strong innings against Texas Stix – the 22nd ranked team in the nation at the time – in LakePoint Sports Complex in Georgia.
“From that point on, a lot of colleges started paying attention. It was the best three months of my life,” he said.
He committed to Hofstra on July 21 of that year, but continued to work with pitching coach Bobby DeMichael on refining his craft. He credits much of his success to DeMichael, who has worked with him since he was 12-years-old.
Giovinco is now 10 months removed from the awful injury, and has been throwing off a mound for about one month. Due to the timeline of the injury, he will be unable to compete this spring season for Suffolk. While it may be disappointing, he understands it is necessary.
“I’m not going to play in the spring, but I am going to work my butt off and I’m going to email a bunch of coaches when I’m back to pitching,” he said. Once he is back to full strength, he will be competing with the LI Strong on their collegiate team.
He is up to 75 percent effort, and he noted that he hit 80 MPH for the first time since the injury.
During the trying times, he has turned to music for inspiration, citing the artist NF as a big source of his inspiration. Additionally, he has leaned on the guidance of his father.
“I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without him,” he said. Once he returns to full strength, Giovinco immediately becomes a player that should garner Division-I interest.
Below is a video of Giovinco when he was in high school.
