The surgeon’s steady hand marks the incision.

The scalpel glides across the skin, parting flesh to reveal the damaged ligament beneath.

A tendon—healthy, unscarred—harvested from the wrist, severed from its home.

The drill whirs to life, its bit biting deep into the ulna, then the humerus, carving a path through bone.

A needle threads the stolen tendon through the tunnels, pulling it taut, stitching, weaving, binding the elbow back together.

Never before had a worn-out tendon been replaced, revived, brought back to life—never had one been replaced by another tendon from the patient’s own body.

The process—Frankensteinian, an extracted piece of the human body used in an attempt to revitalize an elbow overworked on the mound.

A pitcher’s career hangs in the balance.

The chances of success: one in 100. A shot in the dark, a pitch thrown blindly into the wind. 

The patient’s name: Tommy John.

After years of tossing in high school, three seasons in the minor leagues and over a decade on the mound in the majors, John, 31, suffered permanent damage to his throwing elbow in a game against the Montreal Expos.

His fastball was gone. The zip, the late movement, the life—vanished. All that remained was a strange sensation, the dull hum of overuse and gradual wear and tear.

John was in the midst of another stellar season after tallying 124 career wins, he had an all-star appearance under his belt. But now, instead of the hitter staring him down, looking him dead in the eye, it was the end of his career fixed on him like a runner itching to steal second.

The only possible solution was surgery.

His surgeon? Dr. Frank Jobe.

Jobe performed the revolutionary surgery, a ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, a procedure now colloquially bearing the name of its first patient: Tommy John.

Following the operation, John pitched for 14 more seasons and added 164 more wins to his tally.

Jobe had transformed John from a potential washup, a retiree, a has-been into a never-before-seen Bionic Man.

What began with one desperate surgery to repair a 31-year-old’s arm has become routine among teen boys across the nation. A new generation of bionic boys.

A one-time miracle has infested the Major Leagues, as 35% of MLB pitchers have been reinvented by Tommy John surgery. No longer is the procedure the saving grace of big leaguers with seasons on the mound, now high schoolers, college players and minor leaguers are entering their rookie season with a scar on their elbow. 

In 2014, 67.4% of Tommy John surgeries were performed on athletes 16–20 years old, according to the American Medical Association. 

Numbers which have only increased over the last decade. 

One of those young arms belongs to Community’s Jonah Roper—an ace on the rise when his senior season was suddenly put on hold.

Following an exceptional high school season on the mound in which Roper led the Iron with a 7-0 record, allowing a mere 1.25 runs per game, the hurler entered his final season of summer ball with Top Tier Central.

He’d do what he always did–rely on a calculated mix of command, location and velocity to outhink batters. 

His fastball? It’s not the fastest. 

“But I don’t throw slow,” Roper said. 

Topping out at 88 mph, his changeup is his bread and butter–a pitch, Roper said, that “plays off” his up-speed stuff, and “gets in batters’ minds.”

July 26, on a humid day in Georgia, Roper fired his 94th pitch—a changeup, a pitch he’d thrown a thousand times before—routine, familiar. 

But something was off.

His hand went numb.

At first, doctors in Georgia told Roper it was just a minor setback–just his muscles tightening around his nerve endings—he could try to throw the next day.

He tried. 

And failed.

“I had no power . . . at all,” Roper said.

All he had–searing pain.

“[My arm] was completely shot,” Roper said.

Roper is no stranger to injuries, having faced shoulder setbacks earlier in his career. But this one was different. 

This one proved far more serious.

The eventual diagnosis: a torn UCL. He would need not just any surgery—he’d need Tommy John surgery. The miracle surgery. 

His surgeon? Dr. George Paletta.

Paltetta, the St. Louis Cardinals’ team doctor, was an expert in the field, performing over 1300 of such surgeries in a quarter of a century. 

Fifty years had passed since Jobe performed the first Tommy John. The operation was no longer a one-in-100 shot. Now, there were options.

Paletta laid them out:
A PRP injection—30% success rate.
The traditional Tommy John surgery—89% success rate.
A newer internal brace repair—91% success rate.

Facing the uncertainty of surgery, Roper leaned on the people around him.

As Roper questioned that other 9%, wondering “What if it doesn’t go well?,” it was Community’s head baseball coach Mr. Ryan Short that was instrumental in quieting that doubt, Roper said.

“He said there’s a 91% chance that everything goes right. Just stick to that 91%, and then if that 9% ever happens, then there’s always a way out,” Roper said.

That reassuring voice, Roper said, really helped make the decision to undergo the knife. 

Roper opted for the internal brace, a less invasive alternative with a faster recovery timeline, with a fiber brace woven through the UCL instead of a tendon from the wrist.

After surgery too, Roper turned to his support system.

That system began long before surgery—when his dad instilled in him a “next pitch” attitude.

“If someone hits a double or home run off you,” Roper said, “then you just have to look at the next pitch as an opportunity to be better and not make that mistake again.”

That perspective is how the senior approached his recovery.

“I’ve had to learn to just keep moving forward, whether that’s after a bad pitch or an injury. There’s always another opportunity to get better,” Roper said.

The recovery process played out like a meticulously planned season. 

Surgery on Sept. 3. 

Two weeks in a full cast.

 Six weeks in a locked brace, working on grip strength. 

After doctors confirmed there was no nerve damage, Roper spent nine weeks rehabbing without throwing—just bands, plyo balls and strengthening. 

Then came six weeks of throwing, slowly rebuilding his mechanics. 

Soon, Roper said, “he’ll be back on the mound, hopefully just getting back in the swing of things,” Roper said, now entering the final phase: a 6-8 week return-to-pitching program.

“I’m actually way ahead of schedule,” Roper said. “I’m looking at an early April return as long as everything goes well.”

Though Roper won’t be on the mound for the March 18 season opener, he will still have a substantial impact from the dugout.

Following two injury-ridden seasons, Roper flourished in his junior year, working his way up from reliever to starter. He finished top two in innings pitched, games started, overall record and strikeouts.

But Roper isn’t just looking to replicate last season’s stats—he wants to be the teammate others rely on.

He’s already set a good example, after those two injury-ridden seasons and a summer lost to rehab, Roper never wavered in his approach. He worked his way from reliever to starter, stayed patient in recovery and now, he’s focused on something bigger than his own comeback. 

“The number one thing,” Roper said, “is I want to be the same teammate [this year] that Ethan Eberle, Brady Bankston and Parker Michaels were to me last year.”

He wants to be a leader passing on the lessons he learned from last year’s seniors. 

“Michaels,” Roper said, “always came in with a goofy attitude and really made me laugh on the hard days. When I was sore and didn’t really want to work, he got me off the bench and encouraged me.”

Despite being in the shadow of an elite D1 commit like Eberle and a D1 teammate like Michaels last season, Roper still earned the respect of coaches across the conference.

Last season, when the Big 12 Conference coaches voted on Pitcher of the Year, Louisville’s Ethan Eberle was the clear pick. 

But one coach noted, “If it wasn’t Eberle, it was Roper,” Coach Short said.

It was the right-hander’s command that set him apart. 

But, Roper said, he doesn’t “play for recognition,” even though, he acknowledged“it feels great.”

He’s humble, not crediting his success to himself alone. 

“I don’t think I could have done it without the defense behind me,” Roper said. Without “the outpouring of support I always got in the dugout. If I let up a run, everyone would come make sure I was okay.”

But last season, Roper didn’t let up many runs.

Last season for the Ironmen culminated in the regional championship, where Roper pitched a complete game, leading the Ironmen to a 4-1 victory against Rock Island.

“They brought in an extra bleacher set because there were so many people,” Roper said, “and it was just electric.”

But for Roper, it was another opportunity to grow.

“I’m very thankful for the opportunity,” Roper said, “because it helped me grow as a player,” pitching against that kind of talent, in that large of a crowd. 

“Those games,” the senior said, “are something you dream of as a little kid.”

For Roper, the dream began, at age three.  

While visiting his mom at work, the young Roper was hypnotized by the film playing in the elementary school classroom –“Rookie Of The Year.”

“I told my mom that night that I really wanted to play baseball,” Roper said.

And he’s stayed true to his word, his love, his passion landing him a spot next season at Rock Valley College in Rockford.

But first Roper will pitch his final season for the Orange and Black.

Roper has spent months preparing for this moment—now he is in the final stretch before returning to the mound. But his focus isn’t just on his own arm.

His goals aren’t tied to stats or strikeouts, he isn’t concerned about starting or leading the rotation. He just wants to see the Ironmen win.

“I want to win every single day,” Roper said. 

And it doesn’t matter what it takes to do it, Roper just wants to contribute.

“I really want to help this team this year,” he said. 

It’s to contribute to a deeper postseason run after last season came to an end at the hands of Bradley Bourbonnais in the first round of sectionals.

“Last season was last season. We’re just ready to move on, turn the page,” Roper said. 

Because even when life cranks a grand slam off Roper, he’s already onto the next pitch.