Another pitcher from the golden era of baseball in South Delta has been forced to retire too soon.
Tom Robson officially stepped away from the game on Thursday after dealing with arm issues for much of his professional career.
The 24-year-old from Ladner was the top Canadian selected in the 2011 Major League Draft — going in the fourth round to the Toronto Blue Jays.
He became the third local pitcher to be picked in the early rounds over a four year stretch — joining Kyle Lotzkar (2007) and James Paxton (2010).
According to Andrew Robson, a teacher at Delta Secondary School, it was a tough decision his younger brother had been wrestling with for sometime at the Blue Jays’ training facility in Dunedin, Florida as he dealt with persistent throwing pain.
Back in 2014, he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair the ulnar collated ligament in his throwing elbow. Robson was back pitching again less than a year later but suffered a setback and also struggled to regain his previous form.
Over the next two seasons it was more of the same with stints at three different levels in the Blue Jays farm system, including a second time with the hometown Vancouver Canadians. He pitched a total of 38 innings in 2017 and was slated to pitch this season with Toronto’s double-A affiliate in New Hampshire but was placed on the disabled list April 8th and never returned.
Prior to his arm trouble, Robson’s pro career was soaring along in the summer of 2013, highlighted by pitching the playoff pennant clinching game for the Canadians in front of a sold out crowd at Nat Bailey Stadium. At the time, the Jays Journal blog had him listed as the organization's 13th best prospect who could be in the Major Leagues as early as the 2016 season.
Ironically, his pro path was very similar to Lotzkar — another local talent who was taken in the draft right out of high school.
After being selected 53rd overall by the Cincinnati Reds, Lotzkar dealt with significant arm issues and eventually also underwent Tommy John surgery in 2008. The Tsawwassen native never was able to return to his early form and eventually retired in 2016.
