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Dziedzic celebrates 75th Diamond Jubilee

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Michael Pisarcik Jr. and Erin Murphy engagement

<p>Just three years ago, Conor Mullee was sitting home in northern Virginia recovering from a third surgery on his pitching elbow.</p><p>After missing three straight seasons, Mullee didn&#8217;t know if he would pitch professionally again.</p><p>It&#8217;s been quite a turnaround for the RailRiders right-hander as he finds himself being one of the most important back-end pieces in Al Pedrique&#8217;s bullpen.</p><p>Now 28, Mullee has been nothing short of dominant this season for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a 2-0 record, three saves and a minuscule 1.54 ERA in nine appearances.</p><p>&#8220;I was here at the end of last year and that was fun, but getting up here and playing with these kind of guys, an entire level of guys who have done it before, it&#8217;s kind of a pinch-me moment all the time,&#8221; Mullee said. &#8220;So I&#8217;m enjoying it and I&#8217;m gonna keep doing my best.&#8221;</p><p>He should enjoy every minute of success he&#8217;s enduring right now after what he had to go through.</p><p>After being drafted in the 24th round of the 2010 draft by the Yankees out of St. Peter&#8217;s University, Mullee got off to a fantastic start in the Gulf Coast League the year he was drafted. Then the injuries on his right elbow began.</p><p>He missed all of the 2011 season after Tommy John Surgery.</p><p>When attempting to rehab with Short Season Staten Island in 2012, he was just five innings into his comeback when the ligament tore off the bone in the elbow. Mullee didn&#8217;t have another TJ surgery this time, but had a screw put in to hold everything together. He missed all of that season.</p><p>Just six months into rehabilitation from that surgery, Mullee wasn&#8217;t feeling right and returned to see Dr. James Andrews, and had the screw removed, that cost him all of the 2013 season.</p><p>He was still property of the Yankees, but rehabbing took a lot out of him.</p><p>&#8220;When you&#8217;re rehabbing that long, you feel like a ghost walking around there,&#8221; Mullee said. &#8220;It&#8217;s not anyone else&#8217;s fault or anything, you&#8217;re not doing anything to make anyone pay attention to you. It was a long, dark couple years.&#8221;</p><p>Although the times were tough, Mullee never quit. He kept a ball in his car and played catch with anyone who was available whether it was old coaches, good friends or family members.</p><p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t have been surprised if I had been released having not pitched since 2010. But my family helped me through it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;My coaches from high school, the Yankees organization, they kept on me, made sure I was doing my work.&#8221;</p><p>Soon enough, he got a call from Yankee minor league trainers and got the go-ahead to get back on the field.</p><p>But that was just the beginning. Not having a full season under his belt professionally, and finally fully healthy, Mullee began to climb up the organizational ladder when he got back to action in 2014.</p><p>He re-started as a 26-year-old with Staten Island, a team that&#8217;s normally comprised of those just drafted earlier in the month of June.</p><p>&#8220;The guys were really great, they didn&#8217;t treat me like I was really old or anything,&#8221; Mullee said. &#8220;Luckily, I look pretty young so I could fit in. But it was a struggle for a while until last year when I got up to Double-A, I wasn&#8217;t with guys my age.&#8221;</p><p>Advancing to Double-A arrived quicker than most as Mullee got there last year, just his second full season of pitching with the organization. For his good work, he was rewarded with an advancement to Triple-A later last season.</p><p>He pitched in just one game for Trenton this season before getting the promotion to the RailRiders, and the rest has been history.</p><p>Mullee is holding Triple-A hitters to just a .150 batting average, while striking out a whopping 17 batters in just 11 2/3 innings and boasting a ridiculous WHIP of 0.77.</p><p>With those kinds of numbers, it can be just a matter of time before the parent club calls. If that call comes soon, he will surely enjoy the moment, but for now he&#8217;s just enjoying the present.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m happy to be here, but there&#8217;s still one more step. You never want to be satisfied that&#8217;s for sure. But things are going in the right direction,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I can&#8217;t control that (getting called up). Just keep going out there and try to be as consistent as possible and keep getting outs and hope that they call my name one day.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Mullee missed nearly 3 full years, now is dominant in SWB bullpen</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>drosengrant@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Conor Mullee missed nearly 3 full years, now is dominant in SWB RailRiders’ bullpen