POMPTON LAKES – Justin Wazaney wanted to cry.
When he heard those three words every pitcher dreads – Tommy John surgery – the Pompton Lakes right-hander thought his baseball career was over.
The Cardinals’ ace knew he would miss his entire senior season and assumed the six Division I schools recruiting him would stop calling.
“My entire life, baseball was all I knew,” Wazaney said. “I had zero control over it. And it was eye-opening, that in the blink of an eye something you love could be taken away from you without you being able to do anything about it.”
The procedure requires at least 12 months of recovery. Wazaney was devastated until coaches from Fairfield, with which he has since signed a National Letter of Intent, and Marist assured him they wouldn’t withdraw their scholarship offers.
“That was awesome,” said Pompton Lakes senior center fielder Ronnie Campos, Wazaney’s close friend. “The fact that Fairfield stayed with him the whole way and still believed in him really shows how good of a program he’s going to and the potential they see in him.”
This spring, Wazaney wanted to remain an active member of the Pompton Lakes team. That led longtime coach Paul Tanis to make him an unofficial member of his coaching staff.
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