ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Marcus Stroman just finalized his schedule for the summer and it looks like this: on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays he’ll be in rehab from 10 a.m.-noon, in class 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m., back to rehab 3 p.m.- 4 p.m., and then class again from 5 p.m.-7 p.m.
On Wednesdays and Fridays he’ll have the same rehab sessions, but no class, and then there’s the independent study sociology term paper he’ll need to turn in as the end of the first summer session at Duke University.
His studies begin May 13.
"It’s intense," he says with a grin.
It’s not exactly the schedule he had in mind for this summer, but now that he’s come to terms with missing the Toronto Blue Jays’ season after tearing the ACL in his right knee during a pitcher’s fielding practice drill in spring training, he’s making the most of his recovery period.
Stroman will continue rehabbing his knee under the watch of Dr. Robert Butler, who’s based at Duke and has done some work with the Blue Jays, while at the same time completing a sociology degree with a minor in markets and management studies.
The two courses and independent study paper in Duke’s first summer session plus two more courses in the second summer session will give him the five credits he needs to graduate. There’s a convocation ceremony in December and he’s planning to walk with that graduating class.
"I’ll probably have a big party," he says with a grin.
Completing the degree was always going to be on the agenda for Stroman, who chose Duke to play baseball because of its rigorous academic demands. Education was always a priority for him growing up, and the injury offers him the chance to complete a commitment he made to his parents.
"I was a kid who wasn’t allowed out if I wasn’t going to work, or I was the kid studying when everyone else was partying," he says. "That’s something I always try to preach to everyone I’m around, even high school students now, I always try to gear them towards college.
"I tell them that to kind of get them going on that degree path, at least where they’re getting close. If they want to play professional baseball they can still go back and get their degree. It means a lot, because you never know what can happen. I learned that first-hand.
"I know I’m going to be pitching in the big-leagues again, sooner than later, but I understand things happen where you can never play this game again, you can’t take it for granted and I never have."
Since the injury, Stroman has mostly been at the club’s facilities in Dunedin, Fla., going through his rehab program.
Currently, his days begin at 8:30 a.m. and run until 2 p.m., the hours filled by preparations for the knee, pool exercises – including leg lifts, squats, leg raises, walking – time on the AlterG therapy treadmill and the regular treadmill, plus squats, lunges, bosu lunges, bosu squats, and side step overs.
Then there are his regular workouts along with some casual throwing to try and maintain his shoulder strength.
Soon he’ll be transitioning to more aggressive exercises.
"I’m doing really well, I’d say I’m a little ahead of protocol, they call it," says Stroman. "It’s more of just time. I’m going to feel good in the next couple of months when I start attacking and my knee is going to start feeling like I can play, but it’s more time of letting the actual graft heal."
Amid that work, he watches the Blue Jays play from a different vantage point, and while he isn’t necessarily gaining new insights into how to approach the game, he is improving his strategic thinking.
"That’s one thing I thank my parents for immensely, I’m always pretty stable (on the mound), I never overthink the game, I make it as easy (as possible)," says Stroman. "I think more when I watch the game I try to lock in sometimes when I’m watching to see, ‘Oh, what would I do in this situation,’ or ‘How would I pitch this guy.’ Especially when Sanchie (Aaron Sanchez) pitches, because we’re so close and we’re always talking baseball, when I see him on the mound, I’m even thinking if I’m him what pitch he should throw in certain counts and how he should go about (attacking) batters. I’m always thinking, I’m always looking at hitters, I’m always learning, watching the game."
It’s a way to help keep a summer lost on the field from becoming a total write-off.