This was supposed to be a killer year for Brandon League, who was assigned the plum role of set-up guy for B.J. Ryan in the Blue Jays' bullpen. But a shoulder injury kept him on the shelf for the better part of 2007, turning a promising season into a collosal disappointment.Though he's not quite sure how he hurt his shoulder, he's certain of how he didn't hurt it: surfing. League, a native of Hawaii, spends his offseasons riding the waves, which helped fuel rumors connecting his hobby to his shoulder woes.
League dismissed such speculation on the Jays' official website.
"I've been surfing since I was 7 years old and it never was a problem," said League, when asked if there was any validity to the reports. "It was something to put the blame on, I guess.Regardless, League says he won't be hanging ten this winter. Rather than head home to Hawaii, he's going to stay in Florida near the Jays' spring training facility to work closely with the team's trainers and build himself back up for 2008.
"If you just say that you have an extremely tight shoulder and that you're not throwing like you did the year before, it's not as believable as maybe saying it's because of the surfing. But that's in the past. I've gotten over that."
