‘Million Dollar Arm’ pitcher Rinku Singh recovering from Tommy John surgery

Last Friday, “Million Dollar Arm” hit movie theaters and Craig Gillespie’s movie received generally strong rviews.

The film chronicles the life and journey of Rinku Singh, who came to the United States from India after winning a contest and the opportunity at a professional baseball career, and his friend Dinesh Patel.

Singh and Patel both earned places within the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Patel’s career came to an end in 2010. Singh’s career is ongoing, most recently spending two seasons with the West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League. In 2012, Singh went 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 72 innings (39 games) as a relief pitcher.

Since then, Singh has battled elbow problems and eventually experienced a fate becoming all too common with pitchers today. As ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick points out, Singh underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow and will miss the 2014 season.

Like Matt Harvey, Jose Fernandez and so many other All-Stars/household names, Singh is dealing with the emotional and physical fallout of an ulnar collateral ligament tear. He’ll spend this summer rehabbing in an effort to return to the playing field in 2015. That’s his ultimate goal, even as he attends movie screenings, fields interview requests and hangs out with Jon Hamm, the Hollywood star and devout St. Louis Cardinals fan.

In 84 games, throughout various levels of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system, the 25-year-old Singh has compiled a 10-6 record with a 2.99 ERA and 126 strikeouts over 147.1 innings. His friend and fellow competition winner Patel allowed 19 hits and 9 runs in 13.2 innings over two seasons before being released.

H/T Eye on Baseball