SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Colby Lewis knows that if he's going to make the Texas Rangers rotation this year, it would be a feel-good story for fans of the best postgame pitcher in team history.
Because Lewis is finally feeling good after having his resurfacing surgery last August, it can't be ruled out.
Lewis, 34, is attempting to become the first player to return from hip resurfacing surgery and pitch at the major league level. While there are no guarantees for Lewis, who hasn't pitched in the majors since July of 2012, he is where he wants to be and is ready to give everything he has in his bid to make it back to the major-league mound.
"I did it for the love of the game and wanting to continue to play," said Lewis, who has a two-pound piece of metal in his right hip after the surgery last August. "Like my wife (Jenny) said, 'I'm not ready for baseball to be over.' Neither am I."
That's why Lewis went to New York last summer and had the surgery on his hip, which is done for active people. It was a something that Lewis expected to happen but he hoped he'd be able to put off until after his playing career was over. Hip problems for Lewis are nothing new.
He said he began having pain in his hip in 2006 but was able to pitch through it until last season, when everything went wrong for him physically.
Lewis, who won 36 games for the Rangers from 2010-2012 and is 4-1 in the postseason, had surgery on his right flexor tendon in 2012. In his bid to rehab from that last year, he put more strain on the hip than it could take.
That led to the surgery and has now put Lewis unchartered waters, as no one in the majors has had the surgery Lewis went through. The Rangers believed in Lewis enough to give him a minor-league deal for the season.
Now he wants to reward both the club and himself by making it back to Arlington.
"I feel like there's opportunity to be had," Lewis said. "There's a little bit of, if I'm healthy, what I've done here that hopefully plays into it. I know I can do this and give it what I've got and give it what the body's got left and keep going forward. I feel like four or five years ago when I got here. I feel like I've got all that flexibility I had back then back."
Lewis has already cleared some hurdles in his bid to get back. He's already thrown seven or eight bullpen sessions in Bakersfield. He said he's felt great during and after the bullpens, which is something he hasn't been able to say for years. He'll throw his first bullpen in Surprise Monday and the Rangers will have him on the same routine as everyone else vying for a starting spot, but they will adjust that schedule if Lewis needs it.
The Rangers could use Lewis in their rotation if he's healthy, especially because of the injury to Derek Holland. They aren't betting against Lewis either.
"I think he has a track record and the reports we're getting is that he's ready to come in here and compete and he's going to get that opportunity to compete," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "And I certainly wouldn't count Colby out. You've got to wait and see how he performs, but I have no negative thoughts about Colby Lewis. He's going to come in and the opportunity is open to him just as it's open to everyone else in camp."
One edge Lewis has is that long rehab processes are nothing new for him. He had Tommy John surgery when he was 16. He missed the entire 2004 season after having rotator cuff surgery. Then there was the flexor tendon surgery in 2012, a little more than a year before his hip procedure.
His long medical history was one of the reasons Lewis opted to remain with the Rangers in the offseason. Other teams were wanted to see all of his medical records. The Rangers already know everything about Lewis.
The flexor tendon injury came at a bad time for Lewis, who was having a solid 2012 season and was on his way to a big free agent payday after the season. He instead re-signed with the Rangers and had to endure rehab and the hip surgery.
While it's been a tough couple of seasons for Lewis, he isn't looking for sympathy from anyone. He has no complaints about the way his career has gone.
"I've been very blessed to do this as long as I've done it," he said. "To have the surgeries that I've had, big surgeries, I've been blessed. I have a beautiful family, a beautiful home. God has blessed me in so many different ways besides coming out here and worrying about coming back to play baseball. It's an opportunity. The Rangers have been (gracious) to give me another opportunity this year to try to make the club. That's all I can do is go out there and perform with what I've got. If it's good enough, I'll make the club. If it's not, we'll see what's out there."
